When other pilots ask me if I think the Ercoupe is strange in crosswind landings I have always said that I thought the takeoff were stranger but if the tail is at the correct height and the nose wheel tracks straight ahead they are pretty easy. Just push the nose down and pop it off when ready. If anything is off rig so you have to turn the wheel to correct then you are also moving the ailerons so a wing will lift. My Ercoupe is no problem but my friends that I am working on is really squirrelly and I wont let him fly it yet. I have on a couple occasions had to yank it off the ground to get away from the scene of the ensuing crash site. There is too much slop on the nose gear steering and it is not pointed straight. We are getting closer though and the new donuts did help a great deal. I will be working on the nose gear this weekend.
Kevin --- In [email protected], "robertbartunek" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I've read a lot of comments about how easy it is to land an Ercoupe > in a crosswind, even up to 30 kts or so, and all those comments are > quite true. What we should be talking about, though, are crosswind > takeoffs which can become a bit hairy. > On my recent trip bringing my Coupe down to Florida, I landed at > Perryton, TX in a fairly stout crosswind. Now problem. Touch down > in a crab and the nose swings around to track down the runway just > like in a T-38 which uses the same crosswind landing technique. All > this occurs while the aircraft is decelerating so lateral control > down the runway is uncomplicated using the nosewheel steering and the > airspeed is low. > Takeoffs, however, are a differnt challenge. > Departing Perryton, I started a normal takeoff run and reaching about > 35 knots the aircraft wanted to weathervane to the right into the > approximate 30 mph crosswind so I turned the wheel to the left to > track centerline. Then the fun began. > The left turn input on the wheel also made the right (upwind) aileron > go down creating more lift on the right (upwind) wing. I glanced out > to the right and was really surprised at how far downward the right > aileron was deflected. The aircraft fairly quickly assumed about a 20 > degree left bank while still on takeoff roll at about 40 mph. > Instinct resulted in turning the wheel to the right to lower the > right wing but it also turned the nose wheel to the right which > magnified the right turning moment (weathervane) into the crosswind. > Instead of runway ahead, I saw runway edge, grass, runway lights and > trees. As I approached the runway edge, I rotated and the Coupe > became airborne prior to leaving the hard surface because we were now > at about 50 mph IAS. Whew! I'll bet it looked like some drunk had > stolen an airplane, if anyone was watching the takeoff. > So watch out for the crosswind takeoffs and associated roll away from > the upwind wing. I think I have a plan to compensate for this > weathervane/roll effect but I will leave that conversation for later. > Oh yeah, I have about 6000 hours, an ATP and have flown everything > from mach plus (T-38) to mach nix (A-1 Skyraider) so I am not exactly > new to the game. This takeoff really surprised me and caught me > offguard. > Robert Bartunek >
