Wing warps? Maybe you need to throw harder (and not too steeply either)? Maybe the cg is more conservative than the towhook position? THese go together. If you have a forward cg, you need more up elevator in normal flight, which makes problems when you launch unless you move the tow hook further forward, in which case you just get lower launches. Maybe you're expecting a higher launch angle than you should and pull up too much on launch? (See above about conservative tow hook loacations as they affect launch height (and, of course, angle).) You might try just a small (and I mean small) touch of down elevator or at least less up elevator when the plane goes wacky. I had a friend who was absolutely sure his Drifter 2 was gone as it started to spin in the wind on the high start. I couldn't convince him to use down elevator, and it took me a while to get him to hand me the transmitter, but fortunately it was high up. Just dived it out of the spin and resumed the climb. In general, a bit of down when you are having control problems is a good habit, because the increased airspeed makes the controls more powerful and unstalls the wing. However, if your high start is strong you don't want to use a lot of down for long, as the plane will go too fast and flutter. Use just enough to stop the stall. If you start messing with the CG and towhook, do it in small increments, say 1/8" or a bit more at a time. I think in general, cg and towhook position instructions are overly conservative, particularly on beginner airplanes, on the theory that someone who doesn't know better should be safe and someone who does will know what to do after the first flight.
The Spirit is kind of short coupled so it is more squirrelly than other airplanes, especially when slow or near stall, though the marketing budget makes up for this in the ways that are important to Great Planes. brian wrote: > snipspirit arf snip refuses to go straight up > on a high start launch. always veers to right or left > and pops off when i try to correct. the last one > actually drove it into the ground and smashed the crap > out of it. i've got the hook in the "safe" position > (furthest forward) and the plane glides straight and > long from a hand launch. cg is, according to the > instructions, correct. any ideas why this might be > happening? > > thanks. > > brian -- Lincoln Ross NOTE ADDRESS CHANGE: [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
