• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

STOL take off technique

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

PTAirco

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Messages
4,006
Location
Corona CA
I have watched countless videos of various people doing STOL take offs in taildraggers, from the average Joe to the Valdez guys. The technique currently in vogue is:

Brakes on
Full power
Lift the tail
Accelerate with the tail up
Rotate hard, at the same time deploy flaps.

It always struck me as inefficient. Yes, these guys get off fast but is that really the best way to minimize ground roll (which is what this is all about)?

I always felt that using about half flap (less than 20 degrees, say) and letting the airplane fly off when it's ready ought to be as efficient a method as any.

Their arguments are: "it reduces drag at the beginning of the ground roll!". And : That's how it's done!" Can't see much scientific evidence beyond that. Maybe it is the best method, but can we analyze this a bit further?

My points are :

Drag at the beginning of the ground roll is downright negligible. Most of these guys keep the tail up for maybe a couple of seconds before slamming it right back down again.

Pushing up the tail takes away energy that could be used to accelerate the airplane forward.

In the three point attitude, with a little flap, most taildraggers are close to their maximum lift attitude which ought to be where you want it.

The thrustline is pointed up slightly giving you a slight vertical component of lift. Maybe that's good or bad.

I would like some opinions based on physics and aerodynamics, not current fashion. Let's hear it.




 
Back
Top