User Guide

88
89
TAKEOFF! (finally!)
The big moment has arrived. Crosscheck that with the artifi-
cial horizon; the miniature airplane should be just about on the
horizon bar.
Make sure the brakes are released, then smoothly apply full
power. The airplane will start to roll ahead. If you have FLY! set
for realistic flight modeling (and I strongly recommend that you do
- we worked very hard on its accuracy!), you’ll notice that the air-
plane will also try to veer off to the left.
This is not due to politics. Rather, it’s the combination of a
number of aerodynamic and physical effects, often grouped under
the (mostly incorrect) label of “torque.”
In fact, in this situ-
ation (airplane on the
ground), torque per se -
the tendency of the
engine to roll the whole
airplane opposite the
direction of propeller
rotation - plays a rela-
tively minor role. Far
more significant, during
the takeoff roll, is the
fact that the air moving back from the propeller does so not in a
straight line, but with a spiral motion imparted to it by the pro-
peller’s rotation (clockwise as seen from behind). Thus, there’s a
good deal of force pushing against the left side of the vertical fin,
thus shoving it to the right and pushing the nose to the left.
Just keep your eyes out the windshield, applying rudder as
necessary to keep the airplane tracking the runway centerline.
Glance at the airspeed indicator from time to time. As the speed
approaches 55 knots, apply gentle back pressure to raise the nose
to just barely below the horizon. The airplane will lift off - don’t
let it settle back to the runway. Let it accelerate to a climb speed
of 70 to 80 knots - remember, lowering the nose will let it speed
up, raising the nose will slow it. Now start breathing again.
We’ve moved right from takeoff into one of the four funda-
mentals: climb. At the same time, we’re going to try to keep going
straight ahead. To maintain a straight course, simply keep the
wings level (either with the real horizon if you can see it, or with
the artificial one). To control your climb airspeed, maintain the
correct pitch attitude - and, at this point, if you can’t see the hori-
zon over the instrument panel, I’d suggest altering your cockpit
view until you can.
Keep climbing until you get to around 3000 feet. Now we’ll
level the airplane off and set cruise power to start working on
straight and level flight. The airplane will start to speed up. When
it gets to around 100 knots, reduce power to about 2100 RPM. It’ll
continue accelerating, although less strongly now, and the RPM
will creep up again toward 2200.
Why does the RPM change all by itself? Because this air-
plane has a fixed-pitch propeller. Think of the blade like the
thread of a screw, pulling the airplane through the air. Obviously,
since the air has some “give” to it, the relationship between air-
speed and RPM isn’t totally locked in, but there’s still a very close
correlation - it’s as if we were driving a car that was always in the
same gear. We’ll play with this relationship a little more in just a
few moments.
STRAIGHT, LEVEL, STABILITY, AND TRIM
Sooner or later, everything should settle down: the airplane
will be flying straight ahead (wings level), neither climbing nor
descending (nose at the right distance below the horizon), and
the RPM and airspeed have stabilized around 2200 RPM and
105 to 110 knots. You’ll most likely find, however, that you have
to hold steady elevator pressure (most likely forward) to keep the
situation stable.
This is where the trim control comes in. Slowly actuate it in
the same direction you’re holding pressure until you can release
the pressure on the yoke or stick without the pitch attitude chang-
ing. The airplane is now “in trim,” and barring air turbulence, it
should fly straight and level with little or no input on your part.
Flight Instruction
Flight Instruction
“Torque”