58 ModelAirplaneNews.com
LAYING THE GROUNDWORK
All good pilots control where the airplane is going
instead of letting it go wherever it wants, so you
need to determine a ground reference on the horizon
in line with your runway centerline. Th e goal is to
climb out toward that reference in order to maintain
the centerline and, thus, facilitate an easy entry into
a familiar pattern (Figure 1). Th ose who neglect to
maintain the runway centerline during the climbout
will set a sloppy precedent for the fl ight and their
workload will be higher when they have to bring the
airplane back from where they didn’t intend it to be.
Most people know that takeoff s are generally
performed into the wind. What many pilots neglect
is the importance of holding in a little up-elevator
throughout the takeoff ground roll. Holding in someelevator will prevent a tail-dragger from becoming
top heavy and tipping onto its nose/prop. You can
also unload (take weight off ) the nose gear and,
thus, reduce its sensitivity and the potential for
overcontrolling. Th e elevator will, of course, also help
pull the airplane up off the ground when it reaches
fl ying speed.
Smoothly advancing the throttle to full power
at the start of the takeoff roll is another key
component of easier, straighter takeoff s. Th at’s
because accelerating to full throttle right away gets
more air traveling over the tail sooner, which helps
hold the plane straighter and provides better rudder
control. Th ose who slowly advance the throttle will
have a more diffi cult time keeping the plane straight
due to a lack of airfl ow over the tail and poor rudderMASTERING THE TAKEOFF
Secrets to successfully getting airborne every time
Rather than rehashing an ideal takeoff scenario, the goals of this article are
to explain the reasons why certain pilots routinely perform perfect takeoffs regardless
of the type of airplane they fly and, at the same time, provide fliers with the simple
solutions to avoid several common takeoff mistakes. The takeoff procedures outlined
in this article are standard and apply to all aircraft, whether they are high- or low-
performance planes, have tricycle gear, or are tail-draggers. Anyone who has been
making the mistake of using different takeoff techniques with different airplanes will
find that takeoffs are much easier using standard procedures.
TEXT & ILLUSTRATIONS BY DAVID SCOTT
FLIGHT TECHNIQUE