Red Bull Corsair

[T.J]

I have the new Red Bull Corsair. having trouble taking off from grass. It noses over with full up elevator. Any ideas .

[xviper]

A friend at one of my fields has this plane and he had this very same problem with his in the beginning. Between us, we've figured out a way these nose overs can be almost eliminated.
1. Use high rates on the ELE and hold UP to get going but be ready to back off once the plane begins to roll well and lift.
2. Get the prop spinning quickly so the prop wash works on the ELE to keep the tail down and to get the wheels rolling.
3. You want to get the plane up to flying speed as quickly as possible as the longer you roll on the grass, the more likely it'll dig its wheel into the grass. Perhaps 1/2 flaps will help lift off.
4. Keep a little UP ELE (so there is less tendency to drop the nose on the roll) and a bit of right AIL (to control the natural tendency for the plane to torque roll left during the initial take off). Be ready to back off on both ELE and AIL if necessary once the plane is flying.
5. Get some altitude, keep the throttle up and once you are at a safe altitude, raise wheels and flaps. Fly and trim.
Also note: His Red Bull has a high tendency to "weather vane". Try to take off directly into the wind. Any slight cross wind and it could become very hard to keep the plane straight on the take off run. My friend was using full rudder to fight the weather vaning and it did nothing. It's a somewhat short plane and very light on the tail.
Landing can also be problematic as the ground speed decreases. The wheels will dig in again and it'll nose over. (Be on the ready to shut throttle down so you don't break a blade if it noses over.) In this event, be prepared to keep some throttle, use UP ELE till it's stopped. If you are trying to taxi it back to the pits, don't stop. Keep it rolling as best you can with full UP ELE (on high rates). Or just stop where it wants to and go out and pick it up.
Tail draggers on grass is always a challenge.

[T.J]

xviper2 Thanks for the info. Will keep you informed.
TJ

[wrongroad]

G'day TJ,
I have put a note on the other thread as well, but Viper has it covered nicely:D as always!

The only difference is that I use right rudder instead of aileron to counter the torque roll effect.
The Corsair has a big tail assembly and will weather cock as Viper said.
Getting the tail up quickly will help prevent the Corsair from getting off the ground, because of the high alpha of the wing due to the longer landing gear legs, before she has airspeed to fly.
Use full throttle but get there in a steady motion and massage the rudder to keep straight. Do not try to fly until full speed is reached or she might well roll left and put her nose down and the rest is not pretty...do you know how I know????:rolleyes:
All my ideas and tips are from hard won [or lost] experience and I will not give advice that I have not tried and tested.
Let us know how you get on with these ideas.
Regards and respect
Daryl

[xviper]

All my ideas and tips are from hard won [or lost] experience and I will not give advice that I have not tried and tested.
Let us know how you get on with these ideas.

Advice given from personal experience is worth its weight in whatever currency you like. We learn from our own mistakes but that's not to say we can't learn from other peoples'.

[wrongroad]

G'day Viper,
I must say that I much prefer to learn by mistakes that others make....it is so much cheaper that way:cool:
I sit back and watch a lot of flying and often travel as far as 1000 kilometres round trip just to watch and learn and to be sometimes surprised at how little some pilots of big models actually know.
I try to give back what I have been given and I have have been given plenty from this hobby. I do not think that there is a greater bunch of people then who are in this hobby.
I have been gifted so many things by other pilots and I like to think that I am returning those favours by helping others as best I can.
My gift is to give good sound advice at all times.
Regards and respect as always
Daryl

[T.J]

Hey Guys,
An update on my Corsair. I had one of my club members hold the tail and applied 75% throttle. At my command he let go, the plane tracked down the runway and gave a nice controlled take off. The landing was all most perfect, it rolled over on its nose as speed was lost. No damage. Our field is grass and rough. Need to find a way to get lots of up elevator. Once in the air it flies great. No pitch when flaps are deployed. Really like this plane.
Thanks for all your inputs,
TJ