Lt wing heavy

[McRay7ac]

I have been researching and reading post and My Taylorcraft when finely flying is Lt wing heavy, is the rear strut adjustment lower the left and
raise the Rt strut to get to get aircraft fly hands off level flight. Have to hold ailerons Rt and Rt rudder it really not that bad but I would like improvement level flight is good.

Ray

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Lt wing heavy

Not sure which wing is the "Lt" wing, but if you are holding RIGHT rudder and RIGHT aileron you need to turn the right aft strut out to bring the wings level (or the LEFT rear strut in). DO NOT turn either adjustment too far! Having the end fitting come out in flight could ruin your whole day! DO NOT adjust the left strut in so that there is wash in (less angle of attack at the root than the tip) or you could have some nasty stall departures (you DO NOT want the tip to stall before the root!)
You can also bend the trim tab on the rudder to the LEFT to trim in more right rudder. The rudder is much more powerful on a Taylorcraft than the aileron. I would start with the rudder if the ball isn't centered. You want to balance roll and yaw so the plane is trimmed for balanced flight at cruise.

Hank

[Scott]

Re: Lt wing heavy

The short answer is yes you can differentialy adjust the rear struts to correct a wing heavy problem. But... you need to check for a few things first:

Look for a cause, does the left wing have an accumulation of water, debris.

Is there an issue causing a yaw situation, like a damaged rudder spring, or wing/aileron issue causing asymmetric drag causing yaw, which leads to the wing heavy condition.

Is it a roll or yaw induced condition? To figure this out fly the aircraft with a piece of yarn taped to the upper windshield. This will help you fly straight in yaw. With the AC flying straight in yaw, is the wing still heavy? If so, and you've eliminated other causes, adjust the struts while remaining within the wing wash-out requirement.

[Edwin Otha]

Re: Lt wing heavy

Shorten the heavy wing. Like the others said, make sure the plane is flying straight. The leading wing, if flying crooked, will want to rise. Don't monkey around with half turns, move it 1/8" and fly it. When you get close start the fine, half turn adjustments.
EO

[N96337]

Re: Lt wing heavy

Check all the rigging on the aircraft first...I've seen quite a few tails that weren't square and ailerons that weren't adjusted correctly.
John

[flyguy]

Re: Lt wing heavy

Doesn't the strut end have a slot that prevents you from mounting the strut if it is cranked out too far? I'm pretty sure mine does. Will a piece of yarn or string work on a tractor aircraft for yaw check? Doesn't the propwash rotation mess that up?

If you spend a little time tightening up the left strut and tweaking the rudder trim eventually you will get it right. Lining everything up straight, as suggested, is a good way to start.
DC

[astjp2]

Re: Lt wing heavy

yokes level, ailerons should droop about 1/4-1/2" to take up for cable slack. Set washout to the factory 1 --5/16". Make sure up and down travel is the same for both ailerons. Just because the tcds says 23 degrees up doesn't mean that they will always go that exact amount, just make sure they are close to the 23 and the same. Then fly in the most commonly used configuration...IE number of people on board, fuel in wings or not, etc. Keeping the pedals with the ball in the center, take your hands off the yoke and see what wing is heavy, I do 1/2 turn on each aft strut, one up, the other down until it flies hands off wings level. If it flies a little left wing heavy without a passenger, you can fly it with a passenger to see if it flies wing level, if it does, then you maybe ok if you fly with passengers. My airplane, if I lean forward then it descends, lean back, climbs, hands off. lean left, banks left. Took 6 to 8 test flights in a square pattern for about 1~2 minute legs to get it there. Tim

[M Towsley]

Re: Lt wing heavy

Ray,

I have an issue where my right wing wants to rise first at takeoff and during flight, turn slightly left. This occurred literally overnight. I haven't a clue what happened. It has always been a hands-off straight flyer, with one or two people on-board. I found my strut adjusters are painted in place from over twenty years ago and cannot move them, so not sure what I am going to do but here is the link to my recent thread, maybe there is something else there for you.

http://vb.taylorcraft.org/showthread.php?11571-Suddenly-Out-Of-Trim&highlight=trim

[Guest]

Re: Lt wing heavy

Ray,

I have an issue where my right wing wants to rise first at takeoff and during flight, turn slightly left. This occurred literally overnight. I haven't a clue what happened. It has always been a hands-off straight flyer, with one or two people on-board. I found my strut adjusters are painted in place from over twenty years ago and cannot move them, so not sure what I am going to do but here is the link to my recent thread, maybe there is something else there for you.

http://vb.taylorcraft.org/showthread...highlight=trim

Hi Marty,

When I had that problem I applied torch heat and it loosened up.

Drop the end of the strut clear of the wing and heat, worked for me.

Dave

[M Towsley]

Re: Lt wing heavy

Thanks Dave, good idea.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Lt wing heavy

Marty, take a look at teh rubber thrust washers on your engine mount. Sudden changes at low speed and high AoA (like when taking off) can be from one of the rubber cones starting to fail and changing the thrust line.

Another thing to check before the next flight is for cracks in the spar. This one is the scary one because it is rare and really dangerous. On pre-flight grab the wing tips and gently twist the wing listening for popping sounds. GENTLY! If you hear any popping, especially from the root (have Tina listen at the bands) pull the bands off and inspect the spars for splits. We had a plane with an aft spar split that was almost uncontrollable! He was lucky to get her back on the ground when the split opened up at the root. He had tapped teh hangar door edge and didn't even break the tip light, but that is a LONG moment arm to the spar attach and it split through the bolts. Never saw it before or after, but ANYTIME I hit the wing tip I carefully inspect now.

Hank

Of course you guys know I like inspecting my plane almost more than flying it.

Ray,

I have an issue where my right wing wants to rise first at takeoff and during flight, turn slightly left. This occurred literally overnight. I haven't a clue what happened. It has always been a hands-off straight flyer, with one or two people on-board. I found my strut adjusters are painted in place from over twenty years ago and cannot move them, so not sure what I am going to do but here is the link to my recent thread, maybe there is something else there for you.

http://vb.taylorcraft.org/showthread...highlight=trim

[N96337]

Re: Lt wing heavy

Another thing to check before the next flight is for cracks in the spar. We had a plane with an aft spar split that was almost uncontrollable! He was lucky to get her back on the ground when the split opened up at the root.

Hank

Mine was the old hyde glue failing in the many pieces of spar that were glued together at the factory. Went up and stalled it, and the guy with me (who has owned his Tcraft since '47) was wide eyed! I'd told him it was a little squirrely at the stall...now he believed me. We couldn't really see what was going on until I pulled the fabric.
John