aircraft pulls to Left

[McRay7ac]

what adj do I need on rear strut I have written down some were unable to find it , is left strut out and right down or right strut out left down adjustment for pulling to left or when I had the struts inspected they were installed backwards, I think the first thing I will swap them around. and see any change. any ideals thanks

[3Dreaming]

Lengthening the strut decreases lift on the wing, and shortening it increases lift.

[Hank Jarrett]

To get a plane in rig you need to look at more than washout (twisting the wings by adjusting rear strut length). There is a whole process to rigging a plane. If you take the twist out of the wing and the real problem is the rudder is adjusted wrong you could cause dangerous stall problems. BOTH wings trailing edges should be up compared to the root (NEVER DOWN!!!) to insure a stall starts at the FUSELAGE end of the wings.
The first thing to check is how much twist is in each wing by leveling the fuselage (measured on the horizontal stab) and then remeasuring the existing twist on both sides at the location on the drawing. ON BOTH SIDES. If both sides are the same then you adjust the rudder tab to get the plane to fly straight. Next, once the plane flys straight, you do a careful and GENTLE stall and see which wing drops. The plane "should" stall straight ahead, most don't at this point. BE READY for a wing drop! You then adjust the strut of the wing on the high side from the stall by turning the adjusting screw out a turn and fly again, adjusting the rudder again to get her flying straight. You keep doing this till the plane flys straight and stalls straight ahead or seems to go one way or the other at random (this means you are probably making rudder pedal inputs).
When you do the stalls BE CAREFUL and be prepared to apply spin recovery inputs in case your plane is REALLY out of rig! If your plane is WAY OUT of rig and has been corrected with the wrong adjustments this process can be DANGEROUS! Sudden wing stalls from mis-rigged wings can lead to unrecoverable spins.

[McRay7ac]

thanks Hank for info I thank I had to do this when I first bought the Taylorcraft

[3Dreaming]

Hank, I know that the horizontal is the leveling means. It is called out in the TCDS and the manual. Where do you find the documentation that it is parallel to the thrust line?

[Hank Jarrett]

Most planes the thrust line is NOT parallel to the horizontal datum. I never measured on my planes because there is no way to adjust it after the factory locks it in when welding the fuselage up. Other planes I HAVE looked at often had a slight down thrust and often some right thrust but I never had any documentation to see if it was off. Down and right thrust are often added to correct for pitch and yaw changes with sudden throttle changes. With only 65 HP I doubt it is a big deal on our planes.

[waltermrich]

That is very use information , Thanks

[braol]

Am I correct in assuming that the only way to adjust the rigging of the tail is when the horiz and vert stabs are attached prior to covering? How much adjustment IS there that can be done in the tail? Did the original assembly jigs for the fuselage include jigging for the tail assembly? I ask because I am ALSO assuming that all planes were essentially built the same and that final rigging based upon actual flight performance was done with the wing adjustments...although I am curious about the fact that there was no accomodation for a rigid rudder trim tab of some sort that I have seen on any Taylorcraft before, unless it was put on by an intrepid owner at some future point.

[3Dreaming]

The only adjustment for the tail is with the wires to get everything at 90? angles, and the horizontal hinges lined up across both horizontals. Beyond that the only other adjustment is for control throws. There is a factory drawing for the rudder trim tab, and there very well could be hole drilled in the rudder for one. You can also adjust the spring tension on the rudder return springs ahead of the rudder pedals.

[Robert Lees]

Am I correct in assuming that the only way to adjust the rigging of the tail is when the horiz and vert stabs are attached prior to covering? .

No, unfortunately you are not correct. 3Dreaming explains it quite well. If the fuselage is covered rightly, all the adjustment of the tail surfaces can be carried out with the tail brace wires (and there is very little adjustment required actually).

Rudder trim tabs require a separate discussion, in my opinion.
Rob

[Hank Jarrett]

You don't adjust the horizontal stab angles or positions because the rest of the plane is aligned to the stab, not the other way around. LEVEL in pitch is defined by the stab attach points being level. Everything in the pitch plane is measured from the stab. A rudder tab was factory equipment but I have seen MANY panes (including both of mine when I bought them) where the rudder tabs were taken off. When the fabric was taken off on both of my planes and every rudder I have had there were always screw holes for the tabs.

[mikeg]

We talking yaw or roll? As I remember, Piper allows you to "twist" the fin slightly on the Tri-Pacer to correct a yaw problem.
Mike

[Hank Jarrett]

Never seen anything that would allow you to twist a Taylorcraft fin and I wouldn't suggest trying it. Yaw is controlled by the rudder and is adjusted with the rudder tab. Roll is controlled by the ailerons and is trim adjusted with changes to the washout on one wing by adjusting the aft strut length. NEVER take all of the twist (wash out) out of a wing! A "flat" wing could result in vicious stall spin characteristics. The angle of incidence of the root of the wings should always be slightly higher than at the ailerons so the root stalls first.

[Scott]

Steps to get your taylorcraft to fly straight in cruise:

1. On the ground, make sure your slip indicator is centered when the wings are level (around the londitudinal axis ie side to side)

2. Decide what power setting your going to use in cruise (higher the power setting the more the aircraft will yaw to the left)

3. Two people or solo? Fuel in aux tank(s) or not?

4. fly the airplane in calm air at the altitude you'll do most of your flying. Use your feet to center the ball on whatever slip indicator you leveled in step one, keep the wings level with ailerons. Hold the pedal a d wheel pressures in the positions that result in straight and level. Note which rudder pedal requires pressure and which wing is "heavy"

5. Back on the ground, put a link from a tailwheel chain on the rudder pedal spring of the pedal that didn't need pressure for zero yaw. Or shorten the spring on the pedal that needed pressure

6. Shorten the rear strut of the heavy wing one turn.

7. Repeat step 4.

8. Repeat steps 5 and 6 only this time, (if your first adjustments were not enough) adjust the opposite pedal and wing (to what you did the first time) by half the amount. If you went too far with the first adjustments, just back those off by half.

Important: make sure there is tension on the ruder pedal springs through the full range of motion left and right. It should not be possible for a spring to become disconnected.

There are no shortcuts, its a trial and error process, but you should end up with a Taylorcraft that flies straight and level at your chosen load and power setting.

Of course as pilots we all know that increased power, by throttle or engine upgrade, produces more left yaw at a given airspeed. Decrease power, yaw to the right. Yaw to the left encourages left wing heavy and vice-versa. Higher airspeed requires less right rudder and vice-versa.
most other flight parameters, weight, cofg, altitude, etc. will also have an impact.

Oh, and of if you're aircraft has a British engine the power-yaw relationship is reversed

[Robert Lees]

The original Taylorcraft B model fin offset was designed for the 50hp Continental and Lycoming and Franklin meagre horsepower (and lower cruise speed...that's the issue; much lower than the later 65hp models).
I don't know if the fin offset was increased at a later date.

I know that when my 1946 BC-12D had its original A-65, a very small amount of right rudder was required during cruise flight at all times. When I upgraded to a C-85, I had to add a balsawood spoiler to the rudder (I don't like trim tabs) to ensure it flew straight.

Hey Scott, if I added a Bristol Centaurus, the power-yaw relationship would be the same as the American engines, but I'd be corkscrewed 300 feet into the ground before I worked it out!

Rob