Nose dives w/factory landing gear

[parrothead]

Whats' the general consensus for bending factory landing gear forward to reduce nose dives while taxi-ing? Maybe I have not bent them enough- stills wants to nose dive under very light throttle while taxi-ing on ground?

[jbess]

Don't bend it so much forward you prop strike! Just use even less throttle. Once the plane is moving, it doesn't take much to keep momentum.

[Dillzio]

With the gear in the same shape as if it's new, you should have no trouble taxiing without nosing-over, at least not on a smooth surface. The only thing that makes it nose over is if the wheels can't spin freely. This may be because:
-Your nuts holding the wheel on are too tight
-Wheels not pointing straight forwards
-Wheels are rubbing against the landing gear struts

Make sure the wheels can spin freely, and add a little lube to where the wheel rubs on the shaft, and make sure the nuts aren't done up too tight. It's also quite common to trim about 5mm off the bottom of your struts so they can't rub the wheels. You shouldn't have to bend the "factory" landing gear at all, if you bend it such that both wheels don't face forwards it will act like a brake. An easy way to test it is to get the plane on a smooth, flat surface, and push it along for a couple of meters to make sure it can roll easily. If it doesn't roll easily, then that's the cause of your nose overs.

Oh, and please, don't use the term "nose-dive" for a plane that's not airborne, you confused the crap out of me!

[jbess]

I just watched this video the other day, and it applies to the topic.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuE2cW8NMx8

[parrothead]

Thanks guys. I would be fairly proud of that last plane landing considering a few of my mine.
I have had a few ( several) landings I had to reshape the landing gear. Once I straightened them out, seemed okay visually. Plane rolls smoothly without any kind of binding. A bit of "toe-out" on each wheel. gear wires look straight viewing from the wheel hubs to the end that recesses into the fuse. Could I have jammed the motor (crash) into a angle that would cause this? Lead finger?

Dillzio: Nose-"over" ?

[Dillzio]

Feb 26, 2010 1:28:35 GMT 1 parrothead said:

Dillzio: Nose-"over" ?

"Nose over" is the term used to describe a plane that has it's nose bury itself into the ground on take-off or landing. A "nose dive" is when an airborne plane goes into a steep dive.

It's OK though, I got what you meant

[parrothead]

Makes sense. Thanks. I guess I'm a little heavy on the throttle while on the ground

[Dillzio]

Whenever I give mine throttle while on the ground, I pull up a bit. This lifts the elevator, and forces the tail down to prevent the nose-over. Your problem isn't at all uncommon, particularly when taking off from a rough surface.

[greedyg76]

UP elevator whilst taxiing

[propwash]

Actually I figured out a little trick for takeoffs on rough surfaces and it's worked like a charm.

My "airport" is an unused football field, it's trimmed but full of ruts. The trick I discovered is to give it a blip of FULL throttle, enough the get the wheels moving and overcome any irregularities in the surface. Once you get minimal speed, you can come back on the throttle, and then power up again for takeoff. And all the time keep the stick pulled back to dig the tail in the ground and keep the nose up. Try it, it will work.

[charliebrown]

I second what Dillzio, greedyg76 and propwash said. Works for me.