Microlighters

I have just un der 170 hours and had three trikes in the last 3 years. A hornet, then a windlass and now an Aquilla 2. In all the trikes I found that it is more difficult for me to turn left then right. In fact it is more uncomfortable for me to do it and i find myself flying in such a way that I would rather turn right then left. This long weekend the weather here in the Vaal Triangle was perfect and I flew nearly 9 hours between Thursday afternoon and Sunday afternoon. Did some fancy flying over the vaaldam and again realise that I actually have to consentrate when turning left , but turning right is effortless. I flew straight and level, took my hands of the bar and the trike flew straight for about 45 seconds before very,very slowly turning to the right. That makes me think that it is not the wing as the trike is perfectly trimmed. I can easily do a steep turn to my right , but to my left I turn in "phases" as it feels like the wing wants to dip.

Does anybode else have the same experience? Is it because I am right handed. Surely not all three my trikes could have the same caracteristics when it comes to turning.

... sorry, couldnt help but have a chuckle as what you have described above is exactly the same "problem" I have as well. You are definately not alone Boom. I have heard this said by many pilots and it is certainly not limited to weight shift either.

My turns to the right are much easier and more balanced than any turn I do to the left.... the reason... not too sure myself but I do have a theory.

I am right handed, and I believe that the reason my turns to the right are better is that Im "leading" with my stronger arm? The wing on my Aquilla is also trimmed perfectly and in hands off conditions she flies straight as well. I may be way off on my explanation but everyone I have spoken to who experiences this turns better in the direction of their "stronger arm"?

Spoke to my Instructor about it the other day and of course the answer was "You're doin it wrong! Practice practice practice!"

Would love to hear the other opinions....

Hi
I am not 100% sure but when turning left, you turn against the torque of the motor. It will have an effect.

Air Hog wrote:Hi
I am not 100% sure but when turning left, you turn against the torque of the motor. It will have an effect.

This makes sense....

It could be the gyroscopic effect of the propeller? The instructors should know this one. The direction of turn of the propeller will determine to which side the aircraft will turn more difficult. Increase in power will aggravate the problem. I hope this helps.
Koenie

Did you train on a right hand circuit?

Jim Davies in Practical Book about flying:" Torque is the force that try to roll the aircraft in the opposite direction to the rotation of the propellor."
If your propellor turn clockwise as seen from cockpit then the torque will try to roll the aircraft to the left.

A friend had a dog which was hit by a car.Afterwards the dog would never turn left, did these elaborate routes around the garden to align it with the backdoor.

Any of you blokes perhaps fell out of a cot?

gertcoetzee wrote:A friend had a dog which was hit by a car.Afterwards the dog would never turn left, did these elaborate routes around the garden to align it with the backdoor.

Any of you blokes perhaps fell out of a cot?

Perhaps this why I water the garden in a clockwise pattern too?

Bundy wrote:

Perhaps this why I water the garden in a clockwise pattern too? [/quote]
You lift your Right leg then do you?

It is definately the force of the Prop pushing you in a certain direction. Yes the instructors on the forum should be able to elaborate.

Blue Max wrote:
Jim Davies in Practical Book about flying:" Torque is the force that try to roll the aircraft in the opposite direction to the rotation of the propellor."
If your propellor turn clockwise as seen from cockpit then the torque will try to roll the aircraft to the left.

Perfectly Spot on

Boomarang and Bundy.
Do the same turns with throttle off. See what happens. If the result is still the same, then live with it. You arn't doing anything wrong.
Vernon.

You guys are hilarious. Thanks for the great spirit. Always enjoy reading your comments. Gerrit Coetzee, dit sal ook net ñ mediese spesialis wees wat met ñ 'uit die cot geval' opmerking vorendag kom!!

While I agree with Gert that it probably has more to do with falling out of the cot as a baby, I suspect we can justify it with the same reason a Gyro 'prefers' turning one way than the other - also applies to Trikes.

Got the same “problem” At first I thought that it was because I trained mainly on a left hand circuit, but later found out that this was not the case.
Standing behind my trike the prop movement was to the right (clockwise) This resulted in a definite reaction to the left while flying. It was much easier to bank to port than starboard.