AA Senior.....update

Well...... the AAS flew three times today! Actually 2 1/2 times.....
On the first flight, I ended up flying the complete OTS pattern except fo the c/d and wingover.
2nd flight was complete pattern except for square rectangle.
Both flights began with me looking at a 3/4 frontal shot of the plane on take off!! It really does turn at you. From advice here, I didn't panic and maintained control with some whipping and a few steps back.
Felt good in the air, but the outside w/t was a touch up both ways.

Aaron took the handle and the plane did make about 1/4 lap, and reached an altitude of maybe 4 feet!
Busted prop and bent up gear, but amazingly no other damage. His first words were, "I never had one do that before!"

Now, if I can come up with some cures for take off...........
Bill <><

P.S. The left hand crank sounds like a good idea, but does it effectively help the take off?
In the air, the plane behaves real nicely!

One thing I found out that works for me.......Tighten the outside wheel more then the inside.....works for me and It takes off just right. AND lands better. If you do it much you will chip props on take off.

Had two AA seniors and no huge take off problems with 3/4 or so oz tip weight plus you have to sweep it off the ground with tight lines, a forward motion with your arm and body and a slight tightening move back as the plane is released.
Pretty much like taking off a rat racer if you ever did that sort of thing. Without proper technique, they would just roll up the lines at you.
As I was learning this at one time with my first AA, I did have it threaten to come into the circle. Backed up, caught it, was real happy until it hit a tree on the other side of the rather tight circle.

Bill,

That souns very familar, mine does the same thing. Flies great, but you better be ready to move on take off.....makes it exciting though, right?

>Had two AA seniors and no huge take off problems with 3/4 or
>so oz tip weight plus you have to sweep it off the ground
>with tight lines, a forward motion with your arm and body
>and a slight tightening move back as the plane is released.
>Pretty much like taking off a rat racer if you ever did that
>sort of thing. Without proper technique, they would just
>roll up the lines at you.
>As I was learning this at one time with my first AA, I did
>have it threaten to come into the circle. Backed up, caught
>it, was real happy until it hit a tree on the other side of
>the rather tight circle.

Hi Jim,
How about all of the above plus about 5 running steps back? That's what I had to do in the first 1/4 lap on both my take offs. 2nd one wasn't quite as bad, I only ran a couple steps and let it get itself out on the lines. Glad it wasn't very windy. Having had to "bail out" many times in my youth, it didn't affect me as much as it did Aaron. He didn't make it.
It does fly real well once it's up.
Got the LG straightened back out, and it should be ready to go again.
Bill <><

Yahoooo,,,Now that I almost have my AAS finished, I can hardly wait for the first take off. I put a weight box in the outboard tip, just in case. I like the comparison to a rat racer take off. Now if only I can remember what that was like 30 years ago.
Lee TGD:7

Hi Bill I have built over 30 All American Sr, All American's and a variation based on the All American Sr's since the 1952. This was the hot plane to fly in sport and contests till 1957 in Binghamton NY where I grew up. None of mine came in at me until my last one that I built last year. None of my AAsr's had the lead outs done as per the plans.Here is how I did the lead outs. I left the back lead out as on plans and put the front lead out one inch in front of it not three inches as on the plans.I did use a small amount of wingtip weight in all of these planes as did Hall De Bolt.He used enough so the plane balanced but did not drop the wing tip. The plane I built last year had the lead outs one inch apart but they were centered between the plans setting.This plane had the inboard wing shortened as we did to all of them in the 50's but it came in at me a very little on take off.I crashed it a week befor Brodak this year and had to build the three day Viking. Well the Viking was trashed after last week in Atlanta.I have built a new Body for the All American Sr and I moved the lead outs back to the position that has worked for so many years. I hope to have it done for Saturday at Hunterville.
Ed

>P.S. The left hand crank sounds like a good idea, but does
>it effectively help the take off?

Hi Bill...YES Bill...YES Bill..YES Bill....

Hi Tony,
I will be ordering a clockwise crank from Fox.
Thanks!
Bill <><

Bill,

Why the LH crank helps takeoff is torque reaction. With normal prop and flight direction, at takeoff the prop is pretty much 'stalled' and puts a greater torque load into the mounts -- in the Inboard Wing Down direction.

Ever rev a '50s muscle car? Whole beast twists from the torque changes, right?

Unless you have an unrun engine to convert, you will probably wind up with a bit looser engine after conversion. You'll 'disturb' the alignment of the piston/sleeve fits to get the RH shaft out, and the LH shaft in. Most often made too much of, but it remains a factor. Remember you only need to re-establish piston/sleeve fits with a few short, easy runs.

What deserves a bit of care is the shaft main and rod bearings. They're mostly 'formed' in the non-ferrous pieces - bronze main brg and aluminum rod big end. I'd still do a first (preferably) bench run so rich the plug lead needs to stay on. Give this about a minute, or, if exhaust oil is at all grey, until it comes clear.

Since the LH shaft reverses the load pattern on the main bearing, next I'd work up on much smaller props (4-cycling)to RPM higher than you'll use in flight. This may only need four or five runs to sneak up to, if the oil stays clear. Example: a well-broken-in Fox Stunt should 4-cycle on a low-pitch 8" prop around 12,500 to 13,000 RPM. You'll never need that RPM in the air, so a couple of minutes, total, at 11 to 12k should be plenty.

As with most else, when benching, pinch the line for a clean, quick dry shutoff and let the engine cool completely to touch between short runs. Each run should be just enough for the engine to reach full temperature and stabilize. ...One to three minutes.

Hi Lou,
Thanks for the info.
The engine in question is a low time engine, with very good fits right now so I believe it will survive the swap in good shape. I will take the re-break in precautions you advise.
Bill <><