Clockwise rotation

Stuka Stunt Main Forum · 5 of 5 known posts recovered

vernon levy · Oct 08, 2001 06:22 PM

Last week I spend several days pondering over the plans of Mercury Magnette, a UK C/L plane from the 50/60s thinking about why the draughtsman had managed to draw the rudder offset the wrong way round and then compounded the error by showing the same wrong offset in a 3-D sketch of the fuselage construction.

It must have been the 20th or so inspection of the plans before I realised that the plane was designed for clockwise rotation, something that I had not encountered on a UK plan before. I do have a GMA drawn Nobler plan but he seemed to be one of the few exceptions to the rule for counter clockwise rotation.

Who else designed around a clockwise rotation? When did counter-clockwise become the predominant rotation direction for kits?

Is there any difference in the flying behaviour of a plane when flown in the opposite direction with a suitably modified rudder?

Curiously yours

Vernon Levy

The Kiwi · Oct 08, 2001 07:51 PM

#1 source

LAST EDITED ON Oct-08-01 AT 09:43 PM (CDT)

Torque works FOR the plane and pilot in the clockwise direction, so need for much tip weight as well as any occasional need for engine offset are lessened when flying that direction. The only serious problem lies in the poor field of view over a pilot's right shoulder. The only times I've ever run into anything that blundered into the circle have been while inverted (a large dog once, and a very senile old man the other time - neither of which were actually harmed, unlike my planes' fates).

In the earliest days of C-L, engines tended to be low on power & anything to help a plane fly was welcome, so a lot of modellers and designs flew clockwise (corrected original mis-statement that disagreed with the rest of the paragraph!) The percentage may have been as high as 25-30%. The advent of glow engines and their much more dependable and greater power made the value of engine torque for flight trim less important. By 1950 or so in the USA, counterclockwise flight dominated by at least 50 to 1 (98%) and clockwise flight was losing out rapidly.

Kiwi

Jim T. · Oct 08, 2001 11:28 PM

#2 source

I learned to fly clockwise back in the 50's. I flew a little combat (2 or 3 matches) in the mid-50's, and counterclockwise flight was required, so I learned to fly counterclockwise with the handle upside down. In the USA, as I recall, B team race was the first formal racing event and counterclockwise flight was required. It makes more sense to fly clockwise, so I don't know why counterclockwise came to predominate. But I think it became the norm in the 50's with the initiation of combat, racing and carrier. That doesn't answer the basic question, of course.

Jim Thomerson

Ty M. · Oct 09, 2001 03:08 AM

#3 source

When I first built the "Hotter N That", I had to reverse everything because the plans were set up for clockwise flying. The Jim Walker Fireball I had was also set up for clockwise flying. In fact I believe Jim flew all his planes clockwise as he was left handed. I only saw him fly once, in my home town, in the 50s' and he had three planes going at once. He gave away three planes that day, by buddy got one and I got the other. I don't remember who got the third. It seems by the late 50's very few plans showed clockwise flying except for a few pure speed planes. Then they got reverse rotation crankshafts and that ended that.

gcb · Oct 09, 2001 06:44 AM

#4 source

Along with having the controls come out of the correct wing, don't forget that many designs had a longer inboard wing so you would need less tip weight. Wouldn't want to overlook that change.
I bought a Top Flite Peacemaker at a club auction one time only to find that the guy who started building it had built the long wing outboard. That was fun to correct!
George