Q2 too hard to handle

Hi, what's the trick in learning to take off in the Q2. I don't seem to be able to keep it straight on the runway and am a bit worried when the time comes to land also. I have experience in C172, C182 and Citabrias. I have only recently purchased this plane have been practising higher speed taxiing. Duane Port Pirie South Australia

Hi Dan, thanks for the prompt response. I've been out and checked the alignment. Unladen, you can see the other axle although it is high in the view. With 2 fat buggers in it you are looking at the ground through the axles. So it would seem the wheels are aligned except for leaning slightly inwards when viewed from the front of the plane. I have tried to find the jim-bob six pack but there are a mountain of newsletters. Any idea which issue? Thanks, Duane

My first post to any blog. I am just finishing up my Q200 after purchasing it back from one I sold it to a while back. I am a little nervous about flying it again since it has been so long but I am sure I will figure it out. A few things that I found helped in the ground handling of the airplane is time in another tail dragger to learn how to stay ahead of what is going on. Remember to make only enough correction to stop you from going the wrong way and work your way back to the centerline slowly. Trying to correct to quickly will result in a side skid. Besides the toe out or your tire alignment, it is really important to use the soft tire and not the tire that came with the plane. I used the one that came off of the Glasair TD which is fatter and softer. Another important part is the pivot at the tail wheel fork. The stock pivot is perpendicular to the tail spring and that is wrong as it falls over when you turn and besides putting a twist load on the spring, it also makes it more difficult to straighten it back up. I took the pivot, cut half the angle I needed, turned the one half over and welded it back on. The pivot needs to be roughly perpendicular to the ground if not slightly top forward which is centering. Mine is just about perpendicular. This makes a big difference in handling. The problem is the speed at which the rudder becomes effective and the speed at which the original tire would skid. You can also set your rudder with a slight offset to help with the p-factor and torque of the engine. This gives you a slight angle with your tail wheel at cruise but not enough to hurt your speed and not enough to cause a problem on landing. One more thing is the ground angle of attack. This is more about the landing than the take off but too much angle makes it tougher to see on take off and also tougher to get a three point landing, unless you have a reflexor like most have. I flew one Q2 that had the canard built with lots more anhedral and we had to re-position the tail spring to get his ground angle of attack correct. I cannot remember the angle that you need but I always check with a angle finder just behind the cowling and 4 degrees rings a bell but I could be wrong so don't use that number. I can find it out if you want it or you can measure one that is correct. Once you get all of these things correct you will be able to fly places and land in crosswinds that might seem impossible now. Thats all I can think of right now but if I think of something else I will let you know. I am sure this stuff has been gone over before. I had about 700 hours in my Q2 then Q200 before I sold it. Scott

Thanks Scott,
I'm after all the advice I can get. Yes, I am sure it has all been gone over before but I am new to all this and sifting through all the old archives would take ages. I spoke to the previous owner and he claims the wheel alignment is fine just like it is. He had no trouble with flying it. I have found that one brake disc may be slightly warped as it drags in one spot even just turning it by hand. I will check it with a dial indicator. As I didn't build the plane, our rules state that I must get a LAME to maintain it so I am very limited as to what I can do. He is also 400km away so things will be happening slowly. In the meantime, I plan to get some hours in a dragonfly as there are no quickies even in my state.