It has been windy here, however, I did get in some flights at a nearby school yard.

I found the Curtiss Wright flew much like the original I used to see at the Salt Lake City Airport when I was a kid. The original didn't spend as much time on it's nose trying to ROG but I glued a skid on the nose that helped with that. The successful flights were all hand launched.

From : Don Stackhouse

Good to hear you have it flying!

A few things on the ROG's:

Make sure your C/G isn't too far forward. Check that your main wheels are not too far back (the rear part of the struts should be straight across when viewed from directly above), are aligned properly with each other, and roll freely. Also, bending the main gear struts downward for a little more ground clearance as well as making sure the tail skid is no taller than absolutely necessary may help. This increases the ground angle, which moves the C/G further aft relative to the wheels when the plane is in the 3-point attitude on the ground.

It will be much more difficult to ROG if the ground is rough. Try to find some really smooth asphalt or concrete at least until you get the hang of it. I have ROG'ed from Astro Turf and from a variety of both old and new asphalt and from concrete successfully, but the rougher the surface the better your technique must be. A smooth sheet of plywood or a sheet of Masonite also makes a fairly good runway. Two sheets taped together end-to-end with duct tape are even better. This is also something you can lay out on top of the grass in a back yard or at a park.

Hold full back stick until you get some airspeed, then ease the elevator off to just above neutral as you approach liftoff speed. Start the takeoff run as just a taxi into the wind with just part throttle, then increase throttle gradually once you have enough forward speed to give the plane some elevator authority.

Wind helps, as long as you take off into the wind, because it gives you more elevator authority at the beginning of the takeoff run to help hold the tail down. Crosswind and especially downwind takeoffs are, of course, a very bad idea, as with any model, but even more so with the Junior.

Good luck, and please keep in touch!

Don

Don Stackhouse
DJ Aerotech