Tiger short field performance

[poadeleted3]

I'm going to take back some of what I've written regarding the take off distances of Tigers. This weekend I put to use some of what I've learned from folks like Anthony and Ron Levy from these boards, as well as from talking with a pilot here at work, about flying the planes. Mostly about the need for a much more positive rotation than I'm used to in Skyhawks, and about how much braking is or isn't needed at the beginning of the takeoff roll.

In the Skyhawk, I just apply a little back pressure on the yoke around 55 kts, and the plane will fly off quite happily around 60-65 kts. Doing the same thing in a Tiger will result in the plane quite happily trundling along till you hit 70 or 75 kts. OTOH, if you give a distinct pull and actually get the nose up a bit at 55, it'll break ground quite nicely, and in a noticeably shorter distance.

Last time I flew the Tiger, I was using the right brake from the time I rolled in power until I hit 20 or 30 kts. This time, I tried using just rudder from the get go, and that worked well for the morning flight. Didn't work so well when I left Wings in the afternoon with a good deal more wind, but a couple quick stabs until rudder became effective worked just fine, instead of riding the brakes as much as I did last time around. No doubt, it's easier on the FBO's budget also. I don't know how much runway I actually used leaving Wings, but I doubt it was near half of it before I broke ground, and I intentionally let the speed build a bit before lifting off.

It's not the short field bird a Skyhawk is, but I'm confident now that with a bit more work I'd be willing to use a 2000 foot field at the lower elevations around here, assuming a lack of obstructions, or even a couple shorter ones like Andover, NJ. 2000 feet isn't even a sweat in a Skyhawk, but short fields aren't really what the Tiger was built for. If I can get happy with 2000 ft, I'll like the Tiger even more.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

Do Tigers need the braking until rudder gains authority by airspeed?

 

[Anthony]

Do Tigers need the braking until rudder gains authority by airspeed?

No, it does not need rudder if you use the technique of lining up with the nose of the plane pointed a bit right of centerline. By the time the plane is heading left of centerline due to torque, the speed is fast enough to allow the rudder to have authority. Use enough rudder and no braking is needed.

Joe. It sounds like you are getting more familiar with the Tiger and its performance capabilities. If I'm flying in and OUT OF a field in the low 2,000 ft. range, like Hummel, VA at 2,200 ft, I will go with fuel to the tabs and not load the plane to gross, to give me a safety margin. I've always have had plenty of room to spare at Hummel using that procedure.

 

[poadeleted3]

Do Tigers need the braking until rudder gains authority by airspeed?

I tried not using braking at Wings in the afternoon, but it was a little windy. I'd lined up with the nose off the centerline, but still ended up headed left a bit more than I'd like. Only took a couple of quick stabs to keep it where I wanted before I had enough rudder authority. During my morning flights with lighter winds, I didn't need them at all. I may or may not have needed to actually use the brakes leaving Wings, but I'm still not familiar enough with the plane to be taking chances.

 

[poadeleted20]

Do Tigers need the braking until rudder gains authority by airspeed?

Yes, but...

First, it only takes 15-20 knots over the rudder to be effective, and you get a bunch of that just from the propwash, so you have adequate rudder authority very quickly.

Second, you can dramatically reduce the initial need for right brake (due to the left-turning tendencies or torque, etc) by lining up with the nose pointed about 5 degrees right of the runway heading. The nose will pull left as you start rolling, but the rudder will become effective about the time the nose reaches straight down the runway.