My C172 wants to be in NASCAR

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JIH
Airman Basic
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Joined: 26 Mar 2018, 02:11

My C172 wants to be in NASCAR

Post by JIH »

Finally learned enough to keep my A2A 172 in the air with some great help from others here on the forum. I still have a very annoying problem that I hope someone can help with. My 172 was built for NASCAR and wants to turn left all the time. It takes about 10 degrees of right yoke to fly level. During takeoff roll the right wing comes up right at the point I usually rotate to get airborne. No other aircraft on P3D show this tendency. Any ideas out there ????? Jim :(

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Oracle427
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Re: My C172 wants to be in NASCAR

Post by Oracle427 »

It is normal for prop driven aircraft to have left turning tendencies. The correct action is to use the rudder to correct for this especially when operating at high power and low airspeeds where the rigging of the aircraft isn't able to aerodynamically compensate for the tendency. It is very common for a student pilot to hear an instructor exclaim, "right rudder, right rudder!" during their training.

The effect on the takeoff roll is caused by torque and spiral slipstream on the 172. The torque causes the left main wheel to get more weight on it and will therefore cause more friction on the left side. The slipstream imparts a force on the left side of the rudder causing the airplane to turn left.

The airframe is rigged slightly asymmetrical to compensate for this cruising speeds. The engine is pointed slightly to the right, and the vertical stabilizer is pointed slightly to the left. One negative result of this rigging is that the airplane will have a slight right turning tendency when power is reduced to idle at speed.

Just something to practice as a pilot.
Flight Simmer since 1983. PP ASEL IR Tailwheel
N28021 1979 Super Viking 17-30A

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gulredrel
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Re: My C172 wants to be in NASCAR

Post by gulredrel »

Consider it's a small airplane. If only the left seat is occupied, it has an imbalance to the left.
Make also sure, the fuel is balanced in both wing tanks, as this can lead to an imbalance, too.
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