On Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 10:30:28 AM UTC-7, wrote:
On Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 6:15:05 AM UTC-8, Jock Proudfoot wrote:


When I started flying a 19meter Kestrel years ago (on aerotow) I quickly found I could not reliably keep my wings level at the start of the aerotow launch if I looked straight ahead, because the ailerons were so inneffective at low speed. So when we started to move, I looked directly left or right towards one wing, for the first few seconds. That made it much easier to keep the wings level, although it usually needed full aileron inputs initially. My tailwheel Kestrel would initially roll straight ahead wth the tailwheel on the ground, so there was no need to look ahead. It just needed a few seconds to gain reasonable aileron effectiveness, then I could look ahead again.

OK, now that we're off on tangents, here's another.

I once flew with a pilot checking out on winch launch who always applied full-right aileron as soon as the acceleration set in - often to the point the right tip nearly dragged. I asked why he was doing that. He replied that he "felt" the left wing was dropping. Video of the takeoff showed the wings level until he slammed the stick over to the right. He was baffled still insisting he "felt" a strong left wing drop.

Eventually, an AME found this individual had a left-right asymmetry in his vestibular organs which, apparently, caused him to experience a sensation of roll under linear acceleration.

This story shows why one must use visual cues and not "feel" to keep the wings level. It also shows the value of making videos of takeoffs.