FT Tutor Help

[Mspalla159]

Hello, my son and I are first timers. Wondering what we’re doing wrong trying to get the FT Tutor off the ground. At takeoff it immediately goes vertical and banks to the left or right.

 

[Mr NCT]

The banking to the left or right and diving into the ground is because of the immediately going vertical and stalling - it loses enough speed that it quits flying. So, why is it going vertical?
I'm assuming that your elevator is straight in the neutral position and you've checked for proper control directions - Up, elevator deflects up, Right, right aileron deflects up.
If you start at full throttle that could do it. Try getting a decent take off roll at half throttle or so then slowly increase until it takes off.
If it still goes vertical you may need to put a couple of washers behind the top mounting screws for the motor to give it some down thrust.
That's where I'd start.

 

[M.Peanut]

CG. It’s always CG, at least in my case that is. I’ve “fixed” many planes moving the battery forward.

 

[Foamforce]

What others have said. Specifically, check these things with regards to pitching up too hard. The pitching up too hard is what is causing the stall, like Mr NCT said, so I’m going to focus entirely on that.

1. Are you pulling up (right stick down) too hard when you take off? It’s a common beginner mistake to try to take off as soon as possible without enough airspeed. Then you stall and fall. With sufficient speed your takeoff, you should only have to pull back about and eight of an inch to gradually take off. You might just be pulling too hard. Most beginners over control at first.
2. To Mr Peanuts point, did you balance it at the COG marks with the battery installed?
3. Is your elevator reversed? Pulling down in the right stick should make the elevator go up. If you, reverse the channel in your radio.
4. With your battery plugged in and your radio on, is your elevator completely straight with the horizontal stabilizer? It should be. Put a straight edge on top and verify. If it isn't, adjust it. Use either a physical adjustment like a linkage stopper if you have that, or adjust it using subtrim in your radio.
5. Is the bottom of the wing flat on the top of the fuselage? If the front is high for some reason it could do this.
6. Is the angle of your motor pointing even slightly upward? On a high wing plane it should be either straight or pointing slightly download. It may have been damaged in a crash and pointing upward.
7. This is a reach maybe, but do you have flaps? If you do, don’t use them at first. On a related note, are your ailerons flat with the top of the wing? If they are both “down” they would be working as ersatz flaps and could cause excess lift. I always put a straight edge on the back part of the wing and adjust the ailerons with that line.

Good luck, let us know the details!

 

[Mspalla159]

Thank you everyone for the advice. Going to work through this and provide results!