Simple Storch rolling left

[Peters.presto20]

Im new with this but I know how to fly because I have flown my teachers before and that went well. I just built my first kit the Simple Storch. I went out to fly MANY times. I noticed something. Every time we went to fly (with no wind, lots of wind and some wind) I would get ready to take off make sure everything worked and then I would take off. When I took off it would go nose up and then roll left A LOT and then would go nose down and hit the ground. (It was only 2-4 feet off the ground before it started going nose down.) I have been trying to figure out and what is going on with the plane. Any advice or suggestions will help.

Thanks,
Preston

 

[Pieliker96]

Have you built any right/down thrust angle into the power pod? It tends to help power to pitch coupling and the left-turning tendencies (p-factor, prop torque, slipstream, and gyroscopic precession)

 

[Ketchup]

The storch seems like a pretty big plane to be affected by thrust angle that much though... I have made smaller and lighter planes with no thrust angle that flew fine (on a power pack C). I think that OP is pulling up too much and too soon. The wing isn't going fast enough, so the plane stalls and the motor torque makes the left wing dip.
I would recommend throttling up and letting the tail rise, after this happens, just keep the plane going straight on the ground and it should just take off on its own, maybe add in a tiny bit of elevator if it doesn't.

 

[Peters.presto20]

Have you built any right/down thrust angle into the power pod? It tends to help power to pitch coupling and the left-turning tendencies (p-factor, prop torque, slipstream, and gyroscopic precession)

No I haven't added any thrust angle I will try that! Thanks for the tip!

 

[Peters.presto20]

The storch seems like a pretty big plane to be affected by thrust angle that much though... I have made smaller and lighter planes with no thrust angle that flew fine (on a power pack C). I think that OP is pulling up too much and too soon. The wing isn't going fast enough, so the plane stalls and the motor torque makes the left wing dip.
I would recommend throttling up and letting the tail rise, after this happens, just keep the plane going straight on the ground and it should just take off on its own, maybe add in a tiny bit of elevator if it doesn't.

I do that when I take off. I would agree that the wing might be dipping to the left though.

 

[The Hangar]

Due to the torque of the motor the plane is going to pull left on takeoff, even if you add a little right thrust. I could add two degrees of right thrust to the power pod, however the most important thing is to really stay on top of the rudder while taking off. Some of my planes need almost full right rudder when taking I’m off to keep them tracking straight. You might want to try hand launching as well. There’s still a little torque to worry about but overall most people find it much easier than taking off from the ground.

 

[Peters.presto20]

Due to the torque of the motor the plane is going to pull left on takeoff, even if you add a little right thrust. I could add two degrees of right thrust to the power pod, however the most important thing is to really stay on top of the rudder while taking off. Some of my planes need almost full right rudder when taking I’m off to keep them tracking straight. You might want to try hand launching as well. There’s still a little torque to worry about but overall most people find it much easier than taking off from the ground.

Thank you so much!

 

[Merv]

Have you trimmed the plane to fly straight and level.

 

[Peters.presto20]

Have you trimmed the plane to fly straight and level.

No I haven't I will try that!

 

[CappyAmeric]

Like others have said: torque.

Another issue will show up in single motor prop planes: gyroscopic precession, where the force applied to a spinning object (the prop) causes the force to be felt 90 degrees in the direction of rotation: in other words, in a climb the prop will pull to the left. In full sized airplanes, instructors remind their students that in a climb, the airplane will pull left (left-turning tendency) and you have to add appropriate right rudder.

In models, you can adjust by angling the motor a few degrees to the right.

 

[Merv]

No I haven't I will try that!

With any new plane, the first step is to trim the plane to fly straight and level.
Don’t make any changes to the thrust angle or anything else until you trim the plane.

If you need to hold the stick to the right to keep the plane in the air, adjust the trim tabs in the same direction.

 

[Foamforce]

The storch seems like a pretty big plane to be affected by thrust angle that much though... I have made smaller and lighter planes with no thrust angle that flew fine (on a power pack C). I think that OP is pulling up too much and too soon. The wing isn't going fast enough, so the plane stalls and the motor torque makes the left wing dip.
I would recommend throttling up and letting the tail rise, after this happens, just keep the plane going straight on the ground and it should just take off on its own, maybe add in a tiny bit of elevator if it doesn't.

I’m very late to this party, but I’m posting this for posterity. I had the exact same problem as described by the OP. I tipped to the left and crashed at takeoff multiple times. When I managed to get into the air, it flew fine. It was entirely due to stalling. A friend watched me and suggested it, so I tried gaining more speed on the ground and then pulling up more gently. I never had the problem again. All that time I was assuming that it was a roll, so I was trying to correct it with aileron input, which did nothing. I hope the OP had success!