Just to give my bona fides: As of this date, Thursday, April 8, 2021, I have 75 hours and 57 minutes of flight time and 119 take offs and landings in the Carenado Waco YMF-5. I’m currently doing a cross Canada flight having started at CYYT St. John’s International Airport with the goal of finishing at CYXQ Beaver Creek Airport in the Yukon. This is my favourite plane!
In many of these posts there is the complaint that the CG is too far forward. A few have suggested packing the rear baggage compartment and that works. Sort of and only to a point. Here’s what I found:
When on the plane’s “Weight & Balance” page go over to the far right where the CG is shown. Here’s the default setting:
Now, grab the slider bar at the top and bring it back towards zero and drop it. It doesn’t have to come all the way back as shown here:
I did some research and found that the average CG is somewhere in the neighbourhood of 25% of average chord point or 25% of the distance from LEMAC to TEMAC. I then did quite a few tests in this plane starting at the 25% setting according to the white text below the slider (NOT the text above the slider). On my first take off the plane made an uncontrolled climb at low airspeed followed by a stall and, well, need I continue? After several tests starting at 0% (which is still an improvement) I thought that perhaps Carenado set the CG at -12.8% but meant it to be 12.8% instead. I can’t get 12.8% but can get .1% either side of that so I use 12.9%:
Some things that are consequences of this approach:
1/ You can use the elevators and rudder to stop the plane. Yes, stop the plane. I now use full up elevator to bring the plane to a gentle stop or at least slow down on the runway without touching the brakes.
2/ The plane requires more power to start to move. It now takes over 1,000RPM to get it moving provided you don’t introduce any elevator or rudder before the plane starts to move.
3/ If, when taxiing, the plane stops due to the introduction of rudder and/or elevators you will then have to centre the stick and apply almost full throttle just to “unstick” the plane.
4/ Before take off you now introduce down elevator trim. I use two taps on the"Elevator Trim Down (Nose Down)" button on my Thrustmaster POV hat switch. This is a far cry from the typical seventy-five hits of the “Nose Up” switch (okay, I exaggerate!) prior to shifting the CG
5/ Landing now requires far more “Nose Up” trim than before or you might run out of stick room. (Been there, done that, got the T-shirt!)
6/ Every time you start a flight you have to go to the CG and set it! You can’t just hop in after setting a flight’s start/end.
All other suggestions for take offs and landings in the Carenado Waco YMF-5 in this and many other topics are valid.
Hope this helps.
Bob