Rotation is the act of lifting the nosewheel of a tricycle-geared airplane off the runway by pulling back on the yoke, raising the elevator and causing the tail to lower. This step is key to a smooth takeoff. The difficulty is that you may either rotate too early or too late, and/or over- or underrotate. A proper rotation is important for safety reasons and for minimizing takeoff distance. For example, rotate too early and drag increases, thus increasing the takeoff distance. Rotate too late, or forcibly hold the nose down too long, and a tricycle-geared airplane could be rolling along on only the nosewheel, an unsafe condition known as wheelbarrowing.
1 Like