Most of the posters have been flying for too long and they forgot
how takeoff feels for a non-pilot or a new pilot.
When you set the takeoff trim to 60-65 kts on a c172 (you know the
elevator trim position by experience), the plane lifts off almost by
itself, so
smooth and effortless, and elegant. It feels beautiful. Then, you
smoothly add nose down trim a little bit at a time, as the plane
stablizes
at takeoff climb speed of 70 kts.
In the simulator, you have to move the yoke by its displacement instead
of light pressure. It is hard to give the sim yoke the right amount of
gentle
nudge, and I also found myself overcontroling the simulator yoke. The
finer
feel of the control is different and can not relate to the real plane.
The real thing is beautiful, and hard to explain in words unless you
experience
it. Like explaining the joys of sex. You get the feel when you can do
the takeoff with only two fingers on the yoke, in calm air.
As the other poster explained, the airplane wants to fly and it is
easier
to control in the air.
wrote:
Mxsmanic wrote:
Is there any harm in taking off at a relatively high speed and very
gently? There seems to be plenty of runway in most cases for small
aircraft. If I leave the ground at 120 kts instead of the normal
rotation speed, I find that I can lift off ever so gently. Plus I
have lots of airspeed if something goes wrong during my gentle climb.
Are there drawbacks to this that I'm missing?
Of course!
A normal takeoff is very gentle and comfortable compared
to rumbling over a real-world bumpy runway at 120kts.
Your simulator is wrong if it says that a high speed takeoff
is more gentle. I suspect it's not accurately simulating
runway texture and bumps. Air under the wings makes
a far more comfortable shock absorber than the oleo strut.
Tire wear is greatly accelerated by going faster than the rated
speed. A blowout at faster than rated speed would not
be pretty.
Crosswind gusts are a potential safety issue while your wheels
are contacting the ground, but they're not a big problem once
you're airborne. The gear was not designed to take strong
side loads.
To maximize options if an engine goes out, you want to have
plenty of altitude under you, not over you. It's best to climb
to a reasonable altitude quickly.