No yanking allowed

Taking off involves more finesse than you may have thought. Letting the airplane do most of the work will make for a safer, gentler takeoff than yanking back on the yoke and lunging into the air. Below, the pilot positions the yoke so as to let the airplane come off the ground smoothly.

Despite what you may have seen an airliner do, small airplanes shouldn't swiftly come off the ground in a nose-high attitude. A pronounced amount of aft yoke movement at rotation speed in an airplane such as this Piper will result in a gut-wrenching lurch into the air.

The takeoff is a series of defined inputs, resulting in what is hopefully a smooth transition from Earth to air. Because almost all training airplanes develop left-turning tendencies with the application of full power, expect to apply a fairly significant amount of right rudder (above).

The use of full power is critical for a safe departure. Apply it quickly, but smoothly, and verify that the engine is producing full power by checking the rpm indication on the tachometer.

The run to the takeoff culminates with some back pressure around the recommended rotation speed and before reaching the best-rate-of-climb speed. Verification of that speed is usually the last glance inside the cockpit before taking flight.

The maneuver that begins every flight is often given the least contemplation by the pilot. And yet, takeoffs, in my experience, can be more hazardous than the landing that usually concerns a low-time pilot to an exaggerated degree.

Why? Because of basic physics. When an airplane is landing, energy is dissipating, but in the takeoff, energy builds. That's the whole point-we're trying to accelerate to the speed at which we safely can become airborne. That's why landing accidents, once the approach phase is completed, often result in more embarrassment than physical injury.

The overture

It behooves us, therefore, to place equal emphasis on the takeoff as its own maneuver, with an eye to its special pitfalls and requirements. The focus of any takeoff is on getting the airplane into the air, yet the maneuver begins much earlier, starting when the throttle is opened. It's important to know what's about to happen-and what will be needed to make it a safe, routine overture to flight.

The airplane is initially in a taxiing mode, with directional control provided by the usual combination of nosewheel steering, rudder, and perhaps a tap of brake. However, it soon begins to acquire its flight mode; the rudder becomes more effective as airspeed builds, the ailerons are capable of raising or lowering a wing tip, and the elevator's ability to control pitch comes to life in your hand.

If you're going to maintain alignment with the runway centerline-despite crosswinds, engine torque, P-factor, or surface irregularities-you'll need to use all the controls, not just nosewheel or tailwheel steering. Begin the transition from taxiing to flying early in the takeoff run, rather than waiting until liftoff, by seamlessly blending flight and ground control.

Letting the airplane do the work

Early in the training process, I teach students to let the airplane fly itself off the ground by giving it the correct pitch attitude and accumulation of energy. The goal is to avoid yanking the airplane off the runway. Instead, simply place it in a liftoff attitude and let it gather the remaining knots so it levitates on its own. Ideally, the passengers never feel anything more than an elevator-like rise; there should be no lurch as the wheels break free, no stomach-wrenching thrust into a sudden climb.

To do this, first determine the target airspeed for the after-takeoff climb, usually VY (best rate of climb speed)-which should be reached not at liftoff, but rather a few seconds after the wheels leave the runway. Noting the nose attitude required to hold VY with full power, a bit of experimentation will find a liftoff speed that causes the airplane to break ground with the exact same pitch reference that will produce the VY climb.

Then, working further backward in the takeoff sequence, the pilot will initiate this nose-up attitude a few knots prior to liftoff speed. This is often called rotation, a somewhat pretentious term borrowed from swept-wing jet takeoffs. However, it's useful to describe the initial lifting of the nosegear.

Because elevator trim is normally set to maintain VY, you'll need to apply and hold a bit of back pressure on the stick or yoke to lift the nose off at a somewhat lesser speed as the airplane flies off the runway. It's important to gradually release this back pressure as the aircraft accelerates, so that the airplane essentially flies hands-off as it reaches VY. Otherwise, the nose attitude will continue to rise and you'll have to correct a loss of airspeed by lowering the nose, busywork that's best avoided by letting the airplane have its head like a well-trained horse.

By using this constant-attitude takeoff procedure, your future passengers won't feel the aircraft's nose pitch up to break ground, lower again to gain speed, and then rise once more to find VY. If a maximum-performance takeoff is desired, as when departing from a short field with obstacles at the departure end, simply adjust the speed of rotation and liftoff to attain VX (best angle of climb speed) as you reach the obstacle in a slightly more nose-high attitude.

Handling the rough stuff

If you are faced with a less-than-perfect runway surface, such as soft turf, tall grass, snow, or rough dirt, you'll have to shift gears a bit. In this case use a soft-field procedure to lessen the strain on the landing gear and encourage the airplane to break ground at the very minimum possible flying speed, which may be all you can achieve on a boggy runway. The goal is to reduce drag from the wheels by lifting the nose gear early, shifting weight to the wings instead of the main gear as the airplane gains speed, and use ground effect to leave the surface at a speed even lower than the power-on stall speed

Again, the airplane will take off on its own, as soon as it accelerates to the magic number. However, when you feel the surge in acceleration that indicates the wheels are free of the soft runway, lower the nose to accelerate toward VX or VY; maximize the benefit of ground effect by remaining a half-wingspan or less above the surface to avoid a stall and accelerate quickly. A maximum-lift flap setting is normally used for soft-field takeoffs; retract them only after gaining a safe airspeed and altitude.

Have a plan

Planning the takeoff is vitally important. This means knowing how much runway the airplane needs and how much you have available, including the distance and height needed to clear any obstacles in the departure path. As a student pilot, you'll probably be provided with runways that are several times longer than the length actually needed, but you won't always be flying a light trainer from a nice, large, sea-level airport.

Because the severity of a potential accident rises exponentially as an airplane accelerates toward liftoff, any action taken to stop the takeoff roll must be immediate and firm. There's no time to deliberate; this is where planning and training are important. If a window or door pops open, a cowling works loose, or a tire blows out-or you simply realize that acceleration is too slow by a predetermined point (the midpoint of the runway is an example)-snap the throttle closed and apply the brakes. It's best to hold the yoke back as the brakes are used, because at higher speeds the main gear tires may be only lightly in contact with the runway, causing a braked wheel to lock up and slide unless up-elevator adds the pressure of slipstream force to hold the main gear down.

Takeoff planning includes choosing a no-go point that, if necessary, leaves plenty of room to safely stop on the runway. As you near that mark, quickly evaluate the power, airspeed, and rate of acceleration, and be ready to take action.

Don't assume that the takeoff is a simple drive-and-yank procedure, requiring much less thought and planning than the landing. Give it equal status and work to make it a carefully flown maneuver as befits its importance.

LeRoy Cook has been an active flight instructor since 1965 and has had more than 1,350 articles published. He is also the author of 101 Things to Do With Your Private License and Flying the Light Retractables.