Canadair on Grass

Cool, man...

With access to the lake somewhat restricted, I decided to give the Canadair a go at the field. I'd seen a few videos showing it was possible, but still wasn't quite sure how this venture was going to work.

As it turned out it works fine, although quite different to flying from water. In fact almost the opposite! Unlike on the water where modest amounts of throttle will get the plane moving and resistance builds up until it gets on the plane, on grass there is no movement until the considerable friction is overcome.

Moving the throttle past the halfway mark with no signs of movement, I was certainly considering that this wasn't going to work when, at about two-thirds power, the Canadair suddenly broke loose and quickly started to move across the grass. Of course, with that much throttle, as soon as friction is overcome, the acceleration is brisk, so the Canadair was airborne within seconds, gliding sweetly into the cool morning air.

Flying the Canadair at the field was actually pretty groovy, with lots of space and the ability to do low fly-pasts which isn't always possible at the lake with its border of trees. And quite fun getting to know the flying characteristics of the big water bomber in a safe environment.

As you would expect, with that much wing area and the proliferation of fences and stabilisers, it is slow and steady, although sharp turns are quite possible with the assistance of differential thrust, much like vectored thrust..