OpenTube

Toe IN or Toe OUT? Everyone Gets it Wrong. So... I tested it

Jonas Marcinko

66,600 views

Is "Toe-In" or "Toe-Out" more stable on a tailwheel airplane? I got into a heated debate with my friends about this. They were headstrong that toe-in provides better directional stability, while I was convinced that toe-out is the secret to a well-behaved taildragger. Neither side would back down — So I tested it.
I put both alignments to the test to see exactly how they handle ground loops, swerves, and tracking.

Which side are you on? Drop your theories in the comments

OpenPPG results are found here for anyone that wants to read them.
and the video here. Toe in Toe out computer simulation

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20 Comments

@nicholasstephens4 1 month ago (edited)

An engineer friend showed me this in 1971!!! He didn't have a wing on his demostrator, but the CG was set at 25% cord. He simply rolled it with each condition.

It was amazing clear. Tow-out was the ONLY truly stable and, most important , self-correcting set up.

I thought then that everyone must know this fact at the time. No, this is still a mystery to most folks. Amazing!!!

@Beyond_TheRedLine 1 month ago

Toe out forcing the tires apart essentially increases trackwidth and stability, that was my understanding. The crosswind example is something I never though about but makes complete sense to me.

@harpandharley 1 month ago

Wow Jonas! A truly excellent video.

@txj3joe 1 month ago

I asked my Pop, an ex US Army aircorp squadron engineer (C-47's), this question years ago. With out giving it a second thought, he answered "toe out". And yes you can ask the "smartest" guy at the airport the same question and he will always answer "toe in". Imagine landing in a cross wind, windard wing lifts, weighting the wheel now pointing you into the wind, agravating the weathervaning tedanacy.

@OneAV8 1 month ago

That's as good of an explanation as I've heard.

@paulkosubinsky8170 1 month ago

Excellent Video Jonas. Thanks for putting this together. Great demonstration

@BrentonEllis-b7r 1 month ago

See Luscombe Service Bulletin 2-46, fixing toe-in (“objectionable, particularly on hard surfaces runways”) to neutral. Good video.

@harrisonaero 1 month ago

Nice edit Jonas. Pro-tip- measure the toe on your aircraft with weight in the plane and the tail up.... it will likely change with squat and camber change. $0.02

@Kickinpony66 1 month ago

I just popped in from Dynodon's latest War Corsair update. So, now that you've seen the results of toe out, how soon are you going to change the setup on your Kitfox? Also, you got really lucky that you didn't hit the lights, during your Airbike excursion. Great video!

@wkeithOhio 1 month ago

Jonas, great video and great topic!

@rochboulanger6565 1 month ago

Nice video! The explanations are straight forward and the model was bang on haha.

@rossk4864 1 month ago

Interesting. I initially thought toe-in was more stable, but I was thinking of the dynamics of a car, not aircraft. Cars have suspension which tends to maintain tractability on all four wheels in turns, whereas a plane rolls significantly, generally lifting the inside wheel when the plane veers. The outside wheel of a turning plane becomes significantly weighted, giving this wheel the lion's share of traction, whereas the inside wheel has no traction or resistance if it lifts off the runway. If the plane veers right, the towed out left wheel tends to steer the plane back to the left. Pretty straight forward once one sees the picture.

@irinagurina8530 1 month ago

Excellent video, thanks for explaining

@mdimascio67 3 weeks ago

This was a fun video.

@Eric-gi9kg 1 month ago

Outstanding video
Loved the survey and results

@trustyaeronaut 2 weeks ago

That is cool. I have always wondered about toe on a taildragger! Thanks for making this one.

@tedsmith6137 1 month ago

A point to keep in mind if you are thinking in terms of Automotive wheel alignment, front wheels are toed in so that when the drag of tyre and braking loads cause the wheels to move aft, and therefore rotate around the control arms, they will become toed out, which is not desirable. So, static toe in is to stop having too much toe out when driving. On a front wheel drive car, the front wheels are usually set with static toe OUT, as driving loads will pull the wheels forward and towards toe in.

@shawnmcalpine1727 1 month ago

Well, you made a believer out of me from your from your test. Thanks for sharing.

@this_old_rv_canada_last_drive 1 month ago

I'm not a flyer but many many many years ago I was on a military base and I was listening to some really old ww2 mechanics that were talking to a couple younger mechanics and the older guys told the younger guys their experiences setting up the planes way back when and their actual experiences and they always said toe out because it saved their planes when they landed with one bomb still attached to one wing and that avoided the planes from circling and loosing control when they landed hope that helps and btw im 60 now and I heard this when I was 16 so .......