Doughnuts By James Goss     I guess I like doughnuts as well as anybody, especially those that are cream filled and chocolate covered. I also like to see model airplanes perform doughnuts (ground spins) on the ground before they take off. If you haven't seen a model doing a doughnut it is hilarious. To do a doughnut you get your plane spinning around in a circle without moving forward, it just sets there spinning. Some planes will do a doughnut better than others, but most all planes will eventually tip over if you keep it spinning long enough. Of course you are asking for damage to your plane every time you attempt a doughnut. I have seen wings broke in half while doing a ground spin because they flipped over and hit on the wing. I wouldn't want to use my best planes for doughnut practice.     I have found that a good doughnut plane is one that has its main wheels spaced a good distance apart. Of course the plane must be a tail dragger and not a nose gear plane. A nose gear plane will not do a good doughnut at all; so don't even try it because you will damage your plane for sure. A wide wheelbase on a tail dragger will give your plane the stability it needs to keep it from tumbling end over end. My high speed Postage Stamp plane will do doughnuts better than any plane I have ever had. The wing is 24-inches wide and the wheels are spaced 24-inches apart. Doughnuts should always be done in a counterclockwise direction to take advantage of the engine torque. Your prop torque tries to turn the plane CCW so why not take advantage of that. Give the plane full left rudder and full throttle; normally right aileron is needed to help hold the plane on the ground. Your plane should set there spinning like a fool.      I have always wanted to see a model plane takeoff while doing a doughnut. This may be impossible to do, but my Fast Stamp might be able to do this stunt. I took the Stamp to the field today (8-21-02) and gave it some more test flights. After I had flown for a while I decided to try the doughnut takeoff. I landed and got it in position at midfield and gave it the gun. I was taking it to the left, or counterclockwise as viewed from the top of the plane, and it was really moving with good stability. I gave it max right aileron (elevon) but it didn't leave the ground. I couldn't understand why because with that speed I thought it might. When I got home later that night I was thinking about it and realized that I should be giving it left aileron instead of right. Right aileron helps to keep it on the ground. By rotating CCW the trailing edge of the wing that was attacking the air, which was the left aileron, was positioned down. This would put downward pressure on the wing instead of up lift. I now realize that I need to get the plane spinning while holding right aileron to keep it flat on the ground and then suddenly give it left aileron. It may not leave the ground, but it will have the best opportunity of any plane to do so.      If it does leave the ground what do I do then? If the nose will stay pointed up I think everything will be all right. Maybe I can immediately go into a hover and get my wits straight and become oriented. Chances are slim that it will leave the ground, but I will never know until I try it. One thing I really like about these Stamp planes is that experimentation is at our fingertips. With what other plane could you even be thinking about this kind of stunt? Being so easy to build and inexpensive, not to mention tough as nails, I don't mind trying any trick in the book, and some that hasn't been written yet.