Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Declared Emergency; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
We were executing a ferry flight.  I was the pilot flying and the PIC of the flight.  The aircraft was being ferried due to striking an object on the ground during taxi.  Maintenance had replaced the right wingtip before our flight.  We had been trying to go for around 3 hours; and had previously returned to the gate to fix a mechanical issue.  This time everything was good to go on the taxi out and we felt good about getting  the flight done.  Takeoff was normal.  Visibility was unrestricted; no ceiling; winds less than 5 knots.  Our departure required a 19 degree turn to the right.  When I started to roll right I realized something was definitely  wrong.  The aircraft was not flying like it should have been.  The aircraft barely responded to my aileron input; and I was having a very difficult time relieving yaw forces.  The ball was all the way to the left.  If I applied left rudder we were flying sideways.  I was constantly trying to trim away control forces but the aircraft was not responding to inputs in a way that made sense.  I was putting 1/2 [aileron] deflection to the right and a large amount of left rudder to stay somewhat straight.  The force required on the controls was easily double normal input force.  By this time we were at 4;000 MSL. (Due to the empty aircraft our climb rate was very very good.  I have ferried a number of EMB-120 aircraft before; empty; and have not experienced any unusual handling).  I had no idea what was wrong.  Our gear was up; but we had not made any changes to the configuration of the aircraft; besides some power reduction.  I told my F/O we were not going to DESTINATION AIRPORT; and to declare an emergency and tell them we were leveling off.  ATC had us make a right turn to fly down the (uninhabited area).  We raised our flaps and performed an after takeoff check.  We tried to 'zero out' the trim by moving it to its neutral setting and then re-trimming the aircraft; but that did not help.  We took a moment to check the  aircraft configuration and make sure we had not missed anything and could find no reason or indication of abnormal operation of any component.  At that time; while already having chosen to make a precautionary landing in ORIGINATION ARPORT I decided we needed to make an immediate return to  field.  There was no telling what was causing the abnormal flight characteristics; or if it may get worse.  We were immediately cleared for approach to the longest runway.  We ran a before landing checklist and set V-Speeds.  Landing was uneventful.  The aircraft handled better during the approach than the climb out. Something was obviously wrong physically with the aircraft.  This aircraft had been damaged on the ground the day before and repaired.  Had I been briefed or trained about ferrying an aircraft with unusual flight characteristics I would have been fine continuing to the destination.  I was not informed of any  unusual flight or handling characteristics of this aircraft and therefore elected to return to field.  Maintenance had a very cavalier attitude in regards to the flight.  The aircraft had a number of write ups; by myself; before the flight departed.  I felt like they wanted me to just bring the aircraft to [destination] and fix  things there.  This is not how things should go.  You should not have to explain to people why you must follow FARs.  We made sure to get all the write-ups fixed or added to the ferry permit beforehand; but I can tell you they (Maintenance Control) did not want to.  We had to return to the gate after we found a problem on taxi-out.  Everyone I talked to made it seem like they were upset about having to fix this aircraft; including the controllers on the phone.  This attitude is dangerous.  I feel that if they did not care about the airworthiness of the aircraft on paper then they most likely did not consider the physical airworthiness of this aircraft; which resulted in me finding out it did not fly very well on my own.Aircraft that have been damaged need to be ferried by someone familiar with what is wrong with the aircraft and how it will fly.  I suggest that check-airman or someone trained to fly damaged aircraft; who have been briefed by an engineer familiar with the aircraft in question fly future ferry flights with damaged aircraft.  I was provided a ferry permit documenting what had been done to the aircraft but was not informed of any irregularities with the handling of the aircraft.  Without any information from the company (Dispatch; Maintenance Control; Mechanics on site) there is no way to discern whether the strange way the aircraft flew was to be expected or was a sign of something very bad about to happen.  There is no  way to know!  At the least the PIC should get a briefing on what is wrong with the aircraft and any expected difficulties with the flight before being asked to ferry an aircraft.  With no information as to abnormal handling; most  pilots will elect to land ASAP if they find something wrong with how the aircraft flies.
EMB-120 Captain on a ferry flight declared an emergency shortly after takeoff and returned to departure airport after experiencing abnormal flight control response that may have been related to previous ground damage.