Buying a vintage tailwheel airplane - did not go well. 

Have owned and flown Luscombe 71334 (now 74334) since 2003 and 1500 hours. I too started with zero tailwheel time and am today a tailwheel CFI. “Wing down into the wind and opposite rudder” is the most succinct and accurate advice I ever got. When taking off or landing, AILERON controls your position L or R on the runway; RUDDER is what makes it straight. Do not confuse the two; when you are taking off or landing, YOU ARE NOT TAXIING, so don’t control it that way. Commit to the centerline and keep it there with AILERON. Keep it straight with RUDDER. If you get off centerline, don’t swerve to get back there. But use AILERON to stop the drift. Hope this helps. Fly often - that’s how you will get better.

Tailwheel practice: Go to the supermarket and take a cart, turn it around so you are pushing it from the FRONT, then try RUNNING down an aisle without running into the shelves. Try it!

Hey great video. Luscombe N1225K here. Find some grass to land on. Grass is far more forgiving and will let you build some confidence. Fly on.

Good on you for showing the rough stuff, had me flinching a few times LOL

Man. This happened to me when I hopped back into a taildragger after getting my ticket in a 152. I did first 20 hours in a taildragger before transitioning for the instrument portions. I fly a Stinson with flaps and a huge tail to save the day. Your first few takeoffs were exactly like me. Scared the crap out of me. The second time I went up with the instructor I felt like I finally “got it”. I understood the feeling of the tail coming up, and almost uncomfortable level of right rudder input necessary. If the right wing dips on liftoff you aren’t giving enough. Very rewarding flying taildraggers. Keep ‘em flying.

Congratulations Mehrdad! Look at all the aluminium you get to polish, this is going to be a great journey to follow. Just always remember to keep it safe. As a sailor I can say we share a thing or two with aviators - taking off (leaving port) is optional, landing (sailing back to safety) is mandatory.

I taught myself to fly a taildragger, crazy but there was nobody I knew who would teach me!

Thanks for sharing your journey to become proficient in a taildragger. In 2012, I purchased a Cessna 180 and didn’t have any tailwheel time. It has been quite a journey since then, but a lot of fun and ultimately flying tailwheel aircraft will sharpen you as a pilot. I am also based in Iowa. Mike R.

Just found your channel. I'll begin flying my "new to me Luscombe" 1948 8a in the coming weeks. Your's looks much better cosmetically than mine. I appreciate you sharing your learning experiences here.

I bought a 1040 Luscombe 8A Silvaire N28473 in the late 1960s with a friend. Neither one of us had tail dragger experiende so seller suggested we taxi it for 10 hours and when we got comfortable lift the tail off the runway but not let it take off. I did this and had no problems with the plane . The field we kept it at had a narrow runway that had two hills and wooded areas with breaks so with runway 36 and 18 you always had a crosswind. My partner didn't do the 10 hour taxi and sure enough he came in hot one day and it got away from him. He flipped it upside down pushing the windshield out and a little damage on the tail was all the damage done. Tough little plane!!! 4ga/hr and a cruise about 100 it was a fun and economical. My wife was pregnant with our daughter and holding our 6 year old son, and I could claim it was a two seater that carried 4 people. Enjoy your toy!!!

That's a beautiful airplane for 77 years old, same age as me and going strong.

Congratulations on the new beautiful airplane. *Be careful* and have fun!! I'm really glad you're aware of high DA and windy conditions and how that can make flight hazardous. Good call to call it a day. Many years of enjoyment buddy. 💪

That chrome look is awesome. I bought my first plane recently and also flew it through New Mexico and Santa Rosa. We departed Olklahoma, flew west to NM, and on to my home state of Arizona, in a 1960 Cessna 182.

G,day from Sydney Australia. That is a nice vintage trail wheel. ( The two takeoff and landings, (IAS) I assumed it was in Premier 1A jet. * Don't even go near the ground until all the energy of the plane has diminished. In other words " stall warning" 1ft AGL! * Fly another circuit/go-around * Thank the Lord you had the RWY for the Space shuttle! 🦅🌏

Congrats! My first exposure to GA was in high school polishing a 1948 Luscombe that was modified with a 150hp Lycoming. I can still smell the Blue Magic polish 35 years later. You will develop incredible stick and rudder skills flying your new plane.

Congratulations on owning a nice airplane. Looking forward to seeing you make her shine.

Congrats on buying a gorgeous airplane. Becoming proficient in it will be extremely rewarding. I own and fly a Cessna 180, so a little different from the Luscombe, but principles are the same. I'm not a CFI, but I'm a great Monday morning quarterback, so.... :) As others have said, use rudder to straighten the airplane, not bring it back to centerline. Pilot induced oscillation from over control of the rudder is the cause of some ground loops. Also, consider wheel landings for asphalt runways, at least early in your tail-wheel career. They allow for better visibility, better directional control, and since the control surfaces are still flying at touch down, touch-and-goes and last second go-arounds are much less "sporty" than from a three-point landing. I reserve three-point landings for short field operations off grass and gravel in calm weather. Good luck. You're gonna love that Luscombe!

I just bought a 1948 Luscombe T8F. In WW2 d day invasion paint. 0 tail wheel time and will be doing exactly this next week. Luckily it’s in western illinois and I’m by Chicago. My biggest fear is the ground loop and damaging a beautiful plane. Good luck love the video.

Mmmm tailgaters, once you master them you will love them more than nose wheelers. After landing keep the stick in your gut , pressure on the tailwheel maintains control, otherwise the tail floats up and can go where it wants.when moving with speed on the ground or take off and landing move rudder pedals left right left right in small shots and feel the tail behind you moving , that's you in control, if you let the plane door what it wants there won't be time for recovery =ground loop .check films on spitfire take offs look at the rudder It's always moving /spits have a narrow wheel base .also holding the stick back on landing is a good habit if your going to fly floats or you will be upside down in notime I'm from Canada and have appx 900 hours taildrager on multiple types. Happy flying

I mean, you didn't break anything. I call that a win! Hope you are an expert by now! Great video! I really like seeing non experts share their challenges. Haven't flown for years! Can't wait to get back to it this spring! Miss it so much.

Beautiful Luscombe. My dad bought a 46 Luscombe in 1967. I was 6 years old at the time but he would always take me flying with him and over the years I learned the plane's characteristics in no time. He kept the plane in a farmer's field and we made a 2000' grass airstrip but mowing the weeds with a brush hog then kept it short with a riding mower. Loved landing and taking off on grass airstrips in the Luscombe. You'll develop a feel for the plane. As with anything in life. practice is key.

Back in the late fifties I used to spend a couple of weeks with my uncle. One year he’d bought a Luscombe for $900.00. We did a lot of air time in that little plane on summer days.

Congrats man all those long days detailing have paid off, beautiful plane.

I’ve owned my luscombe now for over twenty years. They are wonderful little planes. These planes will do exactly what you tell them to do; so work with a experienced tail wheel pilot, like a crop duster. I learned tailwheel flying in a areonca chief and thought in was more of a handful. Enjoy.. N77842.

Beautiful airplane! Welcome to aircraft ownership.

Great video. Thanks

Very nice video. You are in with a few Luscombe lovers now. N1046K owned for 55 years.

PERFECT VIDEO!!!

Been there...done that😥 ground looped my 47’ Luscombe 8A few years ago... that hurts! But stick with it, Flying tail draggers is rewarding, I have an RV6 now, and the Luscombe is still in the garage.

Thank you for sharing and being completely honest and even vulnerable. There aren't many pilots on youtube that show the "ugly" side of flying small airplanes, especially tail draggers. I just had my first lesson in a Kitfox, (actually a Eurofox because i am located in Europe) and we first practiced taxiing and then takeoff and landing. Needless to say i scared myself shitless and had to have my instructor intervene on both takeoff and landing because i would have probably groundlooped us on both occasions. There is a learning curve to this and it just takes time (and i am a SLOW learner haha) but i hope i can manage it soon. Fly safe and thank you again for sharing!

Congratulations! These are classics indeed! Fly it for year’s then pass it on to the next caretaker. I will admit I was on the edge of my seat watching, but I’ve been there. After flying tricycle all the time a conventional gear makes me look bad. This new skill set will be a challenge but obtaining it will be rewarding. Polish away!

Looks to have a nice wide main gear stance, sould be pretty stable rolling. Very nice aircraft, congrats!!!

Congrats dude. Sick plane.

the marks on the windshield would drive me nuts. I like the silver metal look of the Luscombes

Get some of instruction with a QUALIFIED instructor. Saves you and the plane for a few extra bucks.

Beautiful airplane

Was wondering if the Ambulance with its lights on was a foreshadowing of whats to come based on your title of the video.

Good luck Mehrdad. It will make you a great pilot.

Congrats man!!!!

A taildragger can be very difficult to fly for a nisewheel pilot! ALWAYS GET A CHECK-OUT!

I stopped through that airport in my Luscombe back in March for fuel. Wish I saw that map with the thumbtacks when I was there. I guess I never noticed it :( Nice little FBO there

Nice aircraft, will be waiting to see you do your magic on it, its going to be shiny... you can bet on that!

Been there….completely understand,congratulations

Finally!! A competitor to the infamous Cessna Texas Taildragger “conversion” [mutilation]. Now there’s a vicious little freak hiding in a C-150 skin. That bitch’ll hunt a ditch the instant you touch the brake. It’s a Continental powered 2-place “Tilt-a-Whirl.” This Luscombe is a worthy competitor for The Wall of Aircraft Shame.”

Beautiful plane. Looks as though you BOUGHT Right! Good Luck…

..Is this Luscombe 8A the same as a Luscombe "Silvaire"?? Curious. Im a very low-time private pilot, not current not medical cert, all time done in nose-wheel, relatively easy, Cessna 152/I72..Never had the opportunity to procure any tail-wheel time..Dad, who was a corporate pilot/instructor had hundreds of hrs in taildraggers..Cubs, Aeroncas, Luscombes, PT19/PT 22, Cessna 180. 190,..Beech 18s too. Brother had a little time over in SoCal in a Cessna 140 out of El Monte..

Good video. On your one sketchy takeoff, I notice how your stick/ailerons are perfectly neutral. The ailerons are just as important as the rudder when flying a tailwheel airplane. If you 'steer into the crash' (aileron into the swerve) adverse yaw will help you massively to stay on centerline. Just like you are taught to move the rudder every time you move the ailerons, it works the other way too in order maintain a zero-drift condition on takeoff and landing.

look way down the runway, and small rudder inputs

Find those grass runways, they're very forgiving.

If you're gonna fly a taildragger you gotta have smart feet! Nothing like a nodewheel. You gotta fly it all the way to your parking space!

I've seen several ground loop videos on RU-vid. Every time the wheels are about 1/3 of the way towards the edge of the dirt and the plane is still heading in that direction when my brain starts screaming power, more power, go around. What was the actual thought process when you were losing rudder authority.

Very smart to incorporate a window detail in the flight, now it’s a business write off! How difficult, ie expensive, is insurance for a zero time in a tail wheel? Looking forward to fallowing you in your journey, congratulations 🎉

I have quite a few hours in a Luscombe. They fly great but will embarrass you if you get behind it on landing do to it’s narrow mains. If it has heal brakes I would put toe breaks on her.

Congrats... is also one of my dreams... if not to much asking how much you paid?

Might I suggest getting better tail wheel instruction. Most instructors teach wheel landings dead wrong. You want to flare a wheel landing with the power at idle (but not as much as a 3-point). When the mains touch, raise the tail to a level flight attitude. This will transition the weight from the wings to the wheels which will give you much better stability, a much shorter landing roll, cooler brakes, no flat-spotted tires, and will prevent any crow hopping. All else fails, go around and try again.

I'd say any takeoff you fly away from is a good one (to steal an old saying).

Oh my I really dislike tail draggers and yet I own a 195b!

Still have your luscombe?

As soon as the video started all I could hear in my head was “full throttle, climb and try again”

I know you are transporting the airplane, but for training purposes best to learn on grass first. And no touch and goes. Full stop landings only.

Reminds me of taildragger check out…

A crosswind WILL ruin your day if you haven't been properly trained!

No flaps?

Fighter jets are NOT inherently unstable!

Was gonna watch the vid till I saw you wearing a muzzle

Check out Dan Gryder

Well the fact that you are wearing a mask in the open air on a sunny day already proves you have questionable judgement

You picked the worst tail dragger to learn in!

Find another instructor , this dide demonstrated zero crosswind correction.

SECRETS learn on a grass runway then blacktop i will be a 100 times easier ....put left arm aginst door and use your finger tips to feel and control dont ckoke the stick ..dont look at the ball it is for making turns

Congrats on owning a REAL airplane. Owning/flying a "tail dragger" (as opposed to a nose dragger) will make you a real pilot. Its like driving an automatic or manual trans car. If you can fully operate a manual or conventional gear car/plane...the other is easy. Some how I missed the ground loop you advocate in the title. Normally it will happen on landing after you begin to slow and your CG moves back behind the mains, and turn you anywhere from 90 to a full 360 degrees. Try wheel landings and keeping the tail up as you reduce power. Once down, go to full back on the stick to promote pressure on the tail wheel and better steering via the rudder pedals. Have fun !! and practice practice practice !!

That poor airplane

Why are you wearing a mask outside? At all?

Good thing you have a mask on outside 😂

DA is not a reason for making a landing difficult, and a poor excuse. The YT distraction, not able to take the heat, [the heat], and more are hurdles to deal with. On your very first recorded, take off, pulled throttle out when you needed it most almost cost you a ground Loop. In an 8A, more than any other airplane, always have your ailerons into the wind, always have your feet, keeping the nose, straight down the runway, always takeoff as much into the wind as you can. Takeoff in the grass, land in the grass. Grass is your friend. Don’t smoke it

Getting a pilots license with zero cross control takeoff, taxiing, and landing technique is unbelievably incompetent. Your instructors and FAA examiner needs their asses kicked, hard. Smh. CP 50+ yrs.

I don't think he had a feel for using a stick vs a yoke. Please don't fly with your daughter!

Dude, why are you wearing a mask still? Sheesh!

Okay, the mask-wearing outdoors pretty much gave you away.

Dubbing music into an airplane video sucks big time.

As a fueler in Fullerton, Ca. I always loved the Luscombe.