I am in Delphos,Ohio, and I own a taildrager. I have a 1994 Fisher Avenger that has a Rotax 503. I've never flown it, but I have been practicing in the grass with the rudder. Thanks for the video.
My dad, Col. Norman Walker, USAF (ret) and now deceased, had well over 8000 close to 9000 hours in just about everything with wings. He said once, "You can learn a lot about flying from a taildragger." RE: Tricycle Gear - Cessna advertised it on its new C-172 as "Landomatic landing gear".
Tail-draggers certainly keep pilots "on our toes!" Even better than that - after retirement I went out and obtained my Glider Pilot Licence. That was a hoot and it made me a better pilot. ('formation flying' during tow! operational thinking and energy management due to that 'no power' thing; precise attitude control on the edge of stall speed while thermalling ... etc etc) I'd recommend that every serious student pilot get into gliders as early as possible and then add the power operation when they get old enough.
Ron, I'm trying to pull the most salient points for your argument here and the only thing I can get is that it's easier to enter a PIO in a taildragger than a tricycle configuration. You can take a Pilatus PC-12 into a 30'x3500' dirt or grass strip, and the gear configuration doesn't seem to matter when it comes to crosswind controls or added drag.
100% with you. Some of my first few hours were in Tger Moths, and I've never regretted them. (Nice precise touchdown in the 310, with the nosewheel paintng the centreline.)
Loved the Tiger but my God it got cold flying in the winter. I managed to do Spins IFR under the Hood with an ex RAAF Kittyhawk Pilot. What about the Turn & Slip gauge with Slip on the top? 😊
Training wheels, I started off in a DH82 Tiger Moth with a Skid - you can't fly them hands off - went on to fly Pipers & Cessnas etc later. My next tail dragger was strait from a Tiger Moth into a DC3 having never flown a Twin, Constant Speed Prop or retractable gear, now that was a transition! We did a Charter to an Australian RAAF Base with American Soldiers on board (Vietnam error) & the Tower called "Clear to land Barrier Up" - we could have done three touch downs before we got to it.
Couldn't agree more! As a newly minted private pilot with about 60 C-150 hours I had the opportunity to go in as co-owner of a 1946 Aeronca Champ, flown off the other guy's 1800' grass strip. I logged over 300 hours in it during the year that I owned it, and loved every minute of it. I later towed gliders in a Piper PA-12, instructed in a J-3, and ferried a Maule M-5 Lunar Rocket to its new owner from Brunswick to Atlanta. As I've frequently said, it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on...
Great video. When I got checked out in a J3($6/hr wet) in 1970, we did 3 takeoff's and landings each pass down the runway. Go up and do a 180 and do it again in the opposite direction. The instructor turned me loose after 1.5 hours. He was an old guy who had taught himself to fly back in the 20's.
My dad bought a Champ in 1961. I soloed the Champ in 1971 and I still have it. It's responsible for my 43 year professional flying career. The Champ is the only airplane I've flown since I parked my last 747 in 2016. Low and slow is fine with me.
Successful tailwheel flying improves your advanced flying skills as well. You learn to think with your feet. When I want to get somewhere fast, I take my Debonair. If I want low and slow I take either my the Aeronca Champ or Chief and if I want to convert more money into noise, I take up my 1928 Travelair 4000. I too do not have a tailwheel endorsement. And neither did my dad, who dusted crops while in college before going into the Air Force, as a fighter pilot, then into the U-2 program where his 6000 hours of crop dusting led to 6000 hours in the U-2, which requires sharp stick and rudder tailwheel skills. I still laugh when he asked me what a bi-annual flight review was......Love your videos Ron.
First Commercial pilot job was banner towing with C170. Think it is safer trying to catch wire with wheel in back, than in front! Some brave pilots tow with training wheel planes.
No tail wheel endorsement here either. Learned to fly in a Cessna 140 in 1960. Paper route money earned at $6 a week and spent at $6 an hour. When I got checked out in a “training wheel” airplane the instructor said fly it like it had a tail wheel. Works petty well but not the other way round. Old timers told me the only airplane harder to land than a Cessna 140 was the Luscombe. Never flew a Luscombe but after mastering the 140 I never had a problem landing any other airplane.
I've never heard the nose wheel called a training wheel but it's very appropriate. Learning in a Cessna 140 in 1960 made everything else easy to fly up to Lockheed L1011s.
My first taildragger was a C120 (upgraded to 85 hp) pre April, 1991😉. Helps with all turbine/Jet and even float Flying. 'Tail "wheel" (C180/C185) on skis most fun, requires deliberate ground loops to turn, never works on C206 with training Wheel/Ski.
My cousin had a friend of her's who became a lead spokesperson of the NTSB. She was often the one whom the media would ask questions of after an air incident. Anyhow from stuff I've read she has her own tail dragger that she loves flying. Iowa City that just down the road from me a few hundred miles east as I live in Lincoln. A few years ago they brought a Ford Trimotor to town. I was one of the lucky ones to ride shotgun which my wife insisted I do. That was so much fun! I was glad she insisted. I like anything that flies, but the big stuff & classic stuff really has a pull on me. The size of a C5, the power of a 777, or something really old that still fly's, all of it just really cool stuff.
I'm just SW of 0C0 at C77. I also don't have a tailwheel endorsement because I did all my primary training in a PA12 before it was required. We haven't brought the Waiex into Dacy yet as we hear it is pretty rough, and with our dinky tires it is not as suitable for rough strips as normal tailwheel aircraft.
I loved my days in the Citabria and a few hours up in Alaska on a TDY in a Maule M5. Problem today is you can’t find any tail wheel aircraft to rent. Even if you can, usually the owner’s insurance won’t let a renter solo. Such was the case with the Maule. The own, also a CFI said he can give me the endorsement but I can’t solo it due to insurance. I got the endorsement in the Citabria. Spin are more fun in a taildragger too.
I learned to fly a long time ago in a 7AC Champ, then more than 100 hours in Cessna 140s. First time I flew and landed a 172 I laughed because it touched down before I was ready and it just rolled straight ahead with no bounce. Haven't flown a tailwheel plane in a very long time and do prefer the now-standard tricycle gear, especially in strong cross winds.
I' ve always said, "if you learned how to fly at Green Castle, you can fly in and out of anywhere" And no wonder your insurance is so high, no TD endorsement.🙂
Best short field airplane in the world for grass strips and high speed cross country cruising is the Peterson performance 182 Kenai with canards. There’s no other plane that can cruise at 155 knots and also stalls at 35 knots.
Fresh cut grass runway. Pull-up to hanger which has an old red glass bottle coke machine with round top.
8 месяцев назад
Got my ticket in PA28, then jumped into a ‘67 7ECA. Thus began my love affair with “conventional”gear aircraft. In no time and ever since I refer to trikes as “unconventional” gear! Had my first and only ground loop in her. She forgave me!
I don't have a lot of hours but of the three hundred or so that I do have, over 100 were in a Taylorcraft. I know I am a better pilot for having that experience. I now have a Piper Colt which of course has a nose wheel but it has more room inside and is more comfortable than the Tcraft.
And those that realize their plane will rip themselves off the tie downs, or damage the wing fittings on windy days because they’re already aiming up for liftoff. First planes to get destroyed at the airport in bad weather are always tail draggers parked out on the ramp.
Despite most of my 35 years flying being on tailwheel aeroplanes, I, to, don't have a tailwheel endorsement. 'Cause like you I've been doing it long enough not to need one! As soon as I'd gained my licence (on C150s) I immediately converted onto the delightful dH Chipmunk. I think 'training wheel' is perhaps not appropriate. Because a tailwheel aeroplane will not tolerate sloppy technique, it enforces correct hold off and instinctive use of your feet. Perhaps, therefore, all basic flying training should be on taildraggers. Only after mastering the tailwheel should pilots be allowed the luxury of the tricycle gear. Every time I see a PA28 or C172 do a 3-point landing (which is all the time!), not only do I wince at the punishment the nosewheel and everything back to the firewall is being subjected to, it reinforces my conviction that ALL pilots should be tailwheel trained. With that in mind, maybe it's the tailwheel that should be designated as the 'training wheel'? Vince
Your issues with the #3 engine I think you should avoid flying tri-planes, just in case that bad luck with #3 follows you to wings. When do you get your toy back from KBTL?
