What's the best all metal tail wheel

I love the Vans RV-8s... or are you talking Certified?

RV-8 is also tandem... so maybe an RV-7...
 
There aren't a great number of aircraft meeting that criteria. Many are antique/classics.

Globe Swift
Cessna 140, 170, 180, 190/195 (five seats). Some sub variants are rag wings.
Spartan 7W Executive
Meyers 145

With sticks
RV-6/7/14
Ryan SCW

Best? I'm partial to the Swift. Lots of them have stick conversions though. Mine doesn't.



Jim R
Collierville, TN

N7155H--1946 Piper J-3 Cub
N3368K--1946 Globe GC-1B Swift
N4WJ--1994 Van's RV-4
 
Depends on what you want to do with it. For all around utility, I'd say either Cessna 170 or 180/185 if you need to haul a bigger load.
 
Cessna 180/185.
 

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Luscombe would be my choice but the 8A is a little thin on power. I'd want an 8E or F with C85 or 90, or O-200.
 
Well do you want something for flying around the patch real slow, flying off airport, flying upside, etc etc

Why the aversion to cloth aircraft?
 
The swifts are cool planes, there's a guy who collects them at my airport. I hear they can be tricky to land well. If I were buying, I'd go 180/185.
 
JimR has his Swift for sale David, if you are interested.
 
Too bad you want certified. This is fun to fly but is experimental and it's for sale. Don
 

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Stewartb said:
Cessna 180/185.
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Beat me to it.

I'd say a Cessna A185F.

Hauls a load, good XC speed as well as STOL abilities, very robust airframe, just as home on tundras, skis, floats or amphibs, great IFR platform, HUUGE amount of STCs and mods avalible and they hold their value quite well.

Had my 185 for a little over a year now and I've been very happy.


EppyGA said:
Stinson 108 :rofl:
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Well a proper 108 is a rag wing, but Voyagers are phenomenal aircraft, just not very fast.
 
James331 said:
Beat me to it.



I'd say a Cessna A185F.



Hauls a load, good XC speed as well as STOL abilities, very robust airframe, just as home on tundras, skis, floats or amphibs, great IFR platform, HUUGE amount of STCs and mods avalible and they hold their value quite well.
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I'd agree with you except the OP later clarified that he just wanted something to fly around the pattern and burn holes in the sky.

A 185 is a lot of airplane (and a lot of money) to sink into that mission when you can get a 170 for around $30k
 
Fearless Tower said:
I'd agree with you except the OP later clarified that he just wanted something to fly around the pattern and burn holes in the sky.

A 185 is a lot of airplane (and a lot of money) to sink into that mission when you can get a 170 for around $30k
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Well it just comes down to how serious you are about burning holes in the sky :D


Also does he have any interest in doing any backcountry/float/ski flying?

I'm probably 60-70% of the time flying mine to lakes under 50nm from my home drome.


Biggest piece of info we need to make a valid suggestion is a budget :yes:
 
I'd agree with all of those saying Cessna 170, 180, 185. I'd also want it to come with a float kit.
 
There's no airplane I'd rather own or fly than my 180. Cubs are fun to putt-putt around in but at the end of the day I'm a Cessna driver. If I just wanted an inexpensive tail dragger for close to home hobby flying I'd buy a Rans S7 Courier.
 
If this is really for a local area airport pattern type plane, I'd totally be buying one of these, heck I seriously entertained a Nieuport a few years ago, just really didn't want two planes.


It not a certified metal plane, but boy is it a putting around the pattern plane.


Look down this page and if you're not at least super tempted, you're not a pilot :yes:

http://www.airdromeaeroplanes.com



For a pattern queen, no brainier


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Here are some more for sale
http://dawnpatrol.org/Forsale.htm
 
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1. north american P-51
2. north american AT-6

side by side is for nose draggers!

bob
 
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James331 said:
Look down this page and if you're not at least super tempted, you're not a pilot :yes:
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I could get in way over my head building a Fokker triplane or a Nieuport in my garage... Not as expensive as you'd think for the kits and if their time estimates are close to accurate it's not that much work either. Where do you get the engine from though :idea:
 
For simple local pleasure and around the pattern some Cessna 140's have metal wings or there is the 170. The Luscombe does not have yokes but I imagine you could get past that requirement. The Swift has retractable gear and a higher "nostalgic" price tag.
 
Yes, some 170s have rag wing, some have metal. There are early Luscombes with rag wing, metal spar and metal fuselage too. If a Luscombe has 2 struts, it's rag wing, one strut is metal wing.
 
Learned in a C-170 great airplane to putter around in or go a short distance.
The 170 has the fabric wings, 170A Metal wings small flaps, 170B Metal tapered wings fowler flaps.
 
evapilotaz said:
What is a Cessna 170 "rag wing"? The wing is covered in cloth and the rest of the airplane done in metal?
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Correct. The original 1948 model came with metal framed wings but they were covered in fabric. The rest of the airplane was all metal skin.

Some '48s (mine for example) had their wings metalized so they are all metal like the As and Bs.

The all metal wing makes it easier to leave the airplane tied down outside, but adds extra weight.
 
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