Tailwheel Endorsement Training Begins!

Rob Schaffer

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See that smilie with the thread title,.. it's only half as big as it was on my face this morning after 1.2 in a 2003 Citabria!! Wow, amazing, awesome, only begin to describe how my first lesson was today.

I've been wanting to do something different as I approach my first flight review, so I talked to a few other pilots and decided the Tailwheel endorsement was something fun to do and I'd better myself as a pilot. (Yes, I know it's an endorsement and doesn't count for the flight review, so let's not start that discussion. I will still have my Flight Review in June)

I was looking at VanSant airport which has a J-3 cub left after the new management took over last year, and a Citabria at Wings Field. While the J-3 would be cheaper per hour, it is a 45 minute drive to and from the airport + Lesson time = to much time away from wife, 2-5 yr olds, and a 3 month old. Wings adds the benefit that I typicaly get up with Madison to feed her a bottle about 4am, and I've been going to the airport then for some dawn flying and practice. The instructor at Wings is available to start at 6:30am, so this works out great! I can fly before work, and not interupt family time at home either.

So today I arrived at Wings about 6am and was reviewing the POH for the Citabria Explorer 7GCBC I was about to fly. About 6:20, I walked down to the plane and figured I would untie the tiedowns and have a walk around while the instructor was about to arrive. He arrived a few minutes later and asked me if we needed the chutes? :skeptical: I gave him a funny look, and he then asked if I was just doing the tailwheel endorsement,... I responded "Yes, but you do acro too?" NICE. :yesnod:

After a preflight and familiarization instruction with the plane, we loaded in and I started up the plane. He taxied out of the parking spot and then let me taxi down to the runway. Oddly, I found it natural and very similar to taxiing the Diamond DA-20, as it has a castoring nosewheel and responded similar to the Citabria. Visibility is fantastic! I feel like I am sitting in a truck looking out over the cowling rather than hiding behind a glareshield in the Cessna. This proved to be one of my challenges to overcome. I tried to take it in, but so much was going on at the moment.

We discussed the takeoff, and he guided me onto the runway and then down 24 as we accellerated. It felt odd holding the stick forward for the tail to rise, and really felt that I was about to nose over due to my high sight picture, but before I knew it we were off and airborne. The plane climbed at 1300 feet per minute and handled sportfully. We departed to the practice area so I could feel how the controls were and practice slo-flight and power off stalls.

The plane is true and honest. Pitch, Power, Trim, and she held it nicely. You have to stay coordinated on the rudder at all times, as you notice the nose lag behind easily if you don't. I did some clearing turns, then slow flight, which was very smooth, and then a power off,.. will it ever break,... stall. I was flying at 40mph, airspeed needle barely wiggling and stick full aft,... and she barely would break. As it broke the second time I dropped the right wing but quickly got it and recovered, even got a pat on the shoulder for a good job!

He then asked me if I ever did a Wing-over? Nope,.. I thought he meant a hammerhead by my description of pulling up and kicking with the tail, but he corrected me and then proceeded to show me the manouver and said it can be done in any plane if you are properly trained and can really be a valuable asset to have when flying out west. (which he has done a lot in Colorado and will be this summer in Idaho) With no G-forces at all, we turned right around by using this manouver, pretty darn cool.

We headed back to Wings, and setup for my first landing approach. ABEAM, power to 1500 and 3 notches of flaps, and the plane locked in like it was on a target. Down final, and he helped me with the stick position and motion while I was on the rudder. A nice landing, mostly cause he was doing it, but it was about to be the best of the day. I began the turn to early to the taxiway and a little to fast, as it would be fine in the Cessna, but not in a tailwheel. He straighted me out before any trouble could happen, and explained why and how that is one of the biggest mistakes made and the cause for a lot of ground loop accidents. I taxiied back, and setup for departure again. This time, it was to be mostly me, so I lined up and advanced the throttle. I was fine with the stick position till the tail came up, then that sight picture made me hesitate and before I new it I was off centerline. Rudder pedals dancing, I snaked my way back to centerline just as she lifted off the runway :mad: Grr,.. I expected more of myself,.....

Around the pattern, landing approach looked good but maybe a tad bit fast,.. "Back,.. back,.. more,.. More ROB,.. more" is what I heard in the headset as we touched down and then executed three more landings in a row,... bouncing down the runway (small bounces he said, but still). Luckily, I mangaged good footwork and kept us going straight during our rabbit run. We discussed it, and he again showed me the stick postion for the 3-point landing. Its' pulled back all the way and my hand is basically in my belly button, I can see how this would be challenging when holding full aft on the stick and slipping for a crosswind. Up again, an improved takeoff run this time but still a little snake-like down centerline. Approach speed better, sight picture looking good,... "Back,.. Back.... More.. More... Good" then bounce bounce,.. "Only two that time" I heard. :rolleyes:

Instructor : "Ok,.. that's one hour, how do you feel?"
Me: "I can't leave that way,.. one more time"

Heck, this was a blast, and I knew I was a little tense, so I paused in the runup area to take a breather before the hold short line. He talked me through the takeoff, gave me a few tips about stick postion, rudder, and sight picture, and we went into postion. I stopped on the numbers and looked at the runway and how it looked with respect to the cowling (Like Diana told me to in the first place via PM :yesnod: ) Ok,.. Ready, I advanced the throttle and had the stick in position. Tail up, and I was tap dancing rather than fox-trotting, and I stuck that centerline to a nice takeoff. Around we went, ABEAM, I began decent, set the throttle, trim, flaps,... solid. I wish the C172 was this solid all the time. Good looking approach and with very little help and listening to the coach behind me, I set her down nice for a good 3 point landing!! WOW, Exhillerating, and a double handed pat on each shoulder from the instructor in the back!! OK,.. I can go to work now,... AWESOME!

Post briefing, my instructor said I am doing quite well and more aware of plane performance/control than a lot of his other students. He expects me to pick this up smoothly over the next few weeks.

While I by no means mastered anything today, I learned a heck of a lot. :yesnod: and,.. if a deal on a Citabria opens up or a Cessna 170,... I'm in. :D (Sorry Bob)

Next lesson is Tuesday, more 3 point landings and intro to wheel landings.
 
My rule is that if someone asks you if you want a parachute, the answer is YES. You certainly sound like you're hooked! Tailwheel pilots are ace of the base :)
 
We discussed the takeoff, and he guided me onto the runway and then down 24 as we accellerated. It felt odd holding the stick forward for the tail to rise, and really felt that I was about to nose over due to my high sight picture, but before I knew it we were off and airborne.

You wouldn't believe how high that tail has to get before the prop gets close to the runway. I used to put the student in the airplane and lift the tail so the prop was still a foot off the surface, and they were staring at the ground close to the nose. This was, of course, on the ramp and with the engine off.

Nosing over in the takeoff would be rare, except maybe on really soft ground. It's more likely on landing, either on soft runways or by using far too much brake pressure. It can also happen if you get taxiing too fast downwind and try to stop or turn. In the turn out of a strong tailwind, the centrifugal force combined with the wind on the side of the airplane can lift the upwind wing and get under both the wing and tail, and the airplane will then end up on its nose or maybe even on its back. Watch that tailwind.

Dan
 
Rob,

Good job and glad you enjoyed it. I also got my endorsement in a Citabria last fall, but I used the 7ECA, which is highly underpowered. I am sure your instructor has mentioned this, but one thing that is very important is your approach and landing speed. When I would cross the threshold even 5 knots too fast, I could tell as I had a difficult time keeping the plane on the centerline. Once I got the speed things figured out, my landings remained on the runway and not trying to dodge the runway lights. :blush: It doesn't help matters that the runway where I fly is 27' wide.

Do you have access to a grass strip? We have one about 10 miles away, so my first take-offs and landings were done there. The grass is much more forgiving than the asphalt or concrete. Good luck and keep posting your flights. I enjoy reading them.

John
 
Great! Welcome to the world of conventional gear!!

Just get used to repeating to yourself: "Keep it straight, keep it straight, keep it straight..."

:D
 
Citabrias are fun to fly! Sounds like you're having a great time and learning new skills that will pay off in other aircraft as well.
 
Sounds good so far- it sure takes some getting used to, doesn't it- pulling full back stick after touchdown. I coulda swore I had it all the way back until the CFI showed me how much farther it would go. and it is interesting, with a Champ or Citabria type, how important it is to really lever that wheel onto the ground as you roll out... once the rudder is done flying, you must have that thing down, and it must stay there.

But if you liked that, wait 'til you have to do a wheel landing- fly it on and push forward, two things you must never do in a nosedragger!! :D And as was stated, don't worry about the prop, even on the wheel landing when the back-seater says "full forward stick! No- all the way!!" Look at the airplane on the ramp as you approach it next time, and imagine picking the tail up to the point where the prop will hit the ground. Fuggeddaboudit... you will only get the tail up that high if you do something stupid with the brakes (like try to use them to slow down). When taking off or wheel-landing, it's darn near impossible to ding the prop in a Citabria.

The good news? The greatest challenge is just mental. Ab initio training in a tailwheel airplane is no more difficult than with nosewheels; it's the transitioning pilots who have trouble, with their mental hang-ups to overcome.
BTW, the endorsement isn't an automatic FR; but there's no reason you can't bundle the two; I did so with no problems, finance or time-wise. A little more in the briefings, some tailwheel fam. flying that includes some nav and airspace stuff, and you're done with the FR.

Anyway, give yourself some slack, relax and enjoy it. It's just an airplane, and you will feel comfy in it very soon, I'll bet.
 
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And as was stated, don't worry about the prop, even on the wheel landing when the back-seater says "full forward stick! No- all the way!!"

I have never done that. Ever. All you need to do is maintain the attitude which is often just a little relaxation of the back pressure from leveling off. A jab of the stick just before touch down can take out a prop from the combination of nose down attitude and gear compression. I've never done it myself, but I know of those who have.

The good news? The greatest challenge is just mental. Ab initio training in a tailwheel airplane is no more difficult than with nosewheels; it's the transitioning pilots who have trouble, with their mental hang-ups to overcome.

I think it is unlearning some bad habits, but never having done the transition, I can't really say.
 
When taking off or wheel-landing, it's darn near impossible to ding the prop in a Citabria.

The good news? The greatest challenge is just mental. Ab initio training in a tailwheel airplane is no more difficult than with nosewheels; it's the transitioning pilots who have trouble, with their mental hang-ups to overcome.

If you carry out a wheel landing improperly you can get a porpoise going that will strike the prop. The gear flexes a lot. If it bounces, the right thing is to go around or hold the nose in the three-point attitude and land it. The pilot is usually a half-cycle behind the airplane, and he tries to fix the bounce by pushing the nose down and gets an even bigger bounce. This continues until something breaks.

We do ab initio on Citabrias. The students solo at about the same time as their trike-flying peers. The trike pilot develops a lot of complacency that has to be overcome once he tries the taildragger, and his feet are half asleep. The guy who learned on the taildragger will graduate to the trike after the PPL, and will nail every landing almost every time in it. Center of the runway, on speed, lined up, controls for wind, all of it.

DAn
 
We do ab initio on Citabrias. The students solo at about the same time as their trike-flying peers. The trike pilot develops a lot of complacency that has to be overcome once he tries the taildragger, and his feet are half asleep. The guy who learned on the taildragger will graduate to the trike after the PPL, and will nail every landing almost every time in it. Center of the runway, on speed, lined up, controls for wind, all of it.

DAn

Sad but of so true....

I think I've learned more pure stick & rudder in the past 40 hours of TW flying than the previous 400.

They should add a TW endorsement as a requirement for the Commercial. :D
 
After a preflight and familiarization instruction with the plane, we loaded in and I started up the plane. He taxied out of the parking spot and then let me taxi down to the runway. Oddly, I found it natural and very similar to taxiing the Diamond DA-20, as it has a castoring nosewheel and responded similar to the Citabria.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of it like that. My hour of tailwheel time in a Champ was the same way. Instructor wanted to start out by having me do some taxing, and I found if I treated it like the DA-20, it worked out perfectly.
 
Sounds like a great start... your take-offs would have been helped by a little ground school before walking out to the bird.

Need to learn about gyroscopic effects with the prop spinning and the effect of what happens when the tail comes up, hence that rudder dance you were doing.. same thing when it goes down after a wheel landing.

Also the change in P-factor when the pitch changes, tail down, more P-factor, raise the tail, a bit less p-factor but then the gyroscope kicks in.

It's not just about "learning to fly tailwheel", it's "why" it happens.

It's Tail Wheel time... PA-25-235 updated to 250HP. Flies like a sweet truck.
 

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I have never done that. Ever. All you need to do is maintain the attitude which is often just a little relaxation of the back pressure from leveling off. A jab of the stick just before touch down can take out a prop from the combination of nose down attitude and gear compression. I've never done it myself, but I know of those who have.



I think it is unlearning some bad habits, but never having done the transition, I can't really say.

Well, in my case it was probably due to being in a Champ with an adult in the back seat... on most, but not all, of my wheel landings with two aboard that particular airplane needed pretty much full forward stick. But it depends a lot on W&B, speed, etc. At any rate, my point was it's not like it's going to just keel over onto its nose, despite appearances.

As for transitioning: it's not just sleepy feet and other bad habits... for some, like me, it was overcoming stuff that had been drilled into my head regarding trikes. Particularly on the wheel landings- you'd never "fly it on" and push forward, even a little, in a trike.
 
If you carry out a wheel landing improperly you can get a porpoise going that will strike the prop. The gear flexes a lot. If it bounces, the right thing is to go around or hold the nose in the three-point attitude and land it. The pilot is usually a half-cycle behind the airplane, and he tries to fix the bounce by pushing the nose down and gets an even bigger bounce. This continues until something breaks.
Didn't think to mention that, as I was told in no uncertain terms that if you bounce, you go around. Period. Certainly one might recover from a bounce, and I agree that 3-pointing it is best in that case, even if it was not the original plan.
You can get away with other things, too, but it's not advised. On one of my solo hops, I managed to turn a mildly-bounced 3-pointer into a decent wheel landing... feeling my oats, I guess, and feeling very comfy with a mile of runway left and light winds. I was very pleased with myself, but the guy who'd signed me off was not very happy to hear about that. :nono: During the dual flights, the thing he had seemed most happy about in terms of my flying was my willingness to go around if the first contact was not quite right. I should have done that on this solo flight- in fact, at Brown, on the longer runway at least, in the Champ one might power up, climb a little, then descend again for a 3-pointer with runway to spare. :D

Another thing this old hand told me was that although he had to teach wheel landings for the endorsement, he very seldom landed the Champ that way himself, "no matter what the wind is doing." He preferred to 3-point it.

I've heard this from a few other conventional-gear pilots. It's a great exercise, and fun, but its necessity is questionable.
 
Another thing this old hand told me was that although he had to teach wheel landings for the endorsement, he very seldom landed the Champ that way himself, "no matter what the wind is doing." He preferred to 3-point it.

I've heard this from a few other conventional-gear pilots. It's a great exercise, and fun, but its necessity is questionable.

The Champs share the same "oleo" and "no bounce" gear used on Chiefs (in fact, many of the design drawings are identical all over both airplanes).

What makes wheel landings particularly difficult in these birds with this gear is the two-touchdown phenomenon -- first the extended wheel touches down, then the oleo compresses, and the gear bottoms out.

If you're not used to it, you can think you're down with both wheels when in fact one side is compressed, the other fully extended (ask me how I know :redface:). You think everything's lined up then the other side drops and now what was straight is now curving. :eek:

I'm sure other former or current Aeronca owners can chime in and provide plenty more details, but this is what I learned from an Aeronca-saavy CFI, experience, and membership on some Aeronca boards.

Since I'm touching down somewhere on the low side of 30 MPH, I prefer 3 pt landings -- the tailwheel starts rumbling, and the mains slowly make contact at the same time, and the rollout is minimal (IF you keep the yoke ALL the way back).
 
Well, in my case it was probably due to being in a Champ with an adult in the back seat... on most, but not all, of my wheel landings with two aboard that particular airplane needed pretty much full forward stick. But it depends a lot on W&B, speed, etc. At any rate, my point was it's not like it's going to just keel over onto its nose, despite appearances.

As for transitioning: it's not just sleepy feet and other bad habits... for some, like me, it was overcoming stuff that had been drilled into my head regarding trikes. Particularly on the wheel landings- you'd never "fly it on" and push forward, even a little, in a trike.

Ok, like I said, I never did that transition so I don't really know what all causes the problems.

Another thing this old hand told me was that although he had to teach wheel landings for the endorsement, he very seldom landed the Champ that way himself, "no matter what the wind is doing." He preferred to 3-point it.

I've heard this from a few other conventional-gear pilots. It's a great exercise, and fun, but its necessity is questionable.

Some pilots like wheel landings, some like three points. Some airplanes like wheel landings, some like three points. It works best when you get a match.

Personally, I did wheelies (Cessna 120)
 
Just remember that there are two kinds of taildragger pilots... those that have and those that will. I got through all my training just fine in a 120, transitioned to a Cub, then inexplicably ground looped in a Taylorcraft at an airport I was unfamiliar with that has some tricky winds. You have to pay attention ALL the time, EVERY time.

Ryan
 
Just remember that there are two kinds of taildragger pilots... those that have and those that will. I got through all my training just fine in a 120, transitioned to a Cub, then inexplicably ground looped in a Taylorcraft at an airport I was unfamiliar with that has some tricky winds. You have to pay attention ALL the time, EVERY time.

Ryan

The same thing is said about retractables and I don't think it has to be.

Such fatalistic approach tends to excuse sloppiness. :mad:
 
Thanks for posting! It brought back memories of my check out in a 7GCBC. I was a slower learner though.

FWIW, going around is the right response to a bounce in a Citabria, but you can do one bounce, go-around and landing every thousand feet or so without re-entering the pattern:)

Ernie
 
Thanks for sharing your experiences guys. It sure is fun. The "bounce" was probably more of a 'skip', not anything that was high or going to begin a porpose.

I've received some good info via PM too, thanks for sharing those links and articles to read up on. I'll get to them this weekend in preparation for Tuesday's flight.
 
I did my TW in a 100hp Champ. Nice plane, and I really miss flying it. The one thing that my CFI stressed was that there is no shame in going around if it doesn't feel right. Better to try again than to f-up.
 
If you're not used to it, you can think you're down with both wheels when in fact one side is compressed, the other fully extended (ask me how I know :redface:). You think everything's lined up then the other side drops and now what was straight is now curving. :eek:
Very interesting... I, um... never had that problem, myself...:aureola:
 
You try it on pavement in a crosswind? :redface:
Yep, that's the most likely scenario, isn't it?
I also remember being very uncertain as to what the mains were doing, exactly, on some of the early wheel landings... very hard to tell until you get a feel for the particular airplane, because you're sort of skimming it onto the runway at a slightly higher speed. That led to "hunting for the ground" when learning to wheel it on, which definitely does not help, LOL.

I got a fair amount of good x-wind "practice", on pavement,during that period I was flying the Champ... on the whole, I didn't do badly at all, but there were a couple of squirrelly arrivals. :rolleyes:
 
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Yep, that's the most likely scenario, isn't it?
I also remember being very uncertain as to what the mains were doing, exactly, on some of the early wheel landings... very hard to tell until you get a feel for the particular airplane, because you're sort of skimming it onto the runway at a slightly higher speed. That led to "hunting for the ground" when learning to wheel it on, which definitely does not help, LOL.

I got a fair amount of good x-wind "practice", on pavement,during that period I was flying the Champ... on the whole, I didn't do badly at all, but there were a couple of squirrelly arrivals. :rolleyes:


I am so very happy the grass is available to land on again!! :yesnod:
 
I am so very happy the grass is available to land on again!! :yesnod:

Lol I did my TW endorsement in the late fall/winter. All of our flying was off of pavement. Man was it easier to land on the grass when they finally opened the nearby grass RWY.:yesnod:
 
Lol I did my TW endorsement in the late fall/winter. All of our flying was off of pavement. Man was it easier to land on the grass when they finally opened the nearby grass RWY.:yesnod:

ohh yeah! I've been flying pavement only since November. That first grass landing was sweet!
 
Some pilots like wheel landings, some like three points. Some airplanes like wheel landings, some like three points. It works best when you get a match.

Personally, I did wheelies (Cessna 120)

I prefer the wheel landing. Some airplanes really don't care for three-pointers, especially if the CG is near the forward limit. The Cessna 185 is one, the Glastar another. On both airplanes the stabilizer is close to the ground in the three-point attitude and I think the ground effect diminishes its authority. I've had the nose suddenly drop when trying to three-point them.

Dan
 
I am learning on a paved runway, but maybe I'll see if we can go to a grass strip later on. I"m scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday mornings next week, so I'll have more insights on my training and progress then. He did send me an email since our first flight stating that we will have some more ground time this next meeting now that I had an intro to tailwheel. Goal for this comming week is to work more on 3-point landings, and introduce wheel landings, all while "keeping the stick back" and "keeping it on centerline",... I"m sensing a theme :yesnod:
 
I am learning on a paved runway, but maybe I'll see if we can go to a grass strip later on. I"m scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday mornings next week, so I'll have more insights on my training and progress then. He did send me an email since our first flight stating that we will have some more ground time this next meeting now that I had an intro to tailwheel. Goal for this comming week is to work more on 3-point landings, and introduce wheel landings, all while "keeping the stick back" and "keeping it on centerline",... I"m sensing a theme :yesnod:

Rob -- have you read The Compleat Taildragger Pilot or some other TW book?

If not, send me a PM and I'll mail my copy out to you.

It help me immensely as I knew what the instructor was talking about when we did the ground stuff. It also helped reduce my total transition time -- significantly.

:yesnod:
 
It's interesting to me how many tailwheel pilots there are that think wheel landings are somehow easier or better. There's no way to wheel land any tailwheel airplane as slowly in that relatively level attitude vs. the three point attitude. It's all about the relative wind/AOA. You might do it for better visibility or perhaps better control in gusty conditions because you're faster and don't mind eating up runway. Or you might do it because that's what you've been taught and it's more familiar to you. But let's look at it this way: you're about to put your tailwheel bird down in a farmer's field of unknown condition - are you going to wheel land it or are you going to roll the tailwheel on just before the mains much slower than the wheel landing? Slower is almost always better right? So why wouldn't you land that way on the pavement?

I suspect that a lot of people who think they're wheel landing probably are but with the tail wheel just barely off the ground so it's basically in the 3-point attitude anyway. They feel the mains roll on and then run the stick forward to lift the tail. If you'd rolled the tailwheel on first, you'd be traveling down the runway slower.
 
It's interesting to me how many tailwheel pilots there are that think wheel landings are somehow easier or better. There's no way to wheel land any tailwheel airplane as slowly in that relatively level attitude vs. the three point attitude. It's all about the relative wind/AOA. You might do it for better visibility or perhaps better control in gusty conditions because you're faster and don't mind eating up runway. Or you might do it because that's what you've been taught and it's more familiar to you. But let's look at it this way: you're about to put your tailwheel bird down in a farmer's field of unknown condition - are you going to wheel land it or are you going to roll the tailwheel on just before the mains much slower than the wheel landing? Slower is almost always better right? So why wouldn't you land that way on the pavement?

I suspect that a lot of people who think they're wheel landing probably are but with the tail wheel just barely off the ground so it's basically in the 3-point attitude anyway. They feel the mains roll on and then run the stick forward to lift the tail. If you'd rolled the tailwheel on first, you'd be traveling down the runway slower.


The only time a wheel landing might be shorter is tail up, lots of brake.

Otherwise I agree a 3 pt as slow as possible is preferable in some lightweight conventional gear airplanes.
 
The only time a wheel landing might be shorter is tail up, lots of brake.

Otherwise I agree a 3 pt as slow as possible is preferable in some lightweight conventional gear airplanes.


Yeah Dan, I hear that argument a lot but I personally don't get it. Tiny little brakes, tiny little contact patch for the tires, slowing down from a faster touch down speed - I don't get it and it certainly doesn't work that way in any tailwheel plane I've flown, which isn't a great many. The braking effect of all that 3-point attitude drag combined with what has to be a slower speed rolling on - makes sense to me that would be shorter every time? And if you have tailwheel steering, control would be better with it on the ground wouldn't it?

The POH in the S-2C recommends that you avoid wheel landings in the airplane and that's an airframe with NO forward viz on landing in the 3-point attitude.
 
It's interesting to me how many tailwheel pilots there are that think wheel landings are somehow easier or better. There's no way to wheel land any tailwheel airplane as slowly in that relatively level attitude vs. the three point attitude. It's all about the relative wind/AOA.

How does that make it harder? I find wheelies easier because they are easier - I don't have to worry about speed or floating. Just put the mains down and roll out. Piece of cake.

perhaps better control in gusty conditions because you're faster and don't mind eating up runway.

I'd rather use a couple dozen extra feet of runway (given that there is typically thousands of extra feet) than take out a runway light.


Or you might do it because that's what you've been taught and it's more familiar to you.

Or because you are a lazy ass like me.

But let's look at it this way: you're about to put your tailwheel bird down in a farmer's field of unknown condition - are you going to wheel land it or are you going to roll the tailwheel on just before the mains much slower than the wheel landing? Slower is almost always better right?

Assuming you don't float all the way to the fence...

You do what ya gotta do to put the airplane where it's gotta go.


So why wouldn't you land that way on the pavement?

The only time a wheel landing might be shorter is tail up, lots of brake.

Otherwise I agree a 3 pt as slow as possible is preferable in some lightweight conventional gear airplanes.

I find the shortest landings are where you put the mains down exactly on the threshold and use maximum braking. Floating waiting for a three point uses a lot of runway. Plant and stomp. :D
 
I find the shortest landings are where you put the mains down exactly on the threshold and use maximum braking. Floating waiting for a three point uses a lot of runway. Plant and stomp. :D

I have ancient Goodyear brakes that rival my road bicycle's stopping power.

Uneven, grabby, and not really meant for the landing phase.
 
There are at least 3 flavors of wheel landing. As previously pointed out some might argure if all are really wheel landings.

1. The Power Off Wheel landing, Usually what I teach in Champs, Citabrias and C-120's. In most cases this is the most useful for these planes as they generally land nicer with a 3 point and can handle crosswind landing nearly as well, maybe better in the 3 point attitude. The only reason I really see to wheel land in these planes is to practice them and perhaps in a power failure scenerio where you have over shot the runway and need to get it down and stopping, I don't teach using the brakes on wheel landings, but In an emergency it is actually pretty easy to do. Note Power off Wheel landings may require a higher approach speed.

2. Power On wheel landings, many instructors teach these becuase the are easier. Essentially it is a soft field approach and touch down followed by a wheel landing. Unless you are flying something big and heavy like a DC-3 or Mustang I usually don't see much reason to practice these. Sometime in squirrely wind conditions they can help in setting it down softley and is the most common reason given for doing wheel landing, but in many smaller tailwheel planes a 3 point can be just as effective.

3. Then there is the power on, Tail low Wheel landing. This is typically used by the guys trying to do really short landings. The idea is to drag it in at minimum airspeed and touch down in close to or even at at the 3 point attitude. Momentarily bring the tail up and apply heavy braking, often manipulating the brakes and elevator so that the brakes are just counteracting the full up elevator.

Brian
 
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