Begin tailwheel training

alfadog said:
How does it compare to the Luscombe? That is the only taildragger I have time in.
Click to expand...

It's heavier of course and the ailerons are slower but it has a very quick effective rudder and nice elevator control. If you find it a little squirrelly with the tailwheel on the ground make sure there is a little slack in the tailwheel steering chains. If you where flying the Luscombe with out any trouble then you should have no problem with the Pacer. Is it a 150hp? Don
 
Good luck with the Pacer. Never flown one, but I have flown the Clipper, PA-16. Kinda like the Pacer but no flaps and sticks instead of control yokes. I liked it. It was sporty like the Luscombe. The one I flew had 135hp. Probably works great with 150hp.
My guess is you shouldn't have too much trouble with the transition. You won't need carb heat on takeoff...
 
It is 160 HP. Thank you for all the good wishes.

Rich
 
Between a J3, 7AC, PA18-180, etc they are all about the same.

If you learn the PROPER fundamentals in a Champ (what I did my first solo/ppl in) going to a cub, etc really is a non event.

One comment, don’t do that "happy feet" thing; dancing on the rudder just to dance on it is a bad habit. Realize that you need to be ahead of the aircraft, when you have to put pressure on the right rudder you are putting that aircraft into a right yaw motion, Mr. Newton mentioned something about an object put into motion... the second you touch the right rudder you should be ready on the left rudder to compensate. Aside from that just fly to that point on the horizon until your tailwheel is on the ground and you're stopped.
 
Also wear a headset and use a radio.... I'm a big fan of oldschool, but not using a headset and radio is just silly nowdays.
 
NineThreeKilo said:
One comment, don’t do that "happy feet" thing; dancing on the rudder just to dance on it is a bad habit.
Click to expand...

Totally agree...and welcome to POA. I think the "happy feet" thing is something tailwheel CFIs tell their dead-footed trike driver students to get their feet in the game. But you don't have to fan the rudders back and forth like you're trying to win a pedal car race. I see some pilots do this. You can taxi, takeoff, and land a tailwheel airplane with almost no rudder movement if you're good...just a bit of anticipated pressure to keep the plane going perfectly straight.
 
I don't know where this "fly to the point on the horizon" came from in judging height above the runway came from. If you learn to look out the sides to gauge drift and height it will work a lot better. That's one reason I like the J3, the student sits in the back and has to look around the instructor and when solo still can't see over the nose so you learn good fundamentals. Once you learn where to look it works on any airplane tricycle or tailwheel. It always gives me a giggle when I let pilots that have been flying a Citabria type try a landing in the N3N. As they level out and start the flare they are trying to sit up in the seat as high as they can to try and see over the nose. That isn't going to happen and they end up having no idea of how high or where they are on the runway. Don
 
Just good fundamentals. Even if your nose if blocking that point on a long nosed plane you can still split the horizon and point on your nose (if that makes sense). As someone who teaches from the back of taildraggers daily I lookout the front as best as I can and I still fly to my point, even if I have to visualize it at the last moments.

When landing or doing low level survey work off field where you have wires, branches, ditches, etc its helpful to look in the direction on flight.
 
With something over 100 hours in tailwheel, mostly Citabria and PA-12 towing gliders, will someone remind me why it's worth the money to get tailwheel training as opposed to something like a glider add-on or just more training in the conventional airplane?
For the vast majority of us, conventional airplanes will go anywhere we want. You know what Van thinks of them. A very few tailwheel applications might be important but I wonder if there are enough to warrant all of us training on something we'll never use?
 
That's my caveat in learning a tail dragger. I'd love to do it, but I doubt I'd ever do it after the training, since I don't have ready access to such aircraft. Ditto for seaplane training. Sounds like great fun, but I doubt there is a viable seaplane base in my state. To me, an endorsement without currency isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
 
yakdriver said:
I don't know where this "fly to the point on the horizon" came from in judging height above the runway came from. If you learn to look out the sides to gauge drift and height it will work a lot better. That's one reason I like the J3, the student sits in the back and has to look around the instructor and when solo still can't see over the nose so you learn good fundamentals. Once you learn where to look it works on any airplane tricycle or tailwheel. It always gives me a giggle when I let pilots that have been flying a Citabria type try a landing in the N3N. As they level out and start the flare they are trying to sit up in the seat as high as they can to try and see over the nose. That isn't going to happen and they end up having no idea of how high or where they are on the runway. Don
Click to expand...
I've had little trouble seeing the horizon off both sides of the nose in any taildragger I've flown and still find that this view provides a far greater sense of sink rate. It's true that a glance at the ground by the wheels can give a better indication of the gap between wheels and ground but only when the airplane is almost down and even then it can be deceiving on some surfaces. In any case what's available looking ahead is the only thing that provides alignment information unless you've got a window in the belly.
 
What does "fly to the point on the horizon" mean? Never heard of this. Sounds like some sort of sight picture trick that plain old peripheral vision solves. In blind taildraggers, I don't look out the sides on landing, I don't focus at all, and let my peripheral vision take over, while looking straight ahead. Your eyes will actually be looking "through" where they're pointed.
 
jnmeade said:
With something over 100 hours in tailwheel, mostly Citabria and PA-12 towing gliders, will someone remind me why it's worth the money to get tailwheel training as opposed to something like a glider add-on or just more training in the conventional airplane?
For the vast majority of us, conventional airplanes will go anywhere we want. You know what Van thinks of them. A very few tailwheel applications might be important but I wonder if there are enough to warrant all of us training on something we'll never use?
Click to expand...
Conventional gear IS tailwheel... :D and every pilot I've given a tailwheel endorsement has said they were better for it when they finished.

Ryan
 
RoscoeT said:
What does "fly to the point on the horizon" mean? Never heard of this. Sounds like some sort of sight picture trick that plain old peripheral vision solves. In blind taildraggers, I don't look out the sides on landing, I don't focus at all, and let my peripheral vision take over, while looking straight ahead. Your eyes will actually be looking "through" where they're pointed.
Click to expand...

When teaching tailwheel saying look forward does not work well, forward as in 10' infront of the plane? -> not good

20'? -> nope

the best way to do this is to find the point out on the horizion that does not seem to move and use that as your reference (think of those drawings of roads that keep going to just a little point on the horizon), left or right, sink or float. Long nose aircraft or good visibility aircraft, it works.
 
NineThreeKilo said:
When teaching tailwheel saying look forward does not work well, forward as in 10' infront of the plane? -> not good

20'? -> nope

the best way to do this is to find the point out on the horizon that does not seem to move and use that as your reference (think of those drawings of roads that keep going to just a little point on the horizon), left or right, sink or float. Long nose aircraft or good visibility aircraft, it works.
Click to expand...

I completely disagree. In fact just last Thursday I rode with a guy that had been flying Citabrias and he has a Cub with extended gear and big tires. He was having trouble gauging his height and three point attitude plus keeping it straight down the runway. He was trying to look out over the nose and it just wasn't working. Got him using peripheral vision combined with glancing out the sides and he started doing really consistent landings. I'm sure you are looking out the sides giving instruction from the back seat. What are you flying by the way. Don
 
jnmeade said:
With something over 100 hours in tailwheel, mostly Citabria and PA-12 towing gliders, will someone remind me why it's worth the money to get tailwheel training as opposed to something like a glider add-on or just more training in the conventional airplane?
For the vast majority of us, conventional airplanes will go anywhere we want. You know what Van thinks of them. A very few tailwheel applications might be important but I wonder if there are enough to warrant all of us training on something we'll never use?
Click to expand...


How about because they will be putting a short grass strip at home where a tailwheel airplane will be able to operate?
 
yakdriver said:
I completely disagree. In fact just last Thursday I rode with a guy that had been flying Citabrias and he has a Cub with extended gear and big tires. He was having trouble gauging his height and three point attitude plus keeping it straight down the runway. He was trying to look out over the nose and it just wasn't working. Got him using peripheral vision combined with glancing out the sides and he started doing really consistent landings. I'm sure you are looking out the sides giving instruction from the back seat. What are you flying by the way. Don
Click to expand...
I don't think anyone meant you should look over the nose at the horizon if you can't see it there (as is the case in most taildraggers and even many tri-gear planes from the rear seat). But you can still focus on and see the horizon around the nose. You might call this using your peripheral vision but it's definitely not looking down the side at the main wheel(s). Of course nothing says you have to stare at one spot and an occasional glance at the runway under the wheels can be useful too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top