CFI-G to teach tailwheel?

T

TopGun68

Filing Flight Plan
Joined
Dec 20, 2023
Messages
3
Display Name
Sam
Hey everyone,

This is a pretty niche question, I think. I'm looking at a commercial glider add-on (to my ASEL+AMEL) and then CFI-G after. I also have my tailwheel endorsement. Ignoring proficiency and insurance matters, if I did my CFI-G, would I then be able to teach tailwheel in an airplane?

From my reading of FAR 61.31 (i)(1), the requirements to teach tailwheel are to be an "authorized instructor" and to have a tailwheel endorsement. Under FAR 61.1 (b), an authorized instructor can be "A person who holds a flight instructor certificate issued under part 61 of this chapter", which CFI-G falls under. Unless there's an extra layer to the definition of authorized instructor, it sounds like CFI-G with a tailwheel endorsement can teach tailwheel.

I'm not 100% sure on this, and I wanted to get other opinions/inputs. I haven't done more than surface-level digging on this so far.

Thanks
 
You would need a flight instructor certificate with an ASEL rating.

§ 61.195 Flight instructor limitations and qualifications.
(b) Aircraft ratings. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, a flight instructor may not conduct flight training in any aircraft unless the flight instructor:

(1) Holds a flight instructor certificate with the applicable category and class rating;

(2) Holds a pilot certificate with the applicable category and class rating; and

(3) Meets the requirements of paragraph (e) of this section, if applicable.
 
I would think you'd need a CFI airplane to teach in an airplane. I believe that's what "authorized instructor" is referring to. I have both a CFI in airplanes & gliders. I also own a tailwheel aircraft & do some tailwheel instruction. Insurance will be your nemesis. When you start giving dual instruction in tailwheel aircraft the insurance companies are very restrictive.
 
JScarry said:
You would need a flight instructor certificate with an ASEL rating.

§ 61.195 Flight instructor limitations and qualifications.
(b) Aircraft ratings. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, a flight instructor may not conduct flight training in any aircraft unless the flight instructor:

(1) Holds a flight instructor certificate with the applicable category and class rating;

(2) Holds a pilot certificate with the applicable category and class rating; and

(3) Meets the requirements of paragraph (e) of this section, if applicable.
Click to expand...
Ah ok, that's what I was missing. CFI-G in an airplane didn't really pass the intuitive test, but I thought I'd ask

saddletramp said:
I would think you'd need a CFI airplane to teach in an airplane. I believe that's what "authorized instructor" is referring to. I have both a CFI in airplanes & gliders. I also own a tailwheel aircraft & do some tailwheel instruction. Insurance will be your nemesis. When you start giving dual instruction in tailwheel aircraft the insurance companies are very restrictive.
Click to expand...
I can imagine insurance is off the charts for tailwheel airplanes in general. Are the companies restrictive on the instructor side or the student side? Or both?
 
61.31 is pretty damned clear. Your tailwheel instruction for the endorsement needs to be done in a tailwheel AIRPLANE and a CFI-G can't instruct in airplanes.
 
Both. My annual insurance cost is $4,600. I also got a quote to instruct in my Husky & it was nearly $10K. When I bought my Husky I had 0 hours in Husky aircraft. They said they'd have a much better rate for instruction once I had 100 hours PIC in it. I also had to get 10 hours solo in my buddy's 180 before I could instruct in it. I gladly got the 10 hours solo in it!
 
TopGun68 said:
I can imagine insurance is off the charts for tailwheel airplanes in general. Are the companies restrictive on the instructor side or the student side? Or both?
Click to expand...
Student. Low time and tailwheel means a high cost.

I have a tailwheel aircraft. My insurance is not that bad. I can add dual only coverage for a small extra. Allow low time to solo, price goes WAY up.
 
Not sure why would want to figure out the bare minimum an instructor needs to teach tailwheel. Personally wouldn’t want a tailwheel CFI with less than 200 hours TW and at least 50 in the aircraft used for instruction.

Theoretically a CFI with a six hour sign off can teach TW. Those who write phrases like “I have my tailwheel.” Presumably insurance helps cull a bit here.

Because in the end tailwheel has a large degree of of self-teaching - you have to have had a moment or three where the aircraft is really not behaving and recovered. An instructor in a TW aircraft can barely let you fly into the crash or more realistically, hope for the best. As one friend said it “there’s really not much I can do if I let you go too far to learn, and if I don’t let you go a bit far, you can’t learn.”

Also if a tandem model, your back seat passenger may choose to use the rudder footrests at the most inconvenient time. Can turn a routine landing into a galloping Gertie.

The perspective here is based on learning to be able to land a TW aircraft at the limits of its crosswind capability. A J3 on a grass strip at sunset is a different ball of wax.
 
Steamflyer said:
Not sure why would want to figure out the bare minimum an instructor needs to teach tailwheel.
Click to expand...
Because the "bare minimum" requirements are literally "the requirements." It should be obvious that you need to know what those are, even if you intend to exceed them.

Steamflyer said:
Personally wouldn’t want a tailwheel CFI with less than 200 hours TW and at least 50 in the aircraft used for instruction.
Click to expand...
I could be the op, I'm not, but I have over 300 hours of tail wheel and a CFIG. The op doesn't mention his experience.
 
Lindberg said:
I could be the op, I'm not, but I have over 300 hours of tail wheel and a CFIG. The op doesn't mention his experience.
Click to expand...
That, plus a good number of hours in a subject plane and you probably are all set to provide good instruction assuming the right CFI type.

The other problem is that all pilots and instructors are on a bell curve in terms of competence. Since there are far fewer TW instructors than ordinary ones, there are even fewer on the right side of the curve by definition.

Suspect TW insurance will slowly start to look like seaplane instance over the next five years or so - punishing rates unless substantial experience.
 
Steamflyer said:
Theoretically a CFI with a six hour sign off can teach TW.
Click to expand...

That's what happened to me. My first TW CFI had maybe 10 hours. He got his endorsement, did a solo or two, and then tried to teach me in a Champ. He was just as far behind the aircraft as I was.

We ground looped it on my second lesson. Fortunately no damage and a very valuable lesson in how quickly it can happen. He was pretty shook up, so the owner took over and got me signed off in 5 hours.
 
Last edited:
Steamflyer said:
Theoretically a CFI with a six hour sign off can teach TW.
Click to expand...

Scary but true. While I am tailwheel endorsed and have over 2000 hours of dual given, I only have about 15 hours of tailwheel time over a 30 year period. Needless to say, I am not proficient. There is no way I'm getting in a tailwheel to teach anybody anything about tailwheeling. I would possibly consider it if I knew the pilot was otherwise proficient and just wanted training on a new GPS or something, but that's about it.
 
same is true for seaplane, if you have a CFI and go get a ASES you become a seaplane instructor also...
 
unsafervguy said:
same is true for seaplane, if you have a CFI and go get a ASES you become a seaplane instructor also...
Click to expand...
Hadn’t thought of that, but scary. Initial SES is truly a license to learn, slowly. Insurance prices corroborate that.
 
I realize this is an old thread. But the easy answer is "No".
A CFIG can instruct in gliders, not airplanes. It falls into that "authorized instructor" thing. A CFIG is not an authorized instructor for an airplane.
Gliders don't recognize tailwheel as such and do not require a "tailwheel endorsement". Some have tailwheels, some have nose wheels, some have forward skids.
 
it's not that old.
once you have your CFIG adding ASEL instructor should be relatively easy.
it is the initial CFI that takes most of the effort.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
brcase said:
once you have your CFIG adding ASEL instructor should be relatively easy.
it is the initial CFI that takes most of the effort.
Click to expand...
the instructor who did my ASE add-on was at least as thorough on the FOI stuff as the instructor who did my initial in gliders.

I won’t name names, but I’ve known him most of my life, and call him “Dad.” ;)
 
brcase said:
it's not that old.
once you have your CFIG adding ASEL instructor should be relatively easy.
it is the initial CFI that takes most of the effort.
Click to expand...
I have found adding ASEL to my instructor cert to be impossible since I don't have an IR.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top