I want to fly a tailwheel!!

BiffJ said:
If you have a policy for your own plane it usually covers renting as well. Its a good idea to check first of course. My cessna is insured with AOPA and they told me I'm covered for rentals as well as loans of aircraft from friends as long as I'm qualified and current.

Frank
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And usually only covered up to the hull amount that your own airplane is insured for.

IOW, if you have a 1960s 172 insured for $30k, don't expect your insurance to cover you if you ball up a rental Cirrus.
 
Elkton Flying Club has a J-3 Cub and a grass strip for instruction and solo checkout. It's about 30 minutes north of Clarksville, TN. Nice folks and cheap rentals in a rural setting, doesn't get much better.
www.elktonflyingclub.com

Mike-
 
I'd say go for an aerobatic & TW combo if you can find one. At 12 hours into my PPL training I started TW & aerobatics in a citabria... I have to say it was hands down the best decision I have ever made (in regards to flight training). I feel it made me a significantly better pilot.

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JCranford said:
Am I understanding correctly that you are looking to get TW and acro before you've even passed you PPL checkride?

More power to you I suppose, but I'm more a 'one thing at a time' kinda guy
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I was doing aileron rolls, loops, split S & spins 14 hours into my private pilot training... I say go for it. Well worth it.

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txflyer said:
All I know is, it's a damn shame a man has to go begging to find a TW instructor.

A testament to what sorry shape things are getting in...
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Only going to get worse. A few years ago a guy on a homebuilt forum wanted to build a self-steering taildragger so he could look macho without the groundlooping danger.

Silly.
 
Dan Thomas said:
Only going to get worse. A few years ago a guy on a homebuilt forum wanted to build a self-steering taildragger so he could look macho without the groundlooping danger.

Silly.
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What is a self-steering taildragger?
 
Fearless Tower said:
What is a self-steering taildragger?
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He wanted some ideas regarding rudder/tailwheel control, with gyro inputs, to keep the airplane straight on takeoff and landing. Didn't want to rely on his feet; might lose control.

I don't get that thinking. Why do people fly? Isn't it most often to master a new skill? To eliminate fears by acquiring knowledge and experience in the subject? Why is there such resistance to some aspects of it? Stalls and spins? Taildragging? IFR? Aerobatics? Mountain flying? Basic VFR cross-country trips with nothing more than a map, watch and compass?
 
Dan Thomas said:
He wanted some ideas regarding rudder/tailwheel control, with gyro inputs, to keep the airplane straight on takeoff and landing. Didn't want to rely on his feet; might lose control.
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Sounds like an OCD engineer with little flying experience.
 
Dan Thomas said:
He wanted some ideas regarding rudder/tailwheel control, with gyro inputs, to keep the airplane straight on takeoff and landing. Didn't want to rely on his feet; might lose control.
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Funny thing is that many prefer their tail draggers to not have gyros.
 
James331 said:
Learning tailwheel properly isn't something one can just through in.

I'm all for the acro, but learning tailwheel is like soloing all over again time wise, and even then most folks won't rent to you solo, that says something.
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Took me two flights to earn a tailwheel endorsement after my private. I had around 60 hours total time when I did the tailwheel. Didn't fly one again after the endorsement for 7 years. Then I bought the Flybaby and jumped in it solo and flew it home. Couple hundred tailwheel now.
 
The old guy who sold me our 180 said ...

"It's easy, just like driving a tricycle backwards!" :D
 
More than any other aviation discipline the conventional gear endorsement is a license to learn. Having a sign-off does not mean you're any good.
 
I know a guy who taught himself how to fly tail wheel. He has logged hundreds of hrs flying his tail wheel.

From my understanding when he went to get his endorsement he flew his tailwheel airplane into the CFI's airfield to get this endorsement.

Tony
 
Stewartb said:
More than any other aviation discipline the conventional gear endorsement is a license to learn. Having a sign-off does not mean you're any good.
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Could you not say this about the PP certificate or any aviation certificate?

Tony
 
RoscoeT said:
Or just under 2-1/2 with a correction back to 2-1/4. :)
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:yes: 2 full turns then start the recovery.

I stopped trying to teach recoveries to a heading as I found that most would miss the heading and do a rolling pull out:nono: trying to correct to the desired heading.
 
dillardrg said:
:yes: 2 full turns then start the recovery.

I stopped trying to teach recoveries to a heading as I found that most would miss the heading and do a rolling pull out:nono: trying to correct to the desired heading.
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Yeah I hear ya
 
RoscoeT said:
Is that also your experience checking people out in TW airplanes?
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My experience is that the average is 3-5 lessons. It really is fun to see the very steep learning curve that most have. Some (granted very few) seem to not be able to see the angles associated with landing and give up. For many, it is a perfectly sized challenge after the luster of $300 hamburgers has worn off.

I own a Citabria that's available for solo. Knock on wood: there have been no incidents or accidents among the solo renters. Part of that is a very frank discussion on personal limits and the statement "We still charge by the hour even if you're scaring yourself."
 
Jimmy cooper said:
Can you say DC3? It hs a locking tail wheel as do several others to avoid losing control on takeoff. Good idea and much less complicated.
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Having a lockable tailwheel helps a little bit but it still takes proper control inputs to keep it straight. Don
 
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