Tailwheel Endorsement - got it

[iWantWings]

I'm stoked. This is the best thing I've done since I got my private pilot certificate 2 years ago. Thanks to all that gave good advice in this thread http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79170 (I didn't wanna resurrect it).

The training was in the school's 1943 Piper Cub, C-85, electric start, radio (no transponder), intercom, auxiliary fuel tank in the wing, the slightly bigger main tires, etc.

The most challenging for me to learn and do well consistently were the 1-wheel crosswind landing and 1-wheel crosswind takeoff. All the other stuff came together as I flew more lessons - but these things held me back from getting the endorsement at the 10-hour mark I was hoping. But I'm not complaining because there is no substitute for experience by flying - and there is a lot to learn, no doubt, and I feel like I barely know anything tailwheel. Any hour spent with my instructor flying was an excellent opportunity.

So this training was a complete eye-opener for me: there is a lot of work and no room for being complacent if one wants to fly the little tailwheel well. I wasn't sloppy in the 172 - but this is a very different airplane to taxi, land, and take off. Now I understand why FAR 61.57 requires not just 3 landings in 90 days, but, for a tailwheel currency they must be full stop (it ain't over until it's over).

I can hardly wait to go take my kids for a flight - the most daring one first, haha - in the Cub on a calm early morning.

I got a montage of some sloppy and all over the place iphone videos, but I like it. In the clips in the video below it was always my instructor flying (I asked him to take the controls so I can record a little).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca1LL9dZCsQ&feature=youtu.be

P.S. I no longer dream about owning a little Cessna 150; Now I want a Luscombe 8 (ha!)

 

[James331]

I'm stoked. This is the best thing I've done since I got my private pilot certificate 2 years ago. Thanks to all that gave good advice in this thread http://www.pilotsofamerica.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79170 (I didn't wanna resurrect it).

The training was in the school's 1943 Piper Cub, C-85, electric start, radio (no transponder), intercom, auxiliary fuel tank in the wing, the slightly bigger main tires, etc.

The most challenging for me to learn and do well consistently were the 1-wheel crosswind landing and 1-wheel crosswind takeoff. All the other stuff came together as I flew more lessons - but these things held me back from getting the endorsement at the 10-hour mark I was hoping. But I'm not complaining because there is no substitute for experience by flying - and there is a lot to learn, no doubt, and I feel like I barely know anything tailwheel. Any hour spent with my instructor flying was an excellent opportunity.

So this training was a complete eye-opener for me: there is a lot of work and no room for being complacent if one wants to fly the little tailwheel well. I wasn't sloppy in the 172 - but this is a very different airplane to taxi, land, and take off. Now I understand why FAR 61.57 requires not just 3 landings in 90 days, but, for a tailwheel currency they must be full stop (it ain't over until it's over).

I can hardly wait to go take my kids for a flight - the most daring one first, haha - in the Cub on a calm early morning.

I got a montage of some sloppy and all over the place iphone videos, but I like it. In the clips in the video below it was always my instructor flying (I asked him to take the controls so I can record a little).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VB26y3YnMO8

P.S. I no longer dream about owning a little Cessna 150; Now I want a Luscombe 8 (ha!)

P.P.S. I clicked the video link and what did youtube do to the video? The compression is really bad... video looks all muddy (nothing like when I play it on the local PC). Yuck.

Congrats!

And a Luscombe is about 100 times the plane a C150 is.

 

[frfly172]

Congrats,now go enjoy the low and slow flying,your gonna love grass.

 

[Shepherd]

The Luscombe is the plane that separates the men from the boys. I've seen a lot of guys come to grief in a Luscombe after getting checked out in a Champ or Cub.
Jame331 is correct. The Luscombe is far and away the best plane of that era, and better than many made since.

 

[James331]

The Luscombe is the plane that separates the men from the boys. I've seen a lot of guys come to grief in a Luscombe after getting checked out in a Champ or Cub.
Jame331 is correct. The Luscombe is far and away the best plane of that era, and better than many made since.

I wouldn't go that far, I mean it's no Stinson 108 :wink2:

 

[MBDiagMan]

Congratulations! Kick in the butt isn't it?

The tailwheel will humble you. It made me feel like a total klutz trying to get the hang of it.

My instructor went with me to a grass field right after I solo'd. He wouldn't tell me how great it was only something like, "you need to see for yourself." I was amazed at how easy it was to deal with on grass after learning on a paved runway.

Now in my case, I need to find someone to give me a NOSEWHEEL endorsement.

 

[Archammer]

Congratulations and thank you very much for posting this!
It just made me remember how bad I want my tailwheel endorsement.


mmmm Luscombe

Mmmmm, Stinson Voyager

Guallgaalalhghgghg

 

[colojo]

Congratulations, and good on you for doing it so early in your flying career. I waited 28 years after getting my PPL to go tailwheel and really regret it. It's the most fun I've had flying in years.

 

[Stewartb]

Congrats. There is no better application of "license to learn" that I know of. Enjoy it.

 

[Yeti Niner Five]

Congrats!!! I love flying the little tailwheel planes. Now go out there and keep doing it. It's a perishable skill, so keep it fresh.

 

[Jimmy cooper]

Both the Luscombe and the stinson are wonderful aircraft. I had a luscombe F and never should have sold it. I've never owned a stinson 108 but rode in one, flew it, landed and took off a bunch. It had a 180 hp. Lycoming. Really smooooth , nice to fly. I learned to fly in an 85 champ. To me flying the champ, Luscombe, t craft, were all about the same. Lots of fun. I liked the Luscombe best . Either an e or an f.

 

[brien23]

The Luscombe is the plane that separates the men from the boys. I've seen a lot of guys come to grief in a Luscombe after getting checked out in a Champ or Cub.
Jame331 is correct. The Luscombe is far and away the best plane of that era, and better than many made since.

Luscombe did not stop making them because they were selling like hotcakes they stopped because of lack of sales. I know there are those who think Luscombe is the greatest thing since sliced bread but they are small in numbers and hardliners.

 

[Jimmy cooper]

Luscombe did not stop making them because they were selling like hotcakes they stopped because of lack of sales. I know there are those who think Luscombe is the greatest thing since sliced bread but they are small in numbers and hardliners.

The lack of sales is what killed all small taildraggers, not just Luscombe. With the advent of the tri gear tri pacer, etc. ( much easier to fly) The tail dragger was done for. The Luscombe was superior in design and build. Don Luscombe was a real genius as was Ted smith. The Luscombe F or E performs much better than a cub or champ for instance. No comparison. The other big drawback on older taildraggers was hand propping which was a real drag after a few years of it.

 

[RoscoeT]

The Luscombe F or E performs much better than a cub or champ for instance. No comparison.

Overstating the obvious. But if pure performance is what drove aircraft demand, Cubs and Stearmans would have been long gone, and Luscombes would be worth a lot more than the beans they fetch.

 

[Tom-D]

Luscombe did not stop making them because they were selling like hotcakes they stopped because of lack of sales. I know there are those who think Luscombe is the greatest thing since sliced bread but they are small in numbers and hardliners.

And Because of that, they are collectors items.

 

[Tom-D]

Overstating the obvious. But if pure performance is what drove aircraft demand, Cubs and Stearmans would have been long gone, and Luscombes would be worth a lot more than the beans they fetch.

True, , But...>
they didn't stop producing P-51s because what they did was the best, Something better came along.

 

[iWantWings]

Congrats!

And a Luscombe is about 100 times the plane a C150 is.

Thanks! I've never even been near a Luscombe, but I've been reading a lot about them and it is something that i would really like to one day fly. Until then, the little J-3 Cub is the best plane for me to fly: tailwheel practice and really enjoy flying it.

 

[iWantWings]

The Luscombe is the plane that separates the men from the boys. I've seen a lot of guys come to grief in a Luscombe after getting checked out in a Champ or Cub.
Jame331 is correct. The Luscombe is far and away the best plane of that era, and better than many made since.

That's just makes me want to get a chance to fly in one (at least as a passenger) even more; really curious if what I get from reading about it is what i would experience in an actual flight.

I've read they are far less forgiving than the J-3/Champ (for various reasons) but nonetheless they can managed very well as long as the pilot always 'stays on top' of things, at all times.

I'll look around my airport to see if anyone has one and i'd gladly pay for a flight as a passenger.

 

[iWantWings]

Congrats,now go enjoy the low and slow flying,your gonna love grass.

I flew the J-3 at about 38-40mph. It wasn't anywhere low to the ground, but at about 4000 feet, and from there, at that "speed", it was as if I was standing still with no forward motion whatsoever

Then I flew it at about 500 feet AGL over some rough hills/rock formations, just as slow... over places I used to hike, and now i get to see it all from above.

 

[iWantWings]

Congratulations! Kick in the butt isn't it?

The tailwheel will humble you. It made me feel like a total klutz trying to get the hang of it.

My instructor went with me to a grass field right after I solo'd. He wouldn't tell me how great it was only something like, "you need to see for yourself." I was amazed at how easy it was to deal with on grass after learning on a paved runway.

Now in my case, I need to find someone to give me a NOSEWHEEL endorsement.

You're totally right - after my first tailwheel lesson in the Cub I wonder why I I'm so bad at doing the simplest of things and thought that I'm starting at such a handicap that I should not even continue it.

But then it really transformed into something where the most basic of things, like taxing, or raising the tail on a takeoff roll, or the high speed taxi on the runway with stick fully forward, of the one-wheel dance in xwind take off/landing... this really is rewarding when done right.

Grass landing - I admit, although i do them well, no problem, I'm concern the plane takes too much abuse/stress. After landing at a speed low enough to be fully stalled on the grass, the plane keeps bouncing up/down as it rolls to an eventual stop in the grass. It's a 1943 plane - dont wanna stress it out (taht's what I tell msyelf). Maybe the field I landed on was bad - maybe it wasn't even a runway? haha!

 

[richas]

Nice work!

Rich

 

[iWantWings]

Congratulations and thank you very much for posting this!
It just made me remember how bad I want my tailwheel endorsement.


mmmm Luscombe

Mmmmm, Stinson Voyager

Guallgaalalhghgghg

Candy

I hardly knew anything about small, single engine tailwheel planes before i started the training. Now I knew just a little bit more, but still hardly anything - yet I find myself looking way too often at airplanes for sale like the Luscombe 8s, Aeronca Chap, Taylorcraft, C120/140 and so on... at least I can imagine, right?

 

[iWantWings]

Congratulations, and good on you for doing it so early in your flying career. I waited 28 years after getting my PPL to go tailwheel and really regret it. It's the most fun I've had flying in years.

Glad to hear. And it's never too late. Another thing i'm learning is that these are pretty economical. I mean, you can really enjoy the stick and rudder flying in a C-65, or C-85 for not too much cost.

I wonder, are the C-65 and C-85 (or the more rare C-90) still being used today in new aircraft? Or is the new Rotax line the modern equivalent?

 

[iWantWings]

Congrats. There is no better application of "license to learn" that I know of. Enjoy it.

True, isn't it? The GA flying really does open up chances to learn new stuff. And since I'm not interested in the "functional" and "transport" aspect of flying, but mainly the basics of flying, the fun of getting lift in something made while World War II was in full swing, is remarkable to me.

 

[iWantWings]

Congrats!!! I love flying the little tailwheel planes. Now go out there and keep doing it. It's a perishable skill, so keep it fresh.

Sound advice - and i noticed it too during training. I never flew lessons more than once a week, and when 2 weeks lapsed between training flights, there was already some "atrophy" in the stick-and-rudder dance.

My plan is to fly once a month for as along as i can and have the... whatever it's called... chiseled in my brain. ha.

 

[iWantWings]

Both the Luscombe and the stinson are wonderful aircraft. I had a luscombe F and never should have sold it. I've never owned a stinson 108 but rode in one, flew it, landed and took off a bunch. It had a 180 hp. Lycoming. Really smooooth , nice to fly. I learned to fly in an 85 champ. To me flying the champ, Luscombe, t craft, were all about the same. Lots of fun. I liked the Luscombe best . Either an e or an f.

I think you first told me about the Luscombe 8 in the other thread when I first started. I wasn't really sure what it was, until I saw it. Then I read about it on airbum; also asked by instructor about it (he's also an A&P). And that was the start... (I also like the Aeronca Champ, for slow, leisurely flight - but would prefer the performance-oriented design of the Luscombe 8, with a C-85....).

would also want a transponder, electric start...

 

[AcroGimp]

Congrats, I did mine last year after almost 30 years of flying and really enjoyed it, different but fun.

'Gimp

 

[iWantWings]

Nice work!

Rich

Thank you. Looking forward to my next solo flight - and that one I'll recorder with a mounted gopro that should come out nice.

 

[Jimmy cooper]

There was a beautiful F model for sale on barnstormers about a year ago. As I recall it was 45 grand, recently rebuilt inside and out, engine had about 200 hours smoh, transponder, strobes, etc. Wheel pants, polished. Red trim. It was priced reasonably I thought if it passed a careful inspection. Whoever redid it was a real pro. If I did not have to fly light sport I would have bought it if it was what it looked like. As I recall it also came with a fresh annual. Nice ones do show up if your patient.

 

[Neal Howard]

Got my tailwheel endorsement in a 1946 J3 Cub.
Now I fly RVs

 

[txflyer]

Congrats!

Welcome to the "never a dull moment when you're on the ground" crowd.

All you gotta remember is to never stop flying chock to chock.