tailwheel endorsement

Aztec Driver

Aztec Driver

Line Up and Wait
Joined
Mar 7, 2005
Messages
982
Location
Elizabethtown, PA
Display Name
Display name:
Bryon
Well, I finally went out and finished up the tailwheel in the Champ. Felt great. Had some nice landings both on the runway and on the grass with the instructor, then went and did some solo. What a great feeling. Even had a reasonable crosswind that day. I actually felt like I accomplished something. Found out two days later that i know exactly squat! I decided to take my wife up in it and introduce her to the tailwheel. Well, the crosswind was a little stronger, and she is heavier than the CFI. And I am a klutz, apparently. It was a little more difficult getting the tail up off the ground, but no matter, it did and we climbed OK. Flew around a little and showed her how slow you really can go. We came back for landing on the grass and we bounced a bit, but all was OK. I decided to show her a better landing, so up we went. In the grass again, but again we bounced all over the place. So up we went again. This time someone walks onto the grassy area where we land, so I decided to use the runway. Now we are all over the runway, but under control and it ends up OK. Now I REALLY want to show her a good landing. Up we go. I decide for a good wheel landing on the runway. This time we bounce and are all over the place. It takes everything I have to keep it forward, unfortunately, it also goes off the side of the runway, which would not have been any problem at all, if I could have managed to hit the 90% air spacing between runway lights. Unfortunately that was not the case. No damage to airplane, just the ego, and, of course, 1 hellaciously expensive runway light and lens.:mad: Oh well, back to the practice. It seems to be incredibly difficult to teach an old dog new tricks.
 
Amazin' how that little wheel in back always seems to try send you into the bean patch... :)
 
Aztec Driver said:
Well, I finally went out and finished up the tailwheel in the Champ. Felt great. Found out two days later that i know exactly squat!
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There's nothing more humbling than a taildragger. :)

Here's a poem for ya:

Taildragger I hate your guts,
I have the license, ratings and such,
But to make you go straight is driving me nuts
With hours of teaching and the controls in my clutch
It takes a little rudder, easy, that's too much.
You see, I learned to fly in a tricycle gear
with one up front and two in the rear.
She was sleek and clean and easy to steer
But this miserable thing with tires and struts
Takes a little rudder, easy, that's too much.
It demands your attention on the take-off roll
or it heads towards Jone's as you pour on the coal.
Gotta hang loose, don't over control.
This wicked little plane is just too much.
With a lot of zigzagging and words obscene
I think I've mastered this slippery machine
It's not that bad if you have the touch
Just a little rudder, easy, that's too much.
I relax for a second and from the corner of my eye,
I suddenly realize with a gasp and a cry
That's my own tail that's going by.
You ground looping wreck; I hate your guts,
Give a little rudder, Great Scott, THAT'S TOO MUCH.

Author Unknown

Unfortunately, my sweetie shot a video of one of my bouncy, yucky landings the other day. If you get to feeling too glum, I'll email you the short clip if it will make you feel better. I can even add some music...blues would be appropriate. No, wait, maybe dance music. :D
 
It's been too long since I've flown something with the wheel in the back. I'd probably want a CFI with me for the first T/O & Landing...
 
Diana said:
There's nothing more humbling than a taildragger. :)
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Well maybe a helicopter is up there too --no contact with the ground and that sucker wants to weathercock just like a tail dragger -- BUT at least we don't do ground loops :yes:
 
Yah but Taildraggers dont have problems with Mast Bumping, Dynamic Rollover, Ground resonance, or LTE.

all in all though so far it appears that a fling wing is easier to control that a taildragger
 
This Champ have toe brakes? If the airplane is hopping you may inadvertently be putting a little pressure on the brakes.
 
wesleyj said:
Yah but Taildraggers dont have problems with Mast Bumping, Dynamic Rollover, Ground resonance, or LTE.

all in all though so far it appears that a fling wing is easier to control that a taildragger
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Maybe, maybe not. Air-taxiiing between rows of hangars in gusty winds looks a lot tougher than landing a taildragger in similar conditions to me.
 
lancefisher said:
Maybe, maybe not. Air-taxiiing between rows of hangars in gusty winds looks a lot tougher than landing a taildragger in similar conditions to me.
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Well, if by that you mean landing a taildragger between rows of hangars in gusty wind conditions, I've never tried it...I've landed below the level of the corn, but since I only had about 2 feet of wingtip clearance (see avatar), I only did it on fairly calm days ;)

Fly safe!

David
 
BTW How long did it take you all to get your tailwheel endorsement?

There is a place close by here that offers it. The last time I spoke with them via email all they said was I needed 10 hours to solo and then be able to rent. I responded with that I was not interested in solo for aircraft rental just that I wanted to sign off and what was the typical time frame. All I got back was static. 10 hours would have cost me well over a thousand dollars and it just seemed exessive.
 
smigaldi said:
BTW How long did it take you all to get your tailwheel endorsement?

There is a place close by here that offers it. The last time I spoke with them via email all they said was I needed 10 hours to solo and then be able to rent. I responded with that I was not interested in solo for aircraft rental just that I wanted to sign off and what was the typical time frame. All I got back was static. 10 hours would have cost me well over a thousand dollars and it just seemed exessive.
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3 hours.

It all depends on how quick you learn, 10 hours is pretty common I've heard. I wouldn't consider that excessive. I prefer places that say "when we feel you are ready" over a certain hour number.

You don't really understand the tailwheel difference until you try to land it for the first time. Add a few gusts and a hard surface runway and be prepared for a ride.
 
smigaldi said:
BTW How long did it take you all to get your tailwheel endorsement?

There is a place close by here that offers it. The last time I spoke with them via email all they said was I needed 10 hours to solo and then be able to rent. I responded with that I was not interested in solo for aircraft rental just that I wanted to sign off and what was the typical time frame. All I got back was static. 10 hours would have cost me well over a thousand dollars and it just seemed exessive.
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10 hours is reasonable but some can do it in much less. If you find yourself doing LDG after LDG with no problems, it's hard for a CFI to argue with that performance unless there's other factors.
Just ask them beforehand,
"How many great landings in a row do you need to see to sign me off?"
 
Don't feel so bad, Bryon, I did the same thing back in January with the very same Champ, but I managed to miss the runway lights! However, I managed to go for my off tar excursion right in front of one of the owners, who was doing a stage check with a PP Student. Nothing like demonstrating how NOT to exit the runway. LOL! They say you aren't a taildragger pilot until you have managed to get through a ground loop. I'm tryin' really hard to avoid that. But I know that old champ really likes the grass better than the tar.

Jim G
 
Well, so far it took about 6 hours to get here. And thanks, all. I don't feel quite so bad now. Even if all the stories were false,:D it makes me feel better. And now we'll see what happens tomorrow. Got to get right back into it.

Well Jim, Matt told me that he and Jeff almost ran off the runway the day after I did. That almost made me feel MUCH better.

The Champ has heel brakes, and I made sure not to use them unless I really need them.
 
Diana said:
There's nothing more humbling than a taildragger. :)

Here's a poem for ya:

Taildragger I hate your guts,
I have the license, ratings and such,
But to make you go straight is driving me nuts
With hours of teaching and the controls in my clutch
It takes a little rudder, easy, that's too much.

... snip
Click to expand...

Great Poem !
 
Well, today went MUCH better. It's amazing how well you can do when noone is in the back seat and the wind is in front of you.
 
Aztec Driver said:
Well, today went MUCH better. It's amazing how well you can do when noone is in the back seat and the wind is in front of you.
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I find I get better landings with some weight in the back. No weight and I bounce along, not getting the tail down soon enough.

Don't worry about those heel brakes either. When you need them, trust in the fact that those old drums won't stop you anyway!

Really, I stay on the grass with the Champ as much as possible. I need to work on tar landings.

Jim G
 
I'd probably avoid making a habit out of ignoring the heel brakes. They might be all that will save you some day from a groundloop.
 
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