I'm always amazed at how many tailwheel pilots I've met who say they never
did wheel landings during their training. And of the vast majority who did
do them say, "but we only did one or two".

Harvey Plourde addresses this in "The Compleat Taildragger Pilot". He
sketches the scene where the typical checkout ends with the instructor
saying something like "You get the idea; practice it some time when
there's no cross-wind," signing the endorsement, then moving to
another state or changing his name.

He also notes that it may be some comfort to the student who is
sweating out his first wheelie to know that the instructor is even
more terrified. (It is, after all, the instructor's insurance policy
that is on the line. And in the Cub, the instructor is usually in the
front seat. I often wondered what it is like to teach somebody you
can't see! Shucks, the student could have fainted, for all the
instructor knows.)

all the best -- Dan Ford
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see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
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