[Rant Warning] Tailwheel Training

"C J Campbell" wrote in message It is not your tailwheel background that
lets you do that. It is your experience, pure and simple.

I see your point. However, I've also seen many new-hire first officers who
never learned good rudder control during landing. In a C-172, poor rudder
control is of little consequence. In a larger plane were they are seated far
forward of the wingspar (C.G.), poor rudder control manifests itself as
prematurely worn landing gear parts. Taildragger training emphasizes rudder
control. I'd much rather have them hone their rudder control on 2 tires
instead of 4 tires.

D.

"C J Campbell" wrote in
:


"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
om...
"C J Campbell" wrote in
message
...
There is absolutely
no reason to learn to fly a tailwheel aircraft unless you plan on
owning
one
or have some other special need, such as bush piloting or you are a
CFI
who
wants to instruct in them.

My tailwheel background certainly makes me a much better Mooney
pilot. It certainly makes me a better CFI. I'm able to let students
take the 172 further towards the weeds with confidence that I can
control it. Non-tailwheel CFIs have to jump in there right away and
the students takes 3 times longer to learn foot work.

It is not your tailwheel background that lets you do that. It is your
experience, pure and simple.

It is awfully hard for a student to run off into the weeds on a 150'
wide runway. I just let them go where they want. They learn pretty
quick.



I tend to agree with CJ on this. I am a tailwheel instructor now, but I
was not always one. Because I kept hearing comments like 'you are not a
real pilot until you have flown a tailwheel', I took the challenge to
transition to a 1946 Luscomb 8A. I did not find anything particularly
difficult about it, probably because I was already using the correct
techniques in the tricycle gear airplanes. The limited view over the nose
was the most difficult thing I had to get over. We even landed in 15 knot
cross winds.

"C J Campbell" wrote in message ...
"Robert M. Gary" wrote in message
om...
"C J Campbell" wrote in message
...
There is absolutely
no reason to learn to fly a tailwheel aircraft unless you plan on owning
one
or have some other special need, such as bush piloting or you are a CFI
who
wants to instruct in them.

My tailwheel background certainly makes me a much better Mooney pilot.
It certainly makes me a better CFI. I'm able to let students take the
172 further towards the weeds with confidence that I can control it.
Non-tailwheel CFIs have to jump in there right away and the students
takes 3 times longer to learn foot work.

It is not your tailwheel background that lets you do that. It is your
experience, pure and simple.

I disagree. I think its my tailwheel experience. I had almost 100
hours in my book (and my private) before I sat in a nosewheel GA
plane.

-Robert

Non-tailwheel CFIs have to jump in there right away and the students
takes 3 times longer to learn foot work.

Nonsense.

"C J Campbell" wrote in message ...

Apparently there are a few pilots on this
forum who want a bigger propeller in order to compensate for something else.

OK CJ.... but tell us this: How many taildragger hours do you have?
How about glider? Aerobatic? Formation?

IMHO, learning any of those skills will make you a better, safer, and
more confident pilot. They all demand quality piloting skills and
provide immediate, get-your-attention feedback when you make any
mistakes.

Anybody with a pulse can learn to land a 172 safely while making some
pretty gross mistakes on the airmanship-front. (And I know, because
I've done that, too. :-)

-Dave Russell
8KCAB

In article , C J Campbell wrote:
Then there never in the entire history of aviation been CFIs that know how
to teach the basics. Tailwheel aircraft have always had a higher accident
rate than tricycle gear aircraft and they always will. There is absolutely
no reason to learn to fly a tailwheel aircraft unless you plan on owning one
or have some other special need, such as bush piloting or you are a CFI who
wants to instruct in them.

Please keep telling your students this - it will hopefully become a good
meme that will lower the demand for tailwheel planes, therefore making
the purchase price for those of us who like them less due to the laws of
supply and demand :-)

Speaking for myself, I did my first ~300 hrs in nosedraggers, then did a
tailwheel checkout so I could fly the club's 170. It really did improve
my landings because it forces you to (a) always land perfectly straight
and (b) always in the correct attitude. It's easy to get sloppy or out
of practice when flying something that essentially lands itself like a
C172.

Additionally, the C170 has much better over-the-nose visibility than a
C172 or a Warrior *on the ground* in the 3-point attitude. In flight,
the view is spectacular.

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"