First Tailwheel!!

houstondan wrote:
somewhere in the back of my mind there's the idea that skids used to
tear-up the fields and were unpopular with grass strip operators plus,
wouldn't it he harder to turn the thing? one of the things in really
like with a tw is the ability to easily spin it around one wheel. seems
that with a skid, you'd have to goose it enough to get the weight off
the tail before getting it to turn that way.

That's exactly how it's done. Kick the rudder, blip the throttle for about 2
seconds, the tail pops up and swings around. Because of gyroscopic precession,
turns in one direction will be easier than those in the other. From what I've
read, it just takes a little practice. Unless you've got a rotary radial, in
which case, it takes a *lot* of practice.

My father used to fly out of an airport near Hickory in the early 40s. He said
there was one guy who came in there for gas all the time in an old mail plane.
He had installed a high-horsepower engine with an oversized prop. Papa said he
had to takeoff and land nose-up to avoid a prop strike, but he could be
airbourne in no time. Papa said he'd land and keep enough power on to keep the
skid just off the ground while he did a high speed taxi to the pumps. Then he'd
drop the skid to stop. When he finished fueling, he'd lift the tail and point
the plane at the runway. He'd start up, raise the tail, do a fast taxi to the
runway, blip the throttle to make the turn onto the runway without slowing down,
and be off the ground in a few feet.

The guy had his own airstrip behind his house. Papa flew over it once. It was an
old baseball diamond, surrounded by trees. This guy could start from home plate
and be off the ground by the pitcher's mound.

George Patterson
There's plenty of room for all of God's creatures. Right next to the
mashed potatoes.