Which taildragger

"Deborah McFarland" wrote in message
...

If I ever give one word of sound advice about flying Luscombes, it's this.
Never, ever as long as you live use those brakes during the landing roll.
Luscombe brakes are for ground maneuvering only. If a CFI tells you
different, open the door and ask him to get out.

The proper use of aircraft brakes is a much misunderstood issue
unfortunately and could easily use it's own thread.
I agree completely with your statement concerning the Luscombe. The rudder
on this airplane is responsive enough to handle landings without touching
the brakes.......and this holds true for many other aircraft also. Proper
planning even while taxiing should keep brake application to a minimum and
indeed, taxiing without braking, or at least minimum braking should be the
goal of every pilot.
But it's not a completely black and white issue, and pilots are well advised
to learn how and when to use their brakes PROPERLY.
I used to kid my trainees by telling them the brakes were on the airplane
for holding it during the runup and little else. For some airplanes this is
true.
From the gitgo, I'd have my pilots planning ground operations to reflect as
little brake use as possible. Many pilots are surprised to learn how well
you can thread a needle with an airplane between two parked airplanes if you
just PLAN a little ahead!
But there's another side to the brake issue, and you find it in higher
performance airplanes, especially in higher performance; bigger, and heavier
tailwheel aircraft. You will also find it in close coupled light aircraft
like a Pitts for example.
The problem can arise in the late stages of the landing roll as dynamic
energy decreases on the rudder and you get angular drift on the runway.
There will be times in these airplanes when a touch of brake might very well
be necessary, although most of the time, you can handle even these aircraft
using no brakes and that is the recommended procedure.
The thing with brakes on an airplane is to learn right off the bat where and
when to use them properly, and then HOW to use them properly. All good
pilots, especially tail wheel pilots, should be capable of extremely
careful, delicate rudder and brake application, and know through proper
training when to use brake and how much can be used without losing the
airplane.
As a CFI, I like the goal of using as little brake as possible, especially
on landings, but I also want to stress that not all airplanes are alike, and
keeping that in mind, a thorough indoctrination into the proper use of
aircraft brakes, and especially the brakes on a specific airplane should be
part and parcel of every CFI's tool kit!
Dudley Henriques