Tailwheel endorsement

In article , vincent p norris wrote:
Ridiculous, that's what they are!

A friend of mine, a CFII with lots of time in trikes, bought a Cessna
140 a couple of years ago.

Depends on the insurance company.

His insurance co. requried 20 (twenty) hours of dual before they'd
insure him.

Our club insurance only required a checkout (no minimum hours,
instructor discretion) when I got checked out in the C170.

My partner in the C140 taught his first student to fly from zero hours
in our aircraft. Again, the insurance company didn't specify a minimum,
just that the requirements of the FARs for soloing were met. This was in
2002. His student did his first solo off a grass airfield. IIRC, he had
on the order of 12 hours.

I must admit, I did watch his student *very* apprehensively during those
first solos in my plane :-)

The funny thing is (and I have it on videotape) is Paul watching his
student on his third solo, at Houston Gulf airport (5000x60, sadly now
closed). Another instructor is standing in the grass with Paul, watching
his student at about the same stage, in a Cessna 150. They are talking
about their respective students first solos. The conversation went like
this:

Paul: Yeah, I soloed him off the grass runway at Anhuac (a 3500 x 300
grass runway)
Other instructor: A grass runway? Is that considered safe!?

Paul then explained that grass runways (especially ones in reasonable
condition, and 300 feet wide) are SAFER, definitely for taildraggers,
and probably for nosedraggers.

--
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"

In article , Robert M.
Gary wrote:
I certainly hope you are not teaching your students to look to one side
when full stall/three point landing a taildragger.

I find that being able to see the ground is helpful. Have you ever
flown a J-3, Stearman, etc...?

You don't have to look to one side to see the ground unless you have
a medical condition that stops your peripheral vision from working.

The taildragger I'm flying now is an Auster 5J1 (with 160hp engine) and
you can't see over the cowling on the ground (you need to S-turn when
taxiing). I don't move my head or look sideways when landing it -
peripheral vision is more than adequate to judge the flare and landing
(with the shape of the cowling, I'm not sure moving your head would do
any good anyway).

--
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"

I just posted my writeup of getting the endorsement. It's at:

www.john-a-harper.com/flying/tailwheel.htm

John

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
email:

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

Thanks for the pointer. I'll add it to my list of Cub-friendly
airports www.pipercubforum.com/friendly.htm

Dan, you can also add Red Stewart Airfield (40I), Waynesville Ohio.
Cubs, Champs, Stearman.

Thanks!

Anyone else?

all the best -- Dan Ford
email:

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

Well, I am not looking to the side when I land the Cub (Super Cub,
Husky, Great Lakes). Seems to me it's done with peripheral vision.

Of course, the fields in New England are mostly bordered by pine
trees. I admit this was much more of a challenge when I had to do it
in Arizona (Super Cub, Great Lakes). But I still don't think I
actually turned my head and looked to the side.

How do you think we landed the PT-19, T-6, P-51, etc.,etc.? You went
blind as soon as you pulled nose up on landing.

Big John

On Mon, 08 Dec 2003 21:14:39 GMT, EDR wrote:

In article , Robert M.
Gary wrote:

The D is very nice in that you can land it by looking out over the
cowl (like in a 172), you don't need to hang your head around the side
of the plane and look around the side of the cowl.

I certainly hope you are not teaching your students to look to one side
when full stall/three point landing a taildragger.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email:

see the Warbird's Forum at www.warbirdforum.com
and the Piper Cub Forum at www.pipercubforum.com

In article , Big John
wrote:

EDR
How do you think we landed the PT-19, T-6, P-51, etc.,etc.? You went
blind as soon as you pulled nose up on landing.

I was taught and use my peripheral vision (the equal triangle method)
to maintain directional control. I don't look out the side until I
begin S-turning.

In article , Cub Driver
wrote:

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.)

Dan, most instructors install a small convex mirror to one of the cross
frame members above and ahead of the front seat.

EDR wrote:

I certainly hope you are not teaching your students to look to one side
when full stall/three point landing a taildragger.

Many of them can't be landed any other way.

George Patterson
Some people think they hear a call to the priesthood when what they really
hear is a tiny voice whispering "It's indoor work with no heavy lifting".

Dylan Smith wrote:

You don't have to look to one side to see the ground unless you have
a medical condition that stops your peripheral vision from working.

I do. It's called myopia. Blind as a bat outside the frame of my glasses.

George Patterson
Some people think they hear a call to the priesthood when what they really
hear is a tiny voice whispering "It's indoor work with no heavy lifting".