Tailwheel endorsement

In article 1070822505.275371@sj-nntpcache-5, John Harper
wrote:

Two hours seems a bit short to me. I think if I'd done it all with my
acro instructor, over a short time, it would probably have taken
around six. Just getting wheel landings down reliably is at least
a couple of hours. I certainly spent a lot of time flying round the
pattern doing stuff I was doing just fine (three-point landings,
which I was doing fine with after one hour), which is one reason
I got very frustrated with my first instructor.

I did my initial tailwheel endorsement was in a Piper J-3 Cub,
including spins, in two hours with seven landings.
The second tailwheel aircraft checkout in a Citabria 7GCBC took ten
hours to meet the minimum insurance requirements.

I got tailwheel endorsement in one hour on a Citabria... 8)
Granted that I had been a passenger for around fifty hours in
http://stevensonairport.com/veebugnme.jpg
See also http://stevensonairport.com/veebug.jpg
Pictures are *BIG*
Enrique A. Troconis
cfi @ stevensonairport.com


"John Harper" wrote in message
news:1070762767.667218@sj-nntpcache-3...
Well, I finally got my tailwheel endorsement this week, and today was my
first solo tailwheel flight. I took the Decathlon, since I need to
practice
my landings. With my previous instrcutor I was struggling, in the
Citabria,
but my acro instructor took care of me and within three lessons I did ten
good wheel-landings straight off, so I guess he must be doing something
right.

The Decathlon is a real fun plane to fly. It's great for acro, much better
than the Grob I've been flying until recently. Landing is a bit of a
challenge, because the symmetrical wing means that lift drops off very
quickly at lower speeds. It hardly floats at all, in fact if you don't
keep
speed up on final it drops in like a brick.

Solo, it has pretty impressive performance. The take off run is over
before
you know it. On LVK's 5000' runway, I just about managed to get it to
pattern altitude before the opposite threshold, using a Vx (58 mph) climb.

It's fun. It has been a struggle at times, especially when I was trying to
conquer wheel landings with my first instructor. But in the end it's been
worth it.

John

I learned to fly tailwheel in a couple of hours in 1976 or so. But
that doesn't mean I could have wheel landed it, or handled anything
more than a light crosswind. These things take time. More than two
hours.
We run 172s, an R182 and a Citabria. Most of the ab initios start
in the 172 and get the tailwheel training after they've done the
Private in the 172. It takes them at least four or five hours before
they can handle the thing, since they've been flying an airplane that
has an impotent and mostly unnecessary rudder.
The few students that we start from scratch in the Citabria can
handle it much better by five hours, having no bad habits (lazy feet)
to break. It takes them no longer to reach solo than the 172 guys, and
when they finish the Private and get into a 172 they are very precise.
Always coordinated, always on centreline and perfectly aligned with
the runway. The taildragger has taught them well. And, they say, the
172 is no fun.

Dan

"EDR" wrote in message
...
In article , pix
wrote:

How much an hour did you pay for the endorsement, John? And how many
hours
did it take you to do?

Pix... the better question is,
"What are the minimum insurance requirements?"

I live (& fly) in Oz (also known sometimes as Australia ;-), where that is
less of an issue; what is more is the cost of hiring the aircraft (where I
guess insurance is built into the price).

I am thinking of getting a tailwheel endorsement when I come over to the US
in Feb/March - just for the fun of it. Where I would like to end up is in a
C-185. One of the major reasons for getting my T/W endorsement is to
increase flying and landing skills, and to get into the Citabria for aeros
etc...

Any real good instructors in the Jackson/Orlando areas??

cheers...pix

We run 172s, an R182 and a Citabria. Most of the ab initios start
in the 172 and get the tailwheel training after they've done the
Private in the 172.

I wonder if I stumbled across the only airport in the world that still
does its primary training in taildraggers?

Hampton Airport 7B3 in New Hampshire generally has two Cubs on the
line (this year just one). Everyone who learns to fly at 7B3 solos
first in the Cub. (Well, I suppose if somebody insisted on starting
out in one of the 172s, he could find an instructor to oblige him.)

The usual drill is then to segue into the 172 for high-faluting stuff
like radio work, ATC, and night landings. Personally, I was so
addicted to the Cub that I opted for a recreational license so I
wouldn't have to move, and at least one other pilot has followed me in
that decision. (Not the best one I ever made, perhaps.)



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 , pix
wrote:

Any real good instructors in the Jackson/Orlando areas??

St Augustine, Florida... Aero Sports... aerobatic training

"Cub Driver" wrote in message
...

We run 172s, an R182 and a Citabria. Most of the ab initios start
in the 172 and get the tailwheel training after they've done the
Private in the 172.

I wonder if I stumbled across the only airport in the world that still
does its primary training in taildraggers?

From what I understand, New London (W90) in Virginia, does it
that way, too. Except they use a J-4.

I learned there, but not in the J-4. My Dad had a Champ, so I used that.

Henry Bibb

John

Last time I gave a TW check out.

Pilot had about 200 hours in 172 size A/C.

Boss had a 180 and said he coud fly if got check out.

First period was three point touch and go and full stop on hard
surface with light winds down the R/W. Included systems
instruction.

2nd flight was three point landings on hard surface with 20 mph cross
wind and review of systems.

3rd flight was three point on gravel an dirt runway and review of
systems.

Signed off.

Next week he borrow the bird from boss and took to Big Bend Park area
in south Texas, landing on a very primitative (out back) strip.

Only shot a couple of wheel landings so he could say he had shot
some.

Big John


On Sat, 6 Dec 2003 21:52:31 -0800, "John Harper"
wrote:

It took me far too long to do it, because I had an instructor who was only
available for one week a month and whose technique, I realised late in
the game, was not really right for me. I'm writing the full story for my web
page. So it took me over 20 hours. A more reasonable time would probably
be about 10 hours. IIRC I was paying about $70/hr wet for the Citabria,
plus the instructor who was about $35 until I started working with my
acro instructor who is rather more expensive (and a lot better).

John

"pix" wrote in message
. ..
How much an hour did you pay for the endorsement, John? And how many hours
did it take you to do?

cheers...pix
who is thinking of getting a TW End.
"John Harper" wrote in message
news:1070762767.667218@sj-nntpcache-3...
Well, I finally got my tailwheel endorsement this week, and today was my
first solo tailwheel flight. I took the Decathlon, since I need to
practice
my landings. With my previous instrcutor I was struggling, in the
Citabria,
but my acro instructor took care of me and within three lessons I did
ten
good wheel-landings straight off, so I guess he must be doing something
right.

The Decathlon is a real fun plane to fly. It's great for acro, much
better
than the Grob I've been flying until recently. Landing is a bit of a
challenge, because the symmetrical wing means that lift drops off very
quickly at lower speeds. It hardly floats at all, in fact if you don't
keep
speed up on final it drops in like a brick.

Solo, it has pretty impressive performance. The take off run is over
before
you know it. On LVK's 5000' runway, I just about managed to get it to
pattern altitude before the opposite threshold, using a Vx (58 mph)
climb.

It's fun. It has been a struggle at times, especially when I was trying
to
conquer wheel landings with my first instructor. But in the end it's
been
worth it.

John

The D is a very nice, gentle plane to fly and land. Its a bit unusual
as a tailwheel in that you do not full stall your 3 point landings
(unless you have a really good butt cushion). You just fly it on in
the 3 point attitude. A full stall leaves the mains quite high in the
air and causes a hard "bounce" on the mains.
It wheel lands a lot like a Cessna 140 in that you can't smash it on,
you've got to be soft on the wheel landings.
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.
-Robert, CFI

"John Harper" wrote in message news:1070762767.667218@sj-nntpcache-3...
Well, I finally got my tailwheel endorsement this week, and today was my
first solo tailwheel flight. I took the Decathlon, since I need to practice
my landings. With my previous instrcutor I was struggling, in the Citabria,
but my acro instructor took care of me and within three lessons I did ten
good wheel-landings straight off, so I guess he must be doing something
right.

The Decathlon is a real fun plane to fly. It's great for acro, much better
than the Grob I've been flying until recently. Landing is a bit of a
challenge, because the symmetrical wing means that lift drops off very
quickly at lower speeds. It hardly floats at all, in fact if you don't keep
speed up on final it drops in like a brick.

Solo, it has pretty impressive performance. The take off run is over before
you know it. On LVK's 5000' runway, I just about managed to get it to
pattern altitude before the opposite threshold, using a Vx (58 mph) climb.

It's fun. It has been a struggle at times, especially when I was trying to
conquer wheel landings with my first instructor. But in the end it's been
worth it.

John

I think one of the most important skills a CFI can have is tailwheel
time. I can't tell you how valuable it is to have those rudder skills
when student pilots are driving you off the side of the runway in a
172. The more trouble you can let a student get into, the better they
will learn. The better foot work the CFI has, the further he can let
the student go and not go outside his comfort zone.



(Dan Thomas) wrote in message . com...
I learned to fly tailwheel in a couple of hours in 1976 or so. But
that doesn't mean I could have wheel landed it, or handled anything
more than a light crosswind. These things take time. More than two
hours.
We run 172s, an R182 and a Citabria. Most of the ab initios start
in the 172 and get the tailwheel training after they've done the
Private in the 172. It takes them at least four or five hours before
they can handle the thing, since they've been flying an airplane that
has an impotent and mostly unnecessary rudder.
The few students that we start from scratch in the Citabria can
handle it much better by five hours, having no bad habits (lazy feet)
to break. It takes them no longer to reach solo than the 172 guys, and
when they finish the Private and get into a 172 they are very precise.
Always coordinated, always on centreline and perfectly aligned with
the runway. The taildragger has taught them well. And, they say, the
172 is no fun.

Dan