Rick6a
Well Known Member
To prepare myself for the maiden flight of my -8, a few days ago I completed the very first hour of tail wheel training in a Citabria. The lesson included cockpit familiarization, about 10 minutes of taxi practice and followed by slow flight, turns, a few stalls, and several takeoff and landings. As luck would have it, I had to share the weekday and normally quiet nearby airport traffic pattern with a T-28 and two R-22 helicopters practicing those things helicopters so often practice. Thankfully, the T-28 bugged out quickly. One of the R-22's made it a point to stop hover practice, clear out of the way and let me know every time I turned final and I thanked him for his consideration every time. Flying an unfamiliar airplane for the first time coupled with traffic and constant radio work, I was the sweaty student experiencing sensory overload all over again. On takeoff, I was constantly reminded to "raise the tail, raise the tail" and my natural reluctance was borne of imaginings of nicking that expensive propeller. Bottom line: If I were flying solo, I would have likely survived all 5 landings and 4 of the 5 takeoffs. My instructor for the day, a friend and owner of the airplane opined that I applied power a bit too briskly on the ill-fated takeoff. Doing so coupled with less than required rudder input for the rev's caused us to skip merrily along on one wheel while veering dangerously towards the side of the runway. What I did do with the rudder pedals just seemed to make matters worse. That was the one time during the lesson he took control of the airplane to instantly correct the error of my ways. I gasped as he chuckled. I do like the wide separation of the rudder pedals in the Citabria but I don't much care for its heel brakes. Because of the musculature and geometry of my big size 12 feet, it is much easier for me to apply toe brake pressure as opposed to using the balls of my heels to affect the same result. Taxiing the Citabria takes some real getting used to largely because of the obvious lead-lag time following control inputs and feels "spongy" to me. Immediately after the flight lesson and for comparative purposes while the memory was very fresh in my mind, I climbed into my newly minted -8. It is fitted with a Silverbullet steering link and I taxied all over the airport without any difficulty. It seemed an intuitive an exercise as stepping up from a Garmin 296 to a 496. The main thing is an altered perspective and to be constantly aware of the exact location of that tailwheel to avoid running off the pavement or hitting an obstruction as you swing about. This was only the third engine start and I do want to keep ground operations to a minimum until the new engine is properly run in. Still, ground handling in the -8 does seem more positive and easier than in the little red training plane. Rudder pedal inputs produce "right now" results...more like your typical RV nose wheel only with reverse geometry and as you might expect, the castoring tail wheel allows the airplane to easily and almost effortlessly turn about within its own diameter. At this very, very early date in my tail wheel transition experience, I do prefer the -8's overall ground handling Vis a Vis the Citabria.
All in all, my first tail wheel lesson was a heck of a lot of fun. As many of you already know when flying a Citabria, keeping the ball centered even in a simple level turn requires thoughtful rudder coordination and minor power changes require pitch trim adjustment via a wheel on the left lest the stick become awkward and heavy. Only the second airplane type I have flown sporting a joystick, I easily prefer it to a control yoke. Still, compared to my -6A, Citabria aileron inputs seem to produce a leisurely roll rate as slow and sedate as my old C-150.
I know I've got a lot of work to do to get up to speed yet I have little doubt my personal decision to build an -8 was the right decision for me. Akin to engaging in oft repeated and familiar slider versus tip-up canopy advantages, I view it as pointless and futile to endlessly argue nose wheel, tail wheel attributes. All I know is I am up for a new flying challenge and boy am I in for one!
All in all, my first tail wheel lesson was a heck of a lot of fun. As many of you already know when flying a Citabria, keeping the ball centered even in a simple level turn requires thoughtful rudder coordination and minor power changes require pitch trim adjustment via a wheel on the left lest the stick become awkward and heavy. Only the second airplane type I have flown sporting a joystick, I easily prefer it to a control yoke. Still, compared to my -6A, Citabria aileron inputs seem to produce a leisurely roll rate as slow and sedate as my old C-150.
I know I've got a lot of work to do to get up to speed yet I have little doubt my personal decision to build an -8 was the right decision for me. Akin to engaging in oft repeated and familiar slider versus tip-up canopy advantages, I view it as pointless and futile to endlessly argue nose wheel, tail wheel attributes. All I know is I am up for a new flying challenge and boy am I in for one!