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My Tailwheel training

miyu1975

Well Known Member
After building for nearly 3.5 years and logging ZERO hours, I finally got back up in the air last week and logged my first tailwheel hours. My instructor owns an RV6 and a Cessna 140. The first day he took me in the RV6, mostly for a joy ride but he let me fly and even did about 4 landings and take offs. After not flying for 3.5 years I walked away feeling that I did great and would be able to transition into an RV and taildragger easily. And then I flew the Cessna 140. My instructor is very good and has trained many in their tailwheel endorsments. I logged 2.2 hours in the 140. In that time I struggled on landings and takeoffs, but mostly landing. We were doing full stall landing. I didn't hit all three wheels at once, instead I hit the mains first then the tailwheel, then mains, then tailwheel...hopping right down the runway. Once I got the wheels on the pavement, I guess I wasn't dancing enough on the rudder pedals because the plane then starting turning to the left (of the 5500 x 100ft runway) , "give it a little right rudder", I say to myself as I am heading to left of the runway into the grass...but nothing happens. Before long my instructor has his feet on the pedals and has us straightened out in no time (why couldn't I do that, I say). Mind you the wind was calm. I did maybe 7 or 8 take off and landings.. Didn't really feel comfortable on any. I walked away from the 140 thinking, "is it to late to convert to an A model (yes), can I really do this". My instructed said if you can fly the 140 then you'll have no issue in RV. I tend to take his word for it as he is very good and has trained many, I am lucky I have him and lucky he kept me out of the weeds. In my discouragement, I am trying recall my inital flight training and how long it took me to learn to land a 152 (I don't really remember, but I am sure it wasn't in the first 3 hours) and do so comfortably.

So far I have 3.3 hours in tailwheel....can't wait to go up again.
to be continued...
 
Awesome! I'm looking forward to my tailwheel training, if for no other reason than the challenge itself.

Can't wait.
 
140

I think what you are experiencing is pretty typical. When 140's were first produced the vast majority of runways were grass. Much easier on grass. Years ago I checked a guy out in a 140A. We started out on grass and probably transitioned to pavement at about hour 7. He needed 10 hours for the insurance so the time wasn't an issue.
In my opinion the flat spring gear airplanes are noticeably more quirky than the round spring gear. This is particularily true of the Cessnas. On airplanes like a Pitts the opposite is true but this is mostly because the spring gear on a Pitts is significantly wider than the bungee gear. An airplane like the original Champ is probably the easiest,(coil spring/oleo gear)
The almost same airplane-the early Citabrias with the Champ gear were essentially the same as the Champ. With the spring gear they became just a bit more quirky.
Ask your instructor what he thinks about intentioanlly trying to land tailwheel first. This might help.
 
Good going Ryan!!

I flew my first 50 hours in a Champ in the late '60's. I learned to hate heel brakes and sloppy tailwheel linkages!! :p

Then I flew hundreds of hours in 150's, 172's, Bo's, and Cherokees until the mid '80's when life forced me to direct my disposable dollars away from flying.

In 2003 I started flying again and my instructor had a Champ!! I remembered why I hated heel brakes and sloppy tailwheel linkages!! :D

In 2004 I started building a tailwheel Sonex and flew it in December 2006. I sold it a year ago and bought a -4.

In my experience, the Sonex and the -4 are much easier to take off and land than the Champ. So, keep at it and after you master the 140 you'll have no problem with your -7!!
 
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no worries

Felt the same way after first lesson in the Taylorcraft - then again when I transitioned to a Maule. After 2 or 3 flights you'll begin to feel like you MIGHT not wreck on every landing - if the wind is calm. After 100 landings, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.
 
and your CFI is absolutely right. Master the 140 and the RV will fly easy.

And yes, grass runways help a lot early on.
 
Ryan,
You are doing fine! It is easy to form an opinion that the RV would be more difficult to handle on the ground due to it's awesome performance. But my experience was that the opposite is true.
I have owned a 1950 PA-20 Pacer (original VERY narrow gear) for 12 years. When I started flying it, I had really been out of taildraggers for quite a few years. But, at one time I had been quite proficient in Champs, Cubs, 180's, and even a few hours in Pitts and Eagles. So, what could go wrong, right? The Pacer was the most humbling checkout that I had ever endured.
That having been said, jump ahead 6 years or so...I had owned my -6 for less than 48 hours, and the guy who was supposed to check me out decided that he had other things to do that day. I had flown RV's before, and had a fair expectation of how it would handle, so I jumped in and flew it! Take off was pretty good (had to get used to the rapid acceleration), and it just felt "right" from the start. After a period in the practice area doing turns and stalls to establish some numbers for my plane, it was back to do some landings. I was very impressed at how well the RV did on landings (full stall), and rollout. Caveat! I in no way endorse the notion that you or anyone else start flying their RV without a proper checkout from a knowledgeable RV guy
My recommendation would be that you continue to fly the 140 until you master it. Then you will be ready to transition to the RV with a very shallow learning curve. Above all, do not be discouraged by what you have experienced, as it just means that you are mortal like the rest of us!
 
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Ryan, you are on a well traveled path. Don't get discouraged.

I won't pass along any sage advice. I'm not a CFI and it sounds like you have a good one. Just keep flying (and landing and flying and landing). I don't think the landings get easy, but with practice, they get better and with fewer and fewer surprises. Landing require attention.

Keep up the training ! ... it's all fun !
 
I was totally cluesless the first few hours of training in my L3. This is absolutely normal. At some point you will develop the extra sensors in your butt or wherever they are located and you will automatically know where your tail is and what to do to keep it behind you. Keep it up!
I strongly advocate this kind of training before you step into an easy to land and forgiving tailwheel airplane like an RV.
Above all, keep that stick in your lap, hard. You will turn those bounces into one bounce or two, but you will stop the porpoise. All is forgiven if you keep the stick in your belly. Let off the slightest amount of pressure and you will be back on the ride again.
Good job.
 
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taildraggers

I have found that on average someone with zero taildragger experience takes about the same amount of time to master the taildragger as people did to go from zero to solo in a taildragger 40 years ago. But 40 years ago was on grass more often than not. When I was instructing in the Pitts it didn't seem to matter if the trainee had 50 hours in a Citabria or zero taildragger time. The typical Pitts checkout took 10 hours with about 60-70% landings. The exceptions were people that had a lot of Luscombe, Cessna 180/185/195, Clipper or narrow gear Pacer, and T6. These people could in some cases, master the Pitts in three landings. The oddball was a guy who had spent much of his adult life on dirtbikes. He mastered the taildragger from landing #1 and never screwed up.
I learned in a J3, had extensive taildragger experience when I started flying the Pitts. My third Pitts landing was in the single seater on pavement. I sweated every landing for at least 10 hours with lots of go arounds. It was 20-25 hours before I was able to relax just a little. It was someone elses brand new Pitts S1. I was torn between an obcession with flying the airplane and not wanting to wreck the airplane.
Don't count hours. just keep at it until you feel comfortable.
 
During my TW training I struggled with 3 point landings....exactly the same issues you are having until, while taxing to get in position my instructor told me to look over the nose and toward the end of the runway and to get that visual in my mind establishing where the top of the cowl was in relationship to the end of the runway. He told me that in the flare I needed to get and hold that visual...we took off and in the flare I did just that and held the stick back, back, held it...kept the top of the cowl that inch or two below the end of the runway and lo and behold all 3 wheels touched at the same time.

In regard to the drift on the runway you need to be much more aggressive with the rudder than you think you need to be. Jump on it. It will all come.
 
Tail wheel training

Best words I ever heard were:

Be assertive, but don't over control. And, once touched down - keep the stick burried to the rear.
 
Felt the same way after first lesson in the Taylorcraft - then again when I transitioned to a Maule. After 2 or 3 flights you'll begin to feel like you MIGHT not wreck on every landing - if the wind is calm. After 100 landings, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

You are right about the Maule. :) I did my tailwheel endorsement training in an M-5. I still feel like I might wreck it on every landing and I have way more than 3 flights. It was my dad's airplane at the time so it was free rental. My dad asked the instructor one day how I was doing and he said, "He's got the tailwheel thing figured out, but the Maule is kicking his @$$"

Keep it up Ryan. I remember being really discouraged and wanting to switch to an -A model at one point in the tailwheel training. I am really glad that I stuck with it. Love my tailwheel RV!!!
 
taildragger

You need to divide your focus between the picture over the nose and more to the side. On a high wing it is easy to get the picture by looking at the wingtip angle.
Stick/yoke back in you lap on three point depends on the airplane. On the Piper J3 it is absolutely necessary to have the stick all the way back, doubly so with a slightly fwd CG. The Pipers with the counterbalanced elevators are less critical on this.
Airplanes such as the Pitts, you momentarily freeze the elevator position on touchdown to let the airplane momentarily settle down, then slowly back with the stick. On the Pitts as well as some of the other biplanes, yanking the stick back as you touch down will put you back in the air, decaying airspeed and probably idle power. Each airplane is a bit different.
 
Just wait...

The real fun begins learning x wind landings. My 65 hours of tailwheel time are a very humbling experience and I'm still learning:p
 
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