SixPapaCharlie
May the force be with you
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- Aug 8, 2013
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Sixer
Somehow @RyanShort1 and I connected which should have happened a long time ago, we are only a 15 min flight apart.
I have never taken off or landed a tail wheel plane but I have flown many. I like to make fun of the tail wheel bravado guys since as I think it's fun to point out that you only use it on the ground.
Yesterday might have been the most educational 1.5 hours on the hobbs since I started flying.
Before we do any tail wheel work, he wanted to go back to the basics. However we were in a 1946 C-120 which is a lot different that what I have most of my time in.
He had some cool methods of demonstrating adverse yaw which in his particular plane is quite extreme.
After that, we did steep turns, stalls, and we went over unintentional pro spin inputs.
I 100% see how a pilot can get in to a base to final spin and not make it out. We have all read or maybe seen that when a wing drops in a stall, if you try to lift that wing with the ailerons, it has the opposite effect seen here in yesterday's demo. Watch , the left wing drops and Ryan abruptly (like a scared low time pilot might), quickly adds right aileron to try and lift the wing.
Once he was satisfied with my airwork, we went to Caddo Mills to work on landings. He did the first one and talked in great detail through what he was doing and my first thought was there is no way I can land this plane with out breaking it. Then he coached me through a 3 point landing and I did maybe 50% of it and he helped where I was over correcting. After that he talked me through 3 landings which I was able to do without him taking over or correcting.
I felt pretty good because I didn't expect to be able to get through a landing from final to stopped without help but I managed to 3 times. My first takeaway is it is a LOT of work. Probably gets easier but you cannot be lazy until you are stopped on the ramp. Even taxiing is more work.
1. I will concede that I would probably have a bit of the tailwheel bravado if I flew one of these regularly. I flew home in my Comanche and realized how simple a task it is.
2. I think a lot of the adverse yaw has been engineered out of later aircraft. I tried to get the nose to wander by making uncoordinated aileron inputs on the way home and it really didn't. I may try again in slow flight.
3. I am of the thinking that this is what our BFR's should be. I will admit a couple of mine have been me and a CFI flying to lunch. I and I would guess that is not uncommon.
Great flight, Great lesson, great instructor.
Once I am gainfully employed, I plan to complete the tailwheel training and while my BFR situation is going to be different and managed by a third party moving forward, I will likely reach out to Ryan from time to time just for some refresher training like this.
If you are near Dallas and want some good training, tailwheel or other, I would give Ryan a shout (www.TexasTailwheel.com)
*Being somewhat of a youtuber, I feel obligated to point out that Ryan did not pay me to say that or pay for the flight, these are my honest opinions.
I have never taken off or landed a tail wheel plane but I have flown many. I like to make fun of the tail wheel bravado guys since as I think it's fun to point out that you only use it on the ground.
Yesterday might have been the most educational 1.5 hours on the hobbs since I started flying.
Before we do any tail wheel work, he wanted to go back to the basics. However we were in a 1946 C-120 which is a lot different that what I have most of my time in.
He had some cool methods of demonstrating adverse yaw which in his particular plane is quite extreme.
After that, we did steep turns, stalls, and we went over unintentional pro spin inputs.
I 100% see how a pilot can get in to a base to final spin and not make it out. We have all read or maybe seen that when a wing drops in a stall, if you try to lift that wing with the ailerons, it has the opposite effect seen here in yesterday's demo. Watch , the left wing drops and Ryan abruptly (like a scared low time pilot might), quickly adds right aileron to try and lift the wing.
Once he was satisfied with my airwork, we went to Caddo Mills to work on landings. He did the first one and talked in great detail through what he was doing and my first thought was there is no way I can land this plane with out breaking it. Then he coached me through a 3 point landing and I did maybe 50% of it and he helped where I was over correcting. After that he talked me through 3 landings which I was able to do without him taking over or correcting.
I felt pretty good because I didn't expect to be able to get through a landing from final to stopped without help but I managed to 3 times. My first takeaway is it is a LOT of work. Probably gets easier but you cannot be lazy until you are stopped on the ramp. Even taxiing is more work.
1. I will concede that I would probably have a bit of the tailwheel bravado if I flew one of these regularly. I flew home in my Comanche and realized how simple a task it is.
2. I think a lot of the adverse yaw has been engineered out of later aircraft. I tried to get the nose to wander by making uncoordinated aileron inputs on the way home and it really didn't. I may try again in slow flight.
3. I am of the thinking that this is what our BFR's should be. I will admit a couple of mine have been me and a CFI flying to lunch. I and I would guess that is not uncommon.
Great flight, Great lesson, great instructor.
Once I am gainfully employed, I plan to complete the tailwheel training and while my BFR situation is going to be different and managed by a third party moving forward, I will likely reach out to Ryan from time to time just for some refresher training like this.
If you are near Dallas and want some good training, tailwheel or other, I would give Ryan a shout (www.TexasTailwheel.com)
*Being somewhat of a youtuber, I feel obligated to point out that Ryan did not pay me to say that or pay for the flight, these are my honest opinions.
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