My tailwheel training impressions..

[Aceman]

I just finished my 3rd training session with a Super Decathlon to get my tailwheel endorsement and it's not going well at all.

While the plane behaves like I would expect in flyiing around and holding heading and power, I'm having a really hard time on the landings. Specifically the wheel landings. I'm used to setting up my approaches high and with speed in the glider but I can't seem to setup final approach with the correct speed and altitude in a tailwheel. So there's that to master, however, what's really a problem is being able to touchdown on the wheels without the plane getting out of control. Most of my landings bounce and continues to bounce over and over again before I have to do a go-around. It seems very weird to me that the plane wants certain things at specific stages of the landing and it's tripping me up. I am finding that I don't know how to keep the wheels from bouncing and to stay on centerline with using ailerons. I have to give it more throttle to stop my decent right at the point of touchdown and then making the wheels touch the ground. Then I have to fight for position on the runway. Using ailerons and then push forward on the stick to keep the tail from touching the ground.. then I have to steer with very slight rudder inputs (which is very sensitive), after that I need to keep the tail up until there is no more pitch authority and then push the stick back.

All of this is humbling me big time as I am pretty good at landing the glider and keeping it controlled as I touchdown.

Any advice would be extremely appreciated as at this point, I have no idea how I will be able to improve this wheel landing.

Takeoffs are getting better but the landings are horrid.

 

[bentmettle]

I was fast often in the 7kcab I did my tailwheel in. It went a lot better when I paid attention to profile. I know I also had trouble with the shape of the cowling and sight picture that made me feel like the nose was down.

You are describing (" I have to give it more throttle to stop my decent right at the point of touchdown and then making the wheels touch the ground."), near as I can tell, trying to "catch" a 3 point landing and turning it into a wheel landing by adding power- so maybe you aren't really stable and can't expect that near 0fpm transition from in the air to on the ground that you want in the wheel landing.

Does your CFI say you are touching down at too high of airspeed? Or that your vertical speed is too high and you are loading up the gear?

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

One day it will click.

Then you will get away from aviation for 30 years and then go back to struggling.

The mass of the airplane is going down, when the main's touch it wants to continue down, which brings the tail down which increases the angle of attack of the wings, which picks you up, which... You need a little forward stick to keep the tail from going down, but too soon just bangs you down harder which makes the bounce worse. Too late is too late.

The flatter you touch down, the less of a tendency to bounce. Don't worry so much about airspeed and all that crap - just keep your trajectory straight and reasonably flat.

If you have to add power to flare, just come down final a little faster. Some extra speed is no big deal. It's all about the 'tude.

(I'm sure a real instructor will be along to give real advice soon.)

 

[Lindberg]

What does your CFI say? Have you already mastered three-point landings? If not, do that first. They still require all the directional control, but are generally more benign. Then, it sounds like you're not keeping your approach speed up enough for a wheel landing. Remember that in the wheel landing, you're still flying and just kiss the mains onto the runway before planting then with forward stick. So you have to have enough speed to round out and still be flying inches above the pavement. If you're running out of airspeed in the round out and flare, then you're not going to be able to wheel land it.

Maybe wheel landings are easy for some, but I didn't feel really comfortable and proficient with them until quite a few hours after my endorsement.

 

[Lindberg]

Also, I don't remember who gave me this technique, but I like to trim for about 10 knots faster than my short final speed, and then as soon as the mains touch relax the back pressure.

 

[GeorgeC]

The most unhelpful piece of advice ever: In order to wheel land, you need to relax.

You need your sink rate to be close to zero and apply a little forward pressure just as the mains touch. Not a lot, a little. Pressure, not a jab. Don't try to anticipate it, that will make it worse.

Too much sink and you'll bounce. You should be in a level attitude before the wheels touch. Remember where the cg is relative to the wheels? After a legit bounce, you'll be a little nose up. You will be tempted to "catch" it. Careful, there be dragons.

If things are happening too fast, try carrying a touch of power to reduce your sink rate. Or (assuming no xwind) try putting one wheel down at a time.

How long of a runway are you on?

 

[Aceman]

I was fast often in the 7kcab I did my tailwheel in. It went a lot better when I paid attention to profile. I know I also had trouble with the shape of the cowling and sight picture that made me feel like the nose was down.

You are describing (" I have to give it more throttle to stop my decent right at the point of touchdown and then making the wheels touch the ground."), near as I can tell, trying to "catch" a 3 point landing and turning it into a wheel landing by adding power- so maybe you aren't really stable and can't expect that near 0fpm transition from in the air to on the ground that you want in the wheel landing.

Does your CFI say you are touching down at too high of airspeed? Or that your vertical speed is too high and you are loading up the gear?

Yup. He says that I frequently come in too high (I can see that) and when I drop the nose I pick up too much speed. I am supposed to keep 80mph during final and then once I flare out, I add a little bit of power so I can prevent the bounce on the wheels.

 

[MauleSkinner]

At the end of your third lesson, either you’re doing normal-length lessons and progressing normally (although I agree with @Lindberg in that you should have 3-point landings down before trying to master wheel landings) or your 3-hour lessons are going way beyond the point of diminishing returns.

but I like to trim for about 10 knots faster than my short final speed, and then as soon as the mains touch relax the back pressure.

This is what I always taught…not necessarily 10 knots, but enough to be holding noticeable back pressure.

 

[Aceman]

What does your CFI say? Have you already mastered three-point landings? If not, do that first. They still require all the directional control, but are generally more benign. Then, it sounds like you're not keeping your approach speed up enough for a wheel landing. Remember that in the wheel landing, you're still flying and just kiss the mains onto the runway before planting then with forward stick. So you have to have enough speed to round out and still be flying inches above the pavement. If you're running out of airspeed in the round out and flare, then you're not going to be able to wheel land it.

Maybe wheel landings are easy for some, but I didn't feel really comfortable and proficient with them until quite a few hours after my endorsement.

He says that I have to "work the plane onto the ground" and he wants me to "dance with the rudder pedals" to keep the plane steered straight on the runway. It just seems like when I hit that first time, it has too much energy on the wheels and I get the bounce.

 

[Aceman]

The most unhelpful piece of advice ever: In order to wheel land, you need to relax.

You need your sink rate to be close to zero and apply a little forward pressure just as the mains touch. Not a lot, a little. Pressure, not a jab. Don't try to anticipate it, that will make it worse.

Too much sink and you'll bounce. You should be in a level attitude before the wheels touch. Remember where the cg is relative to the wheels? After a legit bounce, you'll be a little nose up. You will be tempted to "catch" it. Careful, there be dragons.

If things are happening too fast, try carrying a touch of power to reduce your sink rate. Or (assuming no xwind) try putting one wheel down at a time.

How long of a runway are you on?

Everything you are saying here is EXACTLY what my CFI is telling me. It's just that I can't do it right. He tried to teach me to roll on one wheel and I thought that was crazy! LOL!

We haven't gone over the 3 point landing yet because he says that I should master the wheel landing first. I don't know why he thinks the 3-point landing is worse than the wheel landing.

Runway is 7000ft.

 

[MauleSkinner]

Just my opinion, but I’d say you have a crappy instructor.

“Dancing on the rudder pedals” is simply compensating for, and encouraging, poor technique. The only time the rudder pedals need to move is if the nose is either not pointing the right direction or is starting to move away from the right direction. He should be helping you calibrate your eyes so you can see the difference.
You only need to “work the plane onto the ground” if you have no clue how high you are. A glassy water technique is only appropriate when there are no good references for depth perception. Again, this is about calibrating your eyes to see what you need to see (and more often than not in my experience, getting you to stop fixating on the departure end of the runway.)

Same with adding power in the flare…it’s more of a crutch than a training aid, and it destabilizes the airplane. If you’re at the proper speed when you get to the ground with minimal sink rate, power only lengthens the landing.

He may have a valid reason for teaching wheel landings first, but I’ve never heard one, and apparently he isn’t communicating it adequately.

 

[GeorgeC]

If there's too much stuff going on, rather than trying to add power to arrest the descent at the bottom, just carry a little extra for all of short final. It will increase your landing distance, but who cares? You have 7000 feet. You can do the whole thing in slow motion and still be down and stopped by midfield or less. As mentioned above, ditto for airspeed: doesn't really matter for a wheel landing, you're way way way above stall speed anyway.

Worry about making the picture look right (hint: the attitude should look like a takeoff attitude, after you've brought the tail up). It's more of a "leveling off" than a "flare". It's also more of "letting the plane settle" than "working the plane to the ground"; don't try to force it or apply microcorrections. Are you remembering to shift your gaze toward the end of the runway and not off the nose?

My instructor insisted on wheel landings first on 2400x40 of pavement. I am not a CFI, but in retrospect, that is not how I would teach it. I would start with 3 pointers on grass and then do wheel landings on a bigger runway.

 

[RyanShort1]

Everything you are saying here is EXACTLY what my CFI is telling me. It's just that I can't do it right. He tried to teach me to roll on one wheel and I thought that was crazy! LOL!

We haven't gone over the 3 point landing yet because he says that I should master the wheel landing first. I don't know why he thinks the 3-point landing is worse than the wheel landing.

Runway is 7000ft.

I teach three points first because of the law of primacy. If I'm in trouble, I'm more likely to three-point than wheel land, so, I disagree with the style of teaching. That's a personal preference deal, but I think it's important. Another reason for this is that you can often "salvage" a botched wheel landing bounce by just turning the bounce into a three-point once you know what you're doing.

Second, stop trying to land and think about FLYING. Try to tie the world's record for a smooth low pass, and you don't have to bring the plane to a stop each time until you have the touchdown phase figured out correctly. Too much rate of descent on a wheel landing causes an INSTANT angle-of-attack change because the center of gravity is behind the wheels and the second you hit too hard the weight of the aircraft behind the wheels forces the wing's AoA to change - instant bounce. You'll have to get ready to give a small but swift bit of maybe a half-inch or inch of forward stick as the wheels touch for the plane to stick on without that AoA change.

If you don't already have it, grab this book: (Amazon link)

https://amzn.to/3WMMJ1Y - The Compleat Taildragger Pilot

 

[farangutan]

I'm currently getting my tailwheel endorsement as well. My instructor is also going with teaching wheel landings first. Each has been at least 10 landings. I did better my first lesson but on the second lesson I had the exact same problem as you. Bouncing, too fast, or two much sink, one time got a little squirrelly on the rollout after a bounce. Say first 4 or 5 wheel landings were a struggle to get all the parts right. I'd fix one thing but then forget something else. Direct crosswind, my challenge was keeping the crosswind controls in and resisting putting the other wheel down. I've also been doing some training to be a CFI and on one downwind, I decided to not be shy with the throttle and just land it as I would a landing in any other plane, keep it aligned straight, with a tiny bit of power and let it slowly descend until the ground surprised me, instead of fixating on the last instructions the CFI was telling me. Mostly about timing that stick forward upon touching the mains. That helped and we moved on to three point which my CFI calls stall landings. Not as much difficulty wrapping the head around those. I have two more lessons on schedule, within a couple days. I made the mistake of not booking several lessons up front and some bad weather and his busy schedule put about 6 weeks between the first two lessons.
TLR I'm struggling with it too, maybe I'm getting it, maybe not. Good luck!

 

[Ed Haywood]

Everyone struggles with taildragger landings at first. That's why it requires a separate endorsement. Then the light bulb comes on. The good news is that it's like riding a bicycle; once the bulb comes on, it stays on. So don't stress, you'll get there.

I don't understand teaching wheel landings first. To me, starting with 3 pointers makes more sense, for the simple reason that they are easier. Fly it into ground effect and hold it off til it stalls. That allows you to focus on the most important TW skill, which is maintaining longitudinal alignment during rollout.

But you gotta trust your CFI, so wheel landings it is. Best advice I got on wheelies was to focus your eyes on the far end of the runway when touching down.

Extra speed makes wheel landings easier. 80mph is a bit slow in a Super D. Once you get the feel of the plane, that is perfect, but it does not give much margin for error when learning. 85mph gives you a bit more speed to play with as you try to find the runway surface.

Dancing on the pedals is not good long term technique, but can be a useful method to help the light bulb go on.

 

[Daleandee]

“Dancing on the rudder pedals” is simply compensating for, and encouraging, poor technique. The only time the rudder pedals need to move is if the nose is either not pointing the right direction or is starting to move away from the right direction. He should be helping you calibrate your eyes so you can see the difference.

This is a key point and I believe many times pilots learning to fly tailwheel are led astray by the whole "dancing on the pedals" thingy. I've had landings where it took a good bit of footwork to keep the tail behind the nose and others where I hardly needed to move the rudder pedals at all. Just need to give the plane what it needs to do what you want it to do ...

 

[MauleSkinner]

Second, stop trying to land and think about FLYING.

This brings up another point… @Aceman how much airwork have you done?

 

[RyanShort1]

Sometimes I think it would be fun to host a tailwheel instructors gathering. Maybe I should put one together somewhere here in Dallas.

 

[RyanShort1]

This is a key point and I believe many times pilots learning to fly tailwheel are led astray by the whole "dancing on the pedals" thingy. I've had landings where it took a good bit of footwork to keep the tail behind the nose and others where I hardly needed to move the rudder pedals at all. Just need to give the plane what it needs to do what you want it to do ...

True. Dancing isn't a great idea. Precise, small-ish, timely movements are the way to go, but most students are a half-second behind, only reacting to what they have every-so-late perceived, and this leads to Pilot-induced-oscillations, or PIOs as we call them.

 

[Jaminky]

I’m almost ready to get my tw endorsement,and my instructor was the same way with wheel landings first.I would get frustrated because 3pt where natural for me being a nose wheel pilot and I struggled for a long time with wheelies.At first I always botched it and had to add power or ended up tail low or 3 pt but one day it just clicked.I started flaring a little lower to preserve that energy needed to flatten out that last 6”.Im not very good yet but things are getting better,one of the last ones I did my cfi said he had to look out the window to see if the wheel was turning lol.I still struggle with using tiny control inputs,im used to rudder stomping in a Grumman.Btw this was in a luscombe

 

[DoubleD]

If you grease a wheel landing on, great. A little forward stick to keep in on. However, you will sometimes bounce, everyone does. In this case, the "stick forward" advice can result in PIO and a go-around (or worse). On the rare occasions I have bounced I've found it best to slightly increase pitch to avoid a second bounce. A little power if needed. You can then have a second try at the wheel landing or transition to 3-point.

 

[Flyxaos]

I don't often do wheel landings. But yesterday was all about landing practice. I did a couple wheel landings. For those landings, the motions are really the same as the 3 point's I usually do. I just get in a good 3 point attitude and when the mains touched gave the stick a little push/relax. It is a slow, tail low kind of style, I guess. There isn't much energy left for it to go anywhere, but the stick still pinned it.

I just crossed over 100 hours tail time. My landings are "usually" acceptable...

Learning Wheel before 3 point seems odd. But, that said your CFI has a plan, it will probably be a good plan, in the end. Mostly it is just about more time and getting a feel for it so not so many things are coming at you at once.

 

[MauleSkinner]

Sometimes I think it would be fun to host a tailwheel instructors gathering. Maybe I should put one together somewhere here in Dallas.

Make sure you get a good contract with the Sports Channel for coverage of the knock-down drag-out all-instructor fight.

 

[FancyG]

Second, stop trying to land and think about FLYING. Try to tie the world's record for a smooth low pass, and you don't have to bring the plane to a stop each time until you have the touchdown phase figured out correctly.

If you don't already have it, grab this book: (Amazon link)

https://amzn.to/3WMMJ1Y - The Compleat Taildragger Pilot

That's great advice! I'm going to try that out.

X2 on the book.

 

[FancyG]

OP - are you using the papi's? Typically that last notch of flaps on final causes a droop in your descent angle that has to be corrected with additional throttle.

The generic 'set and forget' pattern rpm does work until final, then not so much. The more stable your final approach the better your landing will be. I find the more active I am with managing my airspeed/VSI with the throttle, the better the approach and landing.

Wheel landings in muh stoldozer are kinda sketchy and unnecessary and it feels awkward and counterintuitive to hold the tail up. As soon as its on the ground its stick back, get on the Berengers and shoot for the first taxiway off.

Stick with it, and keep adjusting your technique as you feel it out. Logbook notes help with speeds and settings for future reference.

Tailwheel drivers are the cool kids and whipping one into a parking spot beats the nosepants off of jockeying around with a tow bar.

 

[Dan Thomas]

I don't understand teaching wheel landings first. To me, starting with 3 pointers makes more sense, for the simple reason that they are easier. Fly it into ground effect and hold it off til it stalls. That allows you to focus on the most important TW skill, which is maintaining longitudinal alignment during rollout.

Right. Three-pointers first. There are Seven Learning Factors. From the Canadian Flight Instructor Guide:

Learning is made easier when the following factors are used:

(a) READINESS - Ensure students are mentally, physically and emotionally ready to learn.

(b) PRIMACY - Present new knowledge or skills correctly the first time. (Teach it right the first time.)

(c) RELATIONSHIP - Present lessons in the logical sequence of known to unknown, simple to complex, easy to difficult.

(d) EXERCISE - Ensure students are engaged in meaningful activity.

(e) INTENSITY - Use dramatic, realistic or unexpected things, as they are long remembered.

(f) EFFECT - Ensure students gain a feeling of satisfaction from having taken part in a lesson.

(g) RECENCY - Summarize and practise the important points at the end of each lesson, as last things learned and practised will be remembered longest.

Now, that factor called "Relationship" is in play here. It means this:

RELATIONSHIP - Present lessons in the logical sequence of known to unknown, simple to complex, easy to difficult.

(a) This particular learning factor emphasizes the necessity for your student to understand relationships between new and old facts, or between ideas and skills if learning is to take place. During flight training, students must understand not only why they are learning a particular exercise, but how that exercise combines with previous ones and where it fits into the overall syllabus. Giving students the relationship at the start of the lesson provides preparation for learning. Continuing the process throughout the lesson helps to maintain the desire to learn.

Examples: Compare or relate cross-wind take-offs and landings to normal take-offs and landings; show how a forced landing is really a type of circuit procedure.

(b) Suggestions:

1. Present lessons in a logical sequence:
2. known to unknown;
3. easy to difficult;
4. concrete to abstract;
5. simple to complex;
6. familiar to unfamiliar.

Three-point landings are FAR EASIER than wheel landings. Any old taildragger pilot knows that. So why is the instructor trying to teach wheel landings first? It makes no sense at all. The airplane is far more forgiving in a three-point touchdown than in a mains-first touchdown. The airspeed is lower, any bounce is much tamer.

Moreover, too many people think a wheel landing is down with the fuselage in cruise-flight attitude. Nope. Way too fast to get that attitude. Remember that airspeed is directly related to angle of attack. A wheel landing can be done with the tailwheel maybe only three or four inches off the surface. The airspeed will be just a bit more than in the three-point attitude, so things are a lot more familiar if the three-points are mastered first. The airplane's pitch attitude will respond more slowly at lower airspeed, so getting the airplane to level off nicely right at the surface, without ballooning, is easier.

A wheel landing is easier if you put a little bit of bank in just before touchdown. One wheel will hit first, and instead of bouncing much, the energy of the descending CG will go into leveling the airplane to land the other wheel.

 

[Tools]

LOTS of good advice here. Emphasis:

1. Airplanes DO NOT bounce. I’ve seen lots of old film footage of them dropping airplanes to test the gear. Hardly bounce at all.

They GO FLYING AGAIN. Plain and simple. A bounce occurs below flying speed, or any significant contribution of lift speed. By definition, a wheel landing occurs AT FLYING SPEED, so if it gets airborne, it’s FLYING you must deal with, not a bounce. Kind of a mental attitude thing.

I think the best thing you can do is trying a lower speed wheel landing.

If he wants you at the speed of heat, fine, that’s cool. It just ain’t “landing” really. It’s just putting the wheels on the ground while you’re flying. Look at it that way. Nothing changes after the touchdown, just keep on flying.

2. The term “dancing” may be a little misleading. You DO need to be ready to be nimble and fast with rudder inputs. Which is kinda like dancing…. But remember, if you’re flying, you don’t need much rudder. If you’re “landing” at flying speed, you ain’t gonna need much rudder.

You will after it slows down a lot and it ain’t very effective. Then you might need a lot. My Piet goes stop to stop about every landing. The RV-4, nothing even close to that. That Decathalon is somewhere in the middle.

Everyone is right about the light bulb. Tailwheel instructing is very rewarding in that respect. I “soloed” a guy practically minutes after his worst landings. His bulb FLASHED. I knew I was done and got out. He’s a great tailwheel pilot.

Hang tough, you’ll get it. Try not to get frustrated. Do neck and shoulder rolls frequently and say to yourself “this is FUN” frequently!!!

 

[MauleSkinner]

My Piet goes stop to stop about every landing.

I had a customer who bought a Piet and wanted me to do his tail wheel endorsement in it. That’s what killed the idea…I didn’t mind the lack of instruments in the front seat (pitch+power=performance still works, and I’d have put my dad in the back to give me those sight pictures. I told him I’d check him out in the airplane after he got his endorsement, but I wasn’t going to do the sign off in it.

Tailskid on grass woulda’ been fine, but tailwheel and pavement not so much.

 

[Tarheelpilot]

The most unhelpful piece of advice ever: In order to wheel land, you need to relax.

You need your sink rate to be close to zero and apply a little forward pressure just as the mains touch. Not a lot, a little. Pressure, not a jab. Don't try to anticipate it, that will make it worse.

Too much sink and you'll bounce. You should be in a level attitude before the wheels touch. Remember where the cg is relative to the wheels? After a legit bounce, you'll be a little nose up. You will be tempted to "catch" it. Careful, there be dragons.

If things are happening too fast, try carrying a touch of power to reduce your sink rate. Or (assuming no xwind) try putting one wheel down at a time.

How long of a runway are you on?

At the end of your third lesson, either you’re doing normal-length lessons and progressing normally (although I agree with @Lindberg in that you should have 3-point landings down before trying to master wheel landings) or your 3-hour lessons are going way beyond the point of diminishing returns.


This is what I always taught…not necessarily 10 knots, but enough to be holding noticeable back pressure.

any shooters in the room?

Is it more stable to shoot off hand or with both hands?

A little nose down trim is the tailwheel pilot version of shooting with both hands. That little bit of nose down trim makes it easier to feel what the airplane is doing, improves stability and helps prevent over controlling.

It’s not just handy for tailwheel landings either. It makes formation flying easier.

 

[FastEddieB]

Three things I found helpful.

1) In general, on a “3-point” landing try to get the tailwheel to roll on slightly first. If you succeed, the mains will drop maybe 6”-12” and with the stick all the way back the plane is done flying.

2) On wheel landings with a stick, brace your forearm against your inner thigh. It can serve as a “damper” of sorts and help prevent pilot induced oscillations.

3) On wheel landings with zero crosswind, I still found it easier to try to roll one wheel on first. Seems to result in less “springiness”, especially on a Decathalon/Citabria with spring gear. (I see Dan Thomas touched on this upthread)

You’ll find your own preferences and tips and tricks, but before trying any of these on your own, run it by your instructor first.

 

[geezer]

Thomas and Tools give excellent advice here.

One thing that I was trained for all landings, scan out the side window to the edge of the runway to estimate height, then ahead for runway alignment, and back to the edge. If the sun is in the right place, the location of the shadow of the wheel is the very best guide to height above the surface, but it is rarely there.

The Geezer is an antique on tailwheel. His instructors, 4, only had him do 3 point, and he had the opportunity to solo without ever doing a wheels landing. 3 point was the standard.

Less wear on the main gear tires due to much lower touchdown speed, we saved wear on the tailwheel by lifting it a foot as soon as the mains touched, and kept it a foot up as long as elevator power made it possible. With crosswinds, the tailwheel stayed down, for increased control.

I do not recall ever making a true wheels landing, as my training was on relatively short runways, and we crossed the numbers not much faster than stall.

 

[MauleSkinner]

One thing that I was trained for all landings, scan out the side window to the edge of the runway to estimate height, then ahead for runway alignment, and back to the edge. If the sun is in the right place, the location of the shadow of the wheel is the very best guide to height above the surface, but it is rarely there.

I’ve been chastised more than once for teaching/doing that, but at the very least, it’s an effective way to break a fixation on the departure end of the runway that often has people trying to flare near treetop height.

Less wear on the main gear tires due to much lower touchdown speed, we saved wear on the tailwheel by lifting it a foot as soon as the mains touched, and kept it a foot up as long as elevator power made it possible. With crosswinds, the tailwheel stayed down, for increased control.

I do not recall ever making a true wheels landing, as my training was on relatively short runways, and we crossed the numbers not much faster than stall.

As far as I’m concerned, lifting the tailwheel a little bit after landing is as much a true wheel landing as anything else. Having had several tailwheels depart the airplane over the years, I tend to baby them. My brother called me one day when he was in the process of getting checked out in a Citabria to do a 709 ride (the tailwheel on my Maule failed in a manner that caused significant damage when he was getting checked out in it) because the instructor was chewing him out for tail-low wheel landings. I told him that if you ask four taildragger instructors how to land an airplane, you’ll get five different answers. I’m the only one who’s right but since you’re flying this guy’s airplane, do it the way he wants you to.

 

[Dana]

The generic 'set and forget' pattern rpm does work until final, then not so much. The more stable your final approach the better your landing will be. I find the more active I am with managing my airspeed/VSI with the throttle, the better the approach and landing.

I make my airspeed and glide by constantly adjusting the amount of slip, throttle was closed abeam the numbers on downwind.

A little nose down trim is the tailwheel pilot version of shooting with both hands. That little bit of nose down trim makes it easier to feel what the airplane is doing, improves stability and helps prevent over controlling.

I rarely adjust the trim. I set it for cruise and then the slight varying back pressure required at lower speeds is a constant feedback on what the wing is doing. Of course that doesn't work as well in an aircraft with heavier control forces.

 

[Tarheelpilot]

I make my airspeed and glide by constantly adjusting the amount of slip, throttle was closed abeam the numbers on downwind.

I rarely adjust the trim. I set it for cruise and then the slight varying back pressure required at lower speeds is a constant feedback on what the wing is doing. Of course that doesn't work as well in an aircraft with heavier control forces.

Same here. The majority of my tailwheel time is in spray planes. I would set the trim on the pass and that gave me a slight pull required on the approach. Then I didn’t have to mess with it much. I just figured out that having a neutral stick during times when I needed to fly with precision was harder and gave less feedback than having that little bit of pressure.

 

[Salty]

It would be interesting to see you answer this question now that you have some perspective.

 

[FancyG]

I make my airspeed and glide by constantly adjusting the amount of slip, throttle was closed abeam the numbers on downwind.

I can't slip with the slat gimmick so its not a tool I have and if I chopped the throttle abeam the numbers downwind, my pattern would have to be really tight.

 

[Ed Haywood]

my pattern would have to be really tight.

That's a good thing.

 

[Dana]

I can't slip with the slat gimmick so its not a tool I have and if I chopped the throttle abeam the numbers downwind, my pattern would have to be really tight.

I fly a biplane... rest assured, my patterns are tight.

 

[MauleSkinner]

I fly a biplane... rest assured, my patterns are tight.

Your avatar is the power-off glide attitude?

 

[Dana]

Your avatar is the power-off glide attitude?

Not quite, but close...