PIREPs on TacAero tailwheel training?

ArrowFlyer86

ArrowFlyer86

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I'd like to do tailwheel training and TacAero offers a 5 day course that would also help me see some cool new scenery. It's a tad on the expensive side so I want to make sure the quality is good before I do it. Has anyone here done it before or heard anything about their reputation?
 
ArrowFlyer86 said:
I'd like to do tailwheel training and TacAero offers a 5 day course that would also help me see some cool new scenery. It's a tad on the expensive side so I want to make sure the quality is good before I do it. Has anyone here done it before or heard anything about their reputation?
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Did you end up using TacAero? I’m considering them too.
 
Im from CA so I would be flying in to take the courses.
 
Jocww said:
Im from CA so I would be flying in to take the courses.
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Right here in Dallas we have Big Q, Four Winds, a Champ outfit in Fort Worth, a Cessna 120 out in Rockwall, and Super Decathlon at Dallas Exec just off the top of my head. My Luscombe is currently down for MX, and I'm hoping to be working with the Super D before the end of the month once I finish some other stuff I'm busy with.

Down in Burnet I'd recommend Tres Clinton with C3 and I know of some outfits over towards Houston as well.
 
I heard back from TacAero. Their basic tailwheel endorsement package is $3500 for the instructor and then $200 per hour for the aircraft itself (minimum 8 hours required). So it’s $5100 at a minimum. I already have a private pilot cert, but man…someone could get close to finishing a sport pilot cert for $5100 in a cheap Champ.
 
Desmo said:
I heard back from TacAero. Their basic tailwheel endorsement package is $3500 for the instructor and then $200 per hour for the aircraft itself (minimum 8 hours required). So it’s $5100 at a minimum. I already have a private pilot cert, but man…someone could get close to finishing a sport pilot cert for $5100 in a cheap Champ.
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Wow! That’s insane! I want to say I spent 5hrs * (145+65) = $1,050 in a J3 cub.
 
Is the sign off to begin safely flying your own taildragger or to just have the box checked? If the former, spend the money. If the latter, not sure it’s worth it. While not as perishable as instrument flying, tailwheel skills are perishable much faster than tricycle skills.
 
Steamflyer said:
Is the sign off to begin safely flying your own taildragger or to just have the box checked? If the former, spend the money. If the latter, not sure it’s worth it. While not as perishable as instrument flying, tailwheel skills are perishable much faster than tricycle skills.
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It’s to safely fly my own taildragger, but I found someone in Corpus Christi who should be able to do it much cheaper. Calling him tomorrow.
 
Desmo said:
It’s to safely fly my own taildragger, but I found someone in Corpus Christi who should be able to do it much cheaper. Calling him tomorrow.
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What taildragger are you flying? Was almost in Corpus yesterday...
 
Steamflyer said:
What taildragger are you flying? Was almost in Corpus yesterday...
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The lessons would be in a ‘46 J-3. I don’t own a plane yet. The goal is to buy one after I get the endorsement.
 
Desmo said:
The lessons would be in a ‘46 J-3. I don’t own a plane yet. The goal is to buy one after I get the endorsement.
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Nice. Unless you get a J-3, as you know, you'll want some checking out in the new one as well... Happy to talk pros/cons of the common ones out here as have flown many of them.
 
kaiser said:
Wow! That’s insane! I want to say I spent 5hrs * (145+65) = $1,050 in a J3 cub.
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This sounds more reasonable and probably closer to what I did. I believe I did 3 lessons on 3 separate days in a newer AL3 which is basically the J3. This was in Florida.
 
Just a thought... getting your endorsement in something like a Husky, a Super Cub, or one of the Cub Crafters aircraft you see on the Tac Aero site with bigger tires *should* actually reduce the amount of time for your endorsement, but if you then want to go fly something like an older Chief or Cub, you really might need some more hours, and not all taildraggers are an easy transfer for a rookie, such as going from a Super Cub to a spring-steel gear Cessna 140. They will simply feel different.

The Husky I taught in briefly was a more forgiving trainer IMO, than the J-3 Cub I was also teaching in at the same time, and I've experienced the same kind of thing even in a fat-tire Cessna 180.
 
RyanShort1 said:
Just a thought... getting your endorsement in something like a Husky, a Super Cub, or one of the Cub Crafters aircraft you see on the Tac Aero site with bigger tires *should* actually reduce the amount of time for your endorsement, but if you then want to go fly something like an older Chief or Cub, you really might need some more hours, and not all taildraggers are an easy transfer for a rookie, such as going from a Super Cub to a spring-steel gear Cessna 140. They will simply feel different.

The Husky I taught in briefly was a more forgiving trainer IMO, than the J-3 Cub I was also teaching in at the same time, and I've experienced the same kind of thing even in a fat-tire Cessna 180.
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Echo this.

Until you have triple digit tailwheel hours, you should start each new type of taildragger like you don't have the endorsement at all. They all have their own personalities, and will bite in their own unique ways.
 
kaiser said:
Wow! That’s insane! I want to say I spent 5hrs * (145+65) = $1,050 in a J3 cub.
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I had my endorsement in just under 5 hours after a 20-year break from flying airplanes. But I think 10 hours dual was required for insurance. A five-day course should result in proficiency, not just an endorsement.
 
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To add to what I already said, from my perspective, if you want to go fly back-country, definitely look up someone like TacAero, or Clinton with C3Air up in Burnet, but in my opinion, it's actually fairly easy to learn on a fat tire plane and the main reason to go with something like that is to get the knowledge of how to operate safely in "adventure mode."

OTOH, if you want to buy a Champ, or a J-3, or a Luscombe, and mostly use pavement for lunch runs, you really ought to consider training in a small tire older-style (A Legend Cub would be ok) classic and make sure that you put at least 5-6 hours into getting the endorsement and then spend a minimum of 4-5 hours in crosswinds and on pavement if you weren't already on pavement.
 
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When I got my taildragger endorsement several years ago, they made me earn it. After the first few hours to gain basic familiarity, where, sadly, some taildragger endorsements end, our just started getting interesting. We used pavement and turf fields, both short and long. We put sealed water jugs in the back seat to fly with CG near the rearward limit. We flew with the airplane light, and at max gross weight. We flew in moderate crosswinds. On downwind, the CFI would pull power and say, you just lost your engine - show me a power off 180. Then on short final he'd tell me whether to make it a wheel landing or a 3-pointer. It took longer than most places quote, 15 hours, but I would do it all over again because I learned so much and it improved my flying even in my nosedragger 172.

When people say you can get the tailwheel endorsement in 5-6 hours, keep in mind that for safety and confidence you do not want to pencil whip that endorsement, but really want to cover all the bases, and you cannot do that in 5-6 hours. A 5 day course sounds perfect.
 
I do not like places that quote a hard number. But then I think I learn faster than most. I'm the one that ends needing less time, someone else needs all the time, but we both pay the same amount.
I did my tailwheel endorsement in a Pacer, no flaps. I was signed of with, IIRC, less than 3 hours. Some get it quicker than others, I'd prefer to pay for what I need, not what the average needs.
 
Wagondriver said:
I do not like places that quote a hard number. But then I think I learn faster than most. I'm the one that ends needing less time, someone else needs all the time, but we both pay the same amount.
I did my tailwheel endorsement in a Pacer, no flaps. I was signed of with, IIRC, less than 3 hours. Some get it quicker than others, I'd prefer to pay for what I need, not what the average needs.
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Quickest way is to have been PIC of a tailwheel aircraft < cutoff date in the late 1980s.
 
$3500 for the instructor is insane. It’s a tail wheel endorsement not a ground school. I did mine in a J3 cub at Chester airport in Ct. it was $90 an hour for the plane wet and $55 an hour for the instructor. It took 12 hours and that was coming back after not flying for a few years. A tail wheel endorsement is going to be an hour of ground school and then just however many hours you need shooting landings to get comfortable.
 
kmacht said:
$3500 for the instructor is insane. It’s a tail wheel endorsement not a ground school. I did mine in a J3 cub at Chester airport in Ct. it was $90 an hour for the plane wet and $55 an hour for the instructor. It took 12 hours and that was coming back after not flying for a few years. A tail wheel endorsement is going to be an hour of ground school and then just however many hours you need shooting landings to get comfortable.
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I wouldn't say it's insane, they are markinging to a different crowd. I have some ideas of my own for the future, but the people that would pay for that kind of endorsement also aren't going to be flying with me in a Luscombe. There are different markets and customers that people try to appeal to.
 
kmacht said:
$3500 for the instructor is insane. It’s a tail wheel endorsement not a ground school. I did mine in a J3 cub at Chester airport in Ct. it was $90 an hour for the plane wet and $55 an hour for the instructor. It took 12 hours and that was coming back after not flying for a few years. A tail wheel endorsement is going to be an hour of ground school and then just however many hours you need shooting landings to get comfortable.
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A real check out will include wheel and three point landings on grass and pavement with crosswinds up to the limit of the instructor and his or her trust in you. That's because realistically, in a tailwheel airplane, the time between letting the student go far enough into the crash to learn something, but then correcting it for them if they go too far, can be a part of a second.

Then each tailwheel aircraft you fly will take 15-50 hours to get really comfortable in it, aka able to handle pretty much any crosswind thrown at you.

It's easy peasy if you are just going to fly a J-3 off of grass in the calm before sunset on a summer day. But to be able to handle a bigger tailwheel aircraft under reasonable conditions takes longer, much longer. It's just a sign-off to learn, not a competency certificate. Too many freshly purchased 170s/180s/PA18s get balled up each year.

Oh, one could easily spend three hours on the ground talking about experience, expectations, current bad habits, and so forth. How someone uses brakes in their current mount will teach a lot about landing proficiency. Ideally only for turning the airplane once it has slowed down on its own after landing.
 
Well my plan is to buy a straight tail Cessna 150 taildragger. It will be flown only on pavement. My plan was to just get an endorsement in anything first, purchase the 150, have it flown down to the nearest airport with a CFI willing to teach, and then get the transition training. Although I suppose I could just buy the 150, have it flown down to the CFI, and do the endorsement in that plane. FWIW, I already have 3 hours in a Champ that is no longer available for instruction.
 
Desmo said:
Well my plan is to buy a straight tail Cessna 150 taildragger. It will be flown only on pavement. My plan was to just get an endorsement in anything first, purchase the 150, have it flown down to the nearest airport with a CFI willing to teach, and then get the transition training. Although I suppose I could just buy the 150, have it flown down to the CFI, and do the endorsement in that plane. FWIW, I already have 3 hours in a Champ that is no longer available for instruction.
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Sounds like a great plan - the straight tails perform better in xwinds than the swept fin versions. Personally would try and train in the one you buy, but not always so easy.
 
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