Tailwheel endorsement requirements?

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Melissa2983298

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Melissa
I just went for my first tailwheel endorsement lesson last week and while I am petty competent in takeoffs and taxing, I am struggling a bit with adjusting to the stick (from a Cessna) and getting the landing heights judged correctly.

Just out of curiosity for those that have gotten their endorsement:
1) How proficient were you when you received the endorsement? Were you flying 'without the instructor near the stick' or were they still supporting?
2) Any tips for adjusting to a stick airplane?

Thanks!
 
I started out flying and did my first solo in a Cub so my perspective is backwards. I just had a not-great landing in it yesterday. And sometimes it just goes perfectly. The biggest factor on quality of landings is if it’s my first Cub landing that month or my 20th that week.

As far as the stick goes, try holding it with just your thumb and forefinger, gently, and maybe not at the very end of the stick but a couple hands down. Most of flying is about control pressure, not control deflection, and the stick can give you too much leverage at times.
 
Real Airplanes have sticks:cool:.

By the time I was signed off after 8 hours in a Champ and Cub, I could handle up to 10 kts direct crosswind. Most fun were slips for short fields.

Cheers
 
Once I could keep the tail behind me three point he got out. I did that solo a while then he got back in and we did three points until he could get out and he signed it off.
 
You need to be signed off for tailwheel BEFORE you solo such an aircraft. If you were soloing the tailwheel before the endorsement, you busted the regs.
 
Some years ago I went up with an experienced Champ pilot, (not even a CFI) and after a few hours doing all sorts of TO and landings I soloed myself.
What's an endorsement?
 
champ driver said:
Some years ago I went up with an experienced Champ pilot, (not even a CFI) and after a few hours doing all sorts of TO and landings I soloed myself.
What's an endorsement?
Click to expand...
As long as it was before 1991, you don't need the endorsement. The regs say before that date (which is the last time the reg changed), all you need to do is log PIC time in a tailwheel aircraft, which as we know well here, doesn't mean you have to actually be the pilot in command.
 
flyingron said:
You need to be signed off for tailwheel BEFORE you solo such an aircraft. If you were soloing the tailwheel before the endorsement, you busted the regs.
Click to expand...

Well then he broke the rules. If I were to go back and look he signed off in some way before I solod but didn’t get the overall endorsement until he was all done.
 
Most people are ADEQUATE when they get an endorsement. It’s not unusual to not “feel” proficient. There’s always more to learn.

I give the endorsement when I feel they are both competent enough to get the job done given reasonable conditions (I don’t wait for a wind howling day, they can work up as they need/want), and humbled enough to know there’s still more to learn on their own. And not until THEY agree it’s time. Confidence is important.

As an add on, usually three or four 1.5 or 2 hr flights all in the pattern except some familiarity flying. Doesn’t seem to make a initial solo take any longer (ie primary flight training in a tail dragger).

Tools
 
I was signed off in 2.3 hours. Over 450 hours tailwheel now. Stick, yoke, either one is fine with me.
 
I got mine two years ago in a 7GCBC Citabria. Seven hours. I wasn’t an ace, but could fly the plane good enough. Was instructed to get more training in the specific plane I purchase. A year later I bought a C170, and insurance wanted five hrs dual prior to solo. By the time those 5 hrs were up, I felt very confident. Five more hrs solo then took m’lady for a flight.
 
The biggest problem I had in my tailwheel training was using the stick. Everything I flew previously had a control wheel. But it still only took a little time to get use to it.
 
The level of proficiency required is at the discretion of the CFI making the endorsement. The hours will vary between instructors, between students with the same instructor and between make / model.
 
Keep in mind that you can ask for more dual if you are not comfortable yet even if the instructor is ready to sign you off.
 
Just as with any endorsement, certificate, or rating, obtaining it is a minimum standard. Maintaining proficiency is always the challenge.
 
I'm a TW CFI, and I also rent my airplane out to qualified pilots so they can maintain proficiency. A few other instructors also instruct in my airplane, and we operate to a common syllabus. We'll tailor our instruction to the individual student, but we use a documented standard for proficiency for signing folks off. While the instruction flow may vary, the minimum standards do not. We talk about this with the students up front - so they know exactly what's expected of them going in.

We have a standard for 3pts, wheel landings, and crosswind landings and takeoffs. If you meet those standards for 3 in a row, we call you proficient in that operation. Once you've got all three operations to standard, then (in general) you're ready to be endorsed.

We tell folks that they should plan on about the hours it took them to solo. Some students get through faster, some not. Per the FAR and the AC-61-65 endorsement, we're stating we're finding you proficient (not just competent) in TW operations.

As others have said, YMMV. Different instructors use different standards. One telling indicator: Once endorsed, can you fly their airplane solo?
 
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