This month the annual was due on my 170. As I prepared my wallet for abuse, I reflected on my journey thus far as an aircraft owner and a pilot. Hell, maybe even as a person. While this forum is full of bravado and folks who have been there and done it… there doesn’t seem to be many stories of the journey from zero to backcountry. By no means do I consider myself a backcountry pilot but I figured I would attempt to contribute to the forum with an update of my progress.

As a pilot I’ve progressed from trying to loop my 170 on takeoff to occasionally greasing it on in a crosswind. 50 hrs in and I’m slowly relaxing and starting to enjoy flying the thing. The less scared of it I am, the better it wants to fly.

It took me over 20 hours of instruction with three different instructors before I got my endorsement. I attempted exactly 1 three point in my 170 with my final instructor before he told me that the something was seriously wrong with the tailwheel of my 170. It turned out that the kingpin nut was so over tightened that with the tail jacked up the rudder pedals were unable to turn the tailwheel. With a freshly rebuilt tailwheel three point landings became significantly easier. Learning wheel landings took longer… Learning where the main gear was and how to plant it perfectly on the runway was challenging. But surprisingly (for me) learning to use the brakes without veering off the runway took me the longest. Eventually it all came together.

As I continue to expand the radius of my adventures from my home base I am struck by the community in aviation. Everyone seems to know everyone. Showing up in a sweet old taildragger is a recipe for conversation. Its honestly pretty amazing. (although I have to add an extra hour to my preflight on weekends due to the chatty old man factor).

Currently my biggest obstacle to flying more Is that the only hanger space I could find is an hour from my house and 45 min from my office. Which has been cutting into my midweek flying. I’ve started tying down my plane near my house when the forecast looks good. The anxiety every time there is a bit of wind or an afternoon thunderstorm is pretty severe… but the fear of only getting to fly once a week is worse!

Annnddd because a thread without photos is worthless...



66D Stashed in a community hanger for $325 a month.



Tied down 15 min from my house.



Most of what I have been doing with the plane has been hammering landing after landing after landing... But occasionally I go check the surf. Here is Point Judith RI During Tropical Storm Earl.



And here is Matunuck during the same swell. If you look closely you can see all of the longboards on the peak out in front of The Ocean Mist. (The whitewater on the right). Surfing in the fall in RI is more about figuring out where the people aren't than where the waves are...

Thanks for the report, and good on you for progress! It’s what we all have to endure to really enjoy our aircraft. I’ve flown a fair bit, and yesterday, amongst six landings at six different airports, I’d rate them as: Three pretty good, one “holy shit!”, and one excellent. Don’t get discouraged, keep at it. Sounds like your approach is good, mixing practice to proficiency with just enjoyment of the perch.

Parking outdoors: I parked planes outdoors for nearly thirty years in Alaska. It’s a PITA, no doubt. I can’t tell you all the days and nights I’ve spent tending airplanes in wind, snow, etc. but my planes were always close at hand when I wanted to fly.

Take care of it, and parking outdoors won’t hurt that plane. What it will do is cement your connection with flying by being available a few minutes away.

And, that $300 + a month will pay a lot of gas bills.

Which is a long way of saying I’d park it outdoors and close as opposed to indoors and far.

MTV

If we get all slowed up and ready to squat, as if we were going to three point, the wait to get down (hold off) is eliminated. Not so much worry time of where the main gear is as it will contact the surface soon after we level the fuselage.

Don’t be discouraged you are through the hardest bit. Fly all you can as often as you can. Find an airport where you can do tight circuits and do lots of them. You will get better, though you will think you are getting worse at times. Mix it up, flaps, no flaps, wheels three points. Plan each landing and try to get the best outcome. Do lots of slow flight and slow down your approaches as you get more comfortable. Try to find a grumpy old guy to fly with occasionally.

I was exactly where you are a few years ago and it gets much better, and then you can start adventuring more. Lots of cool places to go right now though.I was dangerous around 500 hrs as I knew it ALL. Got a lot humbler since.

Glad you posted and some nice pictures. Also makes me appreciate living out here in the sticks where prices are a lot cheaper. I guess if the wind didn't blow so much and it didn't get so cold, everybody would be here too.

Nice work, brother. Keep it up!

Excellent! Good on you! I had a few hundred tailwheel hours before I got my 180 checkout and it still was super intimidating. It took me hundreds of landings before I felt like I knew where the ground was. It still remains a challenge, but it's gone from scary to (mostly) a fun one!

Congrats!

Nice write up.

Yup nothing wrong with tying it outside. I see the canopy cover, may I suggest an engine cover and some good home made gust locks, and your set. Maybe a prop lock but those are a PIA sometimes with freezing fingers.
Fly it often especially after a good rain.

Also having used to keeping it outside, when you do end up airplane camping, it’s a breeze to know what to do.

Have fun!

Great post! I didn’t start flying until I was in my 40’s so I can relate. I also didn’t get my tailwheel endorsement until I bought a Champ three years ago after a health hiccup that necessitated going light sport for a bit. Got my endorsement pretty quick, but pretty much sucked at anything other than grass and light wind for quite a while. I still pucker with a decent crosswind on pavement, but have become much more comfortable. I am now just shy of 200 hrs TW. Which I know is a drop in the bucket. Everything that the others said is 100% accurate. Practice as much as possible and don’t be afraid of bagging a landing if it doesn’t feel right. One thing that helped me a TON was going to unfamiliar strips/airports. Going around the pattern multiple times, definitely helps, but doing it at the same strip all the time, you get used to all the little nuances of that place. By heading to new spots it forced me to pay attention and not get complacent. Definitely helped. Good luck and it’s good to see more East Coasters here. By the way one of my daughters is a avid surfer in ME. She was out all winter long, cold but less crowded she said…

Pete

Take your time and enjoy the process, don't be afraid to not fly if things just don't feel right, you can go another day. Keeping the plane outside in good weather is not really an issue. Saving 1 hour of driving time really helps when you are trying to fly more. I would however recommend you always tie you tail down in addition to the wings. A big wing change or strange gust can pick up the tail and once it comes up it takes little wind to put the plane on its nose. Do a search for the Bill White MAF technique. Makes tailwheel landing a Cessna simple. Stall/spin training was the best thing I did for my landing improvement.
DENNY

Take your time and enjoy the process, don't be afraid to not fly if things just don't feel right, you can go another day. Keeping the plane outside in good weather is not really an issue. Saving 1 hour of driving time really helps when you are trying to fly more. I would however recommend you always tie you tail down in addition to the wings. A big wing change or strange gust can pick up the tail and once it comes up it takes little wind to put the plane on its nose. Do a search for the Bill White MAF technique. Makes tailwheel landing a Cessna simple. Stall/spin training was the best thing I did for my landing improvement.
DENNY

Nice 170, looks like Bigrenna’s old plane!

Good write up!

Just curious did you try wheels landings before 3pt?

Always taught wheels first as I thought it helped learn where your legs are faster, think I got the idea form a callair a9 manual

Good job and you're not a Kook..

You've got your license and a 170..

That's bad ass

The CallAir A9 or A9A (flaperons) is the easiest tailwheel airplane to land, in my opinion. The wing root mounted main gear is very wide. The controls, loaded or empty, are very light. I think that is the ribs in all control surfaces.

contactflying wrote:The CallAir A9 or A9A (flaperons) is the easiest tailwheel airplane to land, in my opinion. The wing root mounted main gear is very wide. The controls, loaded or empty, are very light. I think that is the ribs in all control surfaces.

We landed on that on what could almost be considered a dirt bike woops straight away, that plane had some awesome landing gear

Great Pirep on your first 50 hours of flying the 170. I bought my 180 with 300 hours of TW time but it still took me some time to learn the idiosyncrasies of the airplane. I remember really sweating bullets and puckering up real hard on windy days. I don't think anyone ever really masters tailwheel aircraft. Maybe you can achieve Journeyman status at best. I have done my share of bad landings too and will continue to do them but what I would say now is that my bad landings aren't scary like they used to be. I had a few near ground loops in the early days and don't ever think I am immune to it happening. Vigilance is a virtue. It is great you are comfortable wheeling it and 3 pointing. It is so important to know both techniques. Every flight is a training flight for me - I am always learning something new.

You hopefully should be out of the T storm season soon so you can keep the plane close and outside for a little while before winter hits. I have a 30 min drive to my airplane with no traffic and really wish I had a hangar in my backyard.


Josh

Good Post. I was there about two years ago. I also do a on of pattern work. I love doing early turns and short approaches. Keep it up, you have the same fears I had about both the wind and not flying. All you have to do is continue the path your on and soon the wind will become less worrisome and the fun factor will increase substantially.
Thanks for listing the name of that point. Lifelong surfer here in SoCal . Love to see shots with waves from other parts of the world. I did live in Rockaway NYC for a couple of years so I know the chill of big east coast surf in the winter. Nothing better than checking a swell from above.
Keep Up the good work

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

MTV – I’m definitely considering tying it down. Maybe in the spring…

Contact – Your words are like poetry…. I’m not really sure what the hell you’re talking about but it sounds good.

Daedaluscan – I’m not discouraged with the progress. That said… I was certainly surprised by the added difficulty of tailwheel flying vs nosewheel flying. Good reminder on mixing it up. I’ve been laser focused on getting clean, short, full flap wheel landings.

180Marty – There are times at which I think about switching to 100% offshore work and living out in the sticks. Family keeps me here. It’s a pretty disgusting suburban sprawl. Worse than that none of the houses in those photos cost less than 750k. Most of them are at least double that.

soyAnarchisto – Thanks man!

Oregon180 – Thanks! It’s cool to hear that even people with oodles more experience than me find transitioning to new types (esp Cessna taildraggers) challenging.

AKJurnee – I’ve got gust locks from FA Dodge. Do you have a recommendation for an insulated engine cover? I was leaning towards Bruces as they made the canopy cover I have and it seems well made.

pBurns – Pretty much all my flying has been on pavement. I really need to start hitting up some of the local grass. I have been trying to hit unfamiliar airports that are within 30 min flight from my home base for pattern work before returning home. It’s definitely a good method of improving!
Winter surfing in Maine is Madness. I was surfing in southern Maine one winter and these guys pulled up in a truck with a sauna in the back. They would catch a few waves and then hit the sauna before heading back out!

Denny – I always tie the tail down. I didn’t know that some people considered that optional! I will check out Bill Whites Technique. Thanks for the heads up!

Robw56- Thanks! Good Eye! It is indeed Bigrenna’s old bird. He thought I was full of it when I asked him to fly down to the Carolinas to do a pre buy on it! Haha

NineThreeKilo – Negative. Everyone was focused on three points first.

Lucky – Haha Thanks!

DogismyCopilot – Thanks! I love the outlook of being a lifelong learner. Its how I try to look at everything in my life. If you’re not learning you are just stagnant. No one wants to be there!
I think we all dream of having a hanger in the back yard. Hopefully one day!

Sierrasplitter – Thanks! I know it’s a well traveled road but its easy to get focused on the destination vs the journey.
Glad to see another surfer on here! I’ve got some time working/surfing in Santa Barbera but never made it out south of LA. Road Tripping down Baja is on the bucket list. I can easily fit boards in the 170 but so far I’ve been too chicken to try and surf and fly back to back. Hopefully soon though. Several airports near me back right up against surf.

Nice right hand point!