Zzz wrote:It comes. One thing I'll never forget was something Sparky wrote about rudder control while on the ground. It was to the effect of "don't hold it. Make your input and return to neutral."

It's easy to over control by holding rudder inputs too long, and then swerving occurs.

Cross controlling for crosswind inputs is another story altogether. Practice!

If that doesn't work just go off the pavement accept the grass as just part of the landing area.

I think its better that the trusted friend or instructor hold a taser, and use it if you try moving the stick (wheel). You wanna break any bad habits early

My instructor in the front seat of the J-3 would slam the palm of his hand on the side of the stick if I was "off" on what he wanted me to do. I expect it was a common method of 'rebuke' back when they busted our chops when making us pilots.... He didn't need a taser-you KNEW you had screw up!

I am talking the mid '60s and a lot of the instructors that taught our era instructors were war pilots, and ours passed the harsh methods on.
lc

That ain't all the harsh methods......
But they did make pilots.

OregonMaule wrote:

Zzz wrote:It comes. One thing I'll never forget was something Sparky wrote about rudder control while on the ground. It was to the effect of "don't hold it. Make your input and return to neutral."

It's easy to over control by holding rudder inputs too long, and then swerving occurs.

Cross controlling for crosswind inputs is another story altogether. Practice!

If that doesn't work just go off the pavement accept the grass as just part of the landing area.

Hahahaha... Choose your landing spot wisely so as to afford yourself all the options. I've tested this hypothesis.

Like has already been said, it comes. I hadn't flown for thirty years, and had never flown a Taildragger. And I wanted to fly the hardest (read ground loopiest) of them all a Stearman.

My instructor stuck me in the backseat of a Super D as the Stearman is flown from the back seat. After a week in the Super D remembering how to fly and dealing with things I had no previous experience with like; a stick instead of a yoke, throttle/mixture/prop on the left instead of the right, tandem instead of side by side, third wheel at the back instead of the front, zero visibility forward (same as the Stearman), and short (at the time) runways, and grass instead of pavement - the next morning he says we are going up in the Stearman which is also a significantly bigger and heavier airplane. I tried to bow out of the first take off, scared I'd wreak the plane. But he insisted I take the controls. I can still remember what was one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life as that big old warbird lifted off the grass and he hollered across the intercom "you're flying a Stearman!"

Two days later with my tail wheel endorsement done in a Stearman I headed home to find a Stearman to buy. Six months later I had one and then commenced a year of high anxiety each time it came to land. For me it was just over a hundred landings in the Stearman before "it came", and I became one with the plane if you will.

Of course it still is a Stearman and that means you are not done flying it till its chained down, in the hangar, doors shut, and you are in your truck on the way home.

Point being it will come, maybe quick maybe slow. Practice does not make perfect, Perfect practice makes perfect. Meaning don't keep practicing terrible technique. Fix it! And absolutely the most important thing, the MOST IMPORTANT, fly the plane, don't let it fly you.

Foot note: What am I doing here? Decided I needed a "go fast" plane as well, so naturally I bought a 185. As cool as a Stearman (well kind of) in her own way, I'm having a blast learning to fly her at the edge of her envelope, getting prepared for some off airport fun. Hang in there - when it comes it comes fast.

Today's lesson went much better! I'm still working on the coordination, but am happier about it now. Rudder stalls, besides being a lot of fun, do help quite a bit. The dutch rolls were decent too, though I will need to practice them more. Thanks for the help, advice and stories!

-Chris