Backcountry Pilot

[Beagle offline]

howdy all,today i was at ashland and was talking to tim stewart he told me he flew with zane today. tim told me zane doing real good with the 170 and zane going to be a real good tail wheel pilot good job zane the 170 can be a handful but with lot of pratice you will enjoy the bird.i did all my tail will in a 170 with tim he a good instucter my hat off to you zane keep flying and you will be a pro in no time .beagle n43643

[Zzz]

Hey Marc, we had a fun time. Tim is a great instructor and an all around cool guy.

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=12715#12715

[m7flyer offline]

Does this mean Zane will be flying himself to the JC camping trip?

Zane, I'll bring your chair. That 2 lbs ought to help out your backcountry weight and balance.

[hotrod180 offline]

Glad to hear that you were back out there getting after it, Zane! The rest of us have been been having an off-forum discussion about confiscating your 170 and comandeering your website-- glad to see we don't have to go thru with it. Stay on it, bro!

Eric

[Zzz]

Too many hobbies to be good at any one, so I'm just mediocre at many. Flying is fun!

[Berk offline]

Too many hobbies to be good at any one, so I'm just mediocre at many. Flying is fun!

Zane;
As long as you're keeping the fun meter all the way up, that's the main thing. That sweet bird has got to be fun, and the Pacific Nothwest is a great place to be flying it. Pile on the hours!
Enjoy, Berk

[yellowbird offline]

zane, some of us are putzers, like me, and enjoy everything. others are oriented to a single mission, not like me. i like a smorgasborg, rather than a single helping, flying is a passion, count me in, and other things are just as important, just not as urgent.

[hotrod180 offline]

Too many hobbies to be good at any one, so I'm just mediocre at many. Flying is fun!

This mediocrity business has been mentioned on another board in a discussion as to why more people aren't involved in aviation. As I pointed out there, you can get away with it in many hobbies but mediocrity in aviation can sometimes get you bad hurt or killed.
Kind of a matter of priorities- if a person's gonna fly, esp tailwheel airplanes or other somewhat demanding op's (IFR,multi-engine/complex,etc),he owes it to himself and everyone around him to be current and proficient. IMHO going down tho the airport and flying your taildragger just 4 or 5 times a year is a recipe for disaster, esp if you don't have a good solid base of tailwheel skills & experience under the rust.
I've seen enough t/w airplanes wrecked by people who really shouldn't have been flying them to not want to see or hear about any more. It's not rocket science but it is not falling off a log either.

Eric

[Zzz]

It is because I take it seriously that I don't do it flippantly. I haven't had this much dual since I was doing my primary flight training. My BFR is now due, so even more dual is on the schedule. I know enough to know that there's a lot I don't know, that this tailwheel business is the sharp end.

I've done some dangerous shit in my life: Naturally protected multi pitch rockclimbs, paragliding, serious motocross racing, skiing in avalanche terrain and conditions... I'm still around because I take it all seriously, and I don't have anything to prove other than that I don't wanna crash. I don't think it's a mistake to have many disciplines, as long as they get the focus and respect they deserve.

I've been pretty honest with everyone about my experiences and situation. I do appreciate tips and advice, but save any patronization for a face to face.

Edit: I want to add that I do agree with Eric on the topic of currency. He just doesn't sugar-coat it. Flying 4 or 5 times a year IS a recipe for disaster in a taildragger. I am learning that they require an accumen well above that of a tricycle geared aircraft. Now that I've cleared the obstacles of the required dual for insurance and all the sqwuaks from my first annual, I intend to put more hours in my logbook this year than any previous.

[qmdv offline]

Zero-one-victor you sound a liitle angry. Here I go with my two cents and my two tenths of an hour of tail wheel time.

I have a bit more than 1000 hrs and about 650 of it in the plane that I currently fly. I feel just fine going into Moose Creek, Smiley Creek, Chamberline basin, Grahm and the like with my experience level. I have been into Cabin Creek and Lower Loon with an instructor but would not do it again untill I got a bit more instruction. I will probably never get good enough to land at Mile High.

I think that if I get my taildrager as discussed in considerable length on this forum and after good checkout (at least 25 landings), I could get by with just an hour or two per month of flying. Of course I would stay out of the mountains and only do my flying with real good wheather and just about zero wind. If I wanted to head to the mountains with it I would have to really ramp up on the practice.

Many years go I was enroled in a diving class (compliments of the US Navy) and I know that class was a bit tougher than the classes most civilian divers take. I have not done a dive in many many years but I think that I would have no problem putting on the scuba gear and doing a boat dive in warm water and down to about 50 or 60 feet. That doesn't mean that I would even think about the kind of dives we made off the submarine. The same goes with any endeavor that has a high degree of difficulty.

Tim

[ShamuPilot offline]

This mediocrity business has been mentioned on another board in a discussion as to why more people aren't involved in aviation. As I pointed out there, you can get away with it in many hobbies but mediocrity in aviation can sometimes get you bad hurt or killed.
Kind of a matter of priorities- if a person's gonna fly, esp tailwheel airplanes or other somewhat demanding op's (IFR,multi-engine/complex,etc),he owes it to himself and everyone around him to be current and proficient. IMHO going down tho the airport and flying your taildragger just 4 or 5 times a year is a recipe for disaster, esp if you don't have a good solid base of tailwheel skills & experience under the rust.
I've seen enough t/w airplanes wrecked by people who really shouldn't have been flying them to not want to see or hear about any more. It's not rocket science but it is not falling off a log either.
Eric

Eric,

Although you make a good point, you forgot to mention how good judgment plays a role too. In Zane's case it's obvious to me, from everything that I've read here in the last few months, that he knows his limits. Therefore, he doesn't fit in the category of pilot you describe. Besides, what he said sounded to me like he was just being humble, if not humorously self deprecating.

Keep up the good work Zane.

-Matt