Hi all, I’m new here but have been lurking about for a bit and this is my first post.

At 44 yrs of age I’ve finally had the chance to fulfill my life long passion and dream as I started flying this fall and I’m now in the final stages of completing my PPL. I plan on following the forum for education purposes as well as for entertainment. I also plan on sharing some of my experiences, and maybe ask the odd question for advice.

I’m training on a C172 with a wonderful flight school here in BC Canada and last week I purchased my first aircraft, a 1964 PA18-150. My plan is to get going on it the moment I pass my ppl.

I’ve had some tell me I should wait longer and gain more experience before transitioning to tail wheel, and others say get on it ASAP since it will be a true teaching of stick and rudder. I’m curious what the well experienced and wise here have to say on that?

As well, I use the Garmin pilot app and was hoping to use that at first for navigation since my cub has the bare bone and simple avionics. I was thinking of a Garmin inreach for emergency purposes as well as a GPS compliment to the Pilot app. My question is, would I be better off with the Mini or Explorer? Just curious what everyone’s thoughts are with that.

Many thanks for allowing me to be a part of the community.

Congrats on the plane! Start flying it right away. If it is rigged right it should be very manageable and you will not have to unlearn all the bad habits that can develop flying a 172.
Your Inreach will do the job and you probably should save your money for all of the “delightful” surprises that airplane ownership provides.
Check with your Insurer on how many hours you will need on your Cub to get a decent premium. Build those hours now. Your instructor would possibly have to qualify under your “open pilot” provision which should not be an issue-because you should get instruction from an experienced tail wheel person.
Have fun. Jump in, the water is fine.

I agree with Goodyear about learning tailwheel now with a good instructor. Click on my signature box to get some ideas on tailwheel teaching theory and techniques. Be sure to get good hull coverage.

The reason to start now is primacy of learning. We tend to use the muscle memory first learned in crisis. Ask your instructor about dynamic proactive rudder movement to stay ahead of the airplane on the ground and on final and even on cross country. He can teach you to move the rudder pedals only slightly, but that will take a long time and he will do most of the flying. If you move a rudder enough to see the nose move and very quickly move the other rudder enough to see the nose move the other way, it will not look as professional. But you will be ahead of the airplane and you will be flying rather than reacting and he will not have to take control or ride the controls nearly as much. We wobble before we walk but we learn best and fastest by doing.

Have you ever built a fence? If you use a map with your true course marked on it and that line between your legs, you can direct the nose with rudder to a distant target and then another and so on without ever being totally dependant on a GPS.

Have fun!

Have fun.

Congratulations on both getting the flying bug bite itched, and buying an airplane. Like the others above, I agree that getting started in the Cub as soon as you finish the PPL is a great idea. You might even want to start flying it before you finish the license, but frankly, getting prepped for the flight and knowledge test can be pretty stressful, so I'd limit my flying to the 172 for now.

Find a very experienced instructor in the Cub. You'll run into all sorts of folks who say they're a tailwheel instructor. Ask them to see their logbook, and tote up the hours of INSTRUCTING in these things. You want some crusty old fart who could care less about building hours, but who wants to be sure you get indoctrinated RIGHT.

The Super CUb is a very gentle airplane, and a lot of fun to fly, so no rocket science required. Do some research on insurance as others have suggested and get ready to have a lot of fun.

MTV

A lot of pilots learned on a Cub, I’d be looking for an instructor who might have the skills and capably of doing your complete PPL in it.

I would recommend Butch Washtock, owner of Mountain Flight at Chilliwack. If you have a week, take his full mountain course. We team taught a seminar and clinic in Grande Prairie Alberta October 2018.

Congratulations. I did the same route, learnt in 172, then bought the 170. Definitely heed the advice about finding a genuinely competent tailwheel instructor. I have a recommendation but he's in Abbotsford and I am not sure that he is available.

PM me and I'll give you my details, I'm just up the road on Texada, though away at the moment.

1_Robert wrote:I’ve had some tell me I should wait longer and gain more experience before transitioning to tail wheel, and others say get on it ASAP since it will be a true teaching of stick and rudder.

Don't wait one more minute! You don't need your PPL to start flying the Cub, and hours in a 172 aren't going to do dick for making you a tailwheel pilot. I'd start flying that Cub the second you can find a good TW instructor, ticket or not.

My wife went from zero to PPL in a tailwheel and it took her less time than a lot of people training in nosewheel aircraft. She never flew a nosewheel until getting her instrument license. Said she liked it...she could start packing her bags and cleaning up the cockpit and making phone calls on final...saved a lot of time.

Seriously...get out of that 172 and into that Cub as quickly as possible. You might need to finish your ticket in the 172 and that's fine, but the sooner you start flying your Cub the better.

Have fun!

What he said. I did not make it clear in my post that I wish I had learnt from scratch in the 170. Finding the instructor is the problem.

Switched from a 172 to a Cub at about 200 hours, and my only regret is that I didn’t do so sooner. I don’t have nearly the experience of those who have posted above, but I do know that I’m a far better pilot now with only a few years of tailwheel experience than I was before. And, frankly, flying the Cub is way more fun! Get after it as soon as possible.

As for your inReach options, either will work just fine. Have had the standard model for years and it works great, but am adding a mini this year for mountain running purposes. No bad choice there.

Congrats! My one year as a pilot is tomorrow (valentines day). I did the same as you. But with the shorter piper pacer. I stayed focused on the Cherokee I was training in and fought the urge to do anything more than taxi my “new” pacer. After the checkride, I IMMEDIATELY started flying my pacer. Haven’t flown much else since. It’s the best time to learn to fly with your feet. Do it now and never look back!

Also. I went with the explorer. Better battery length on it. There is also a nice app that connects with it so you can text with some quickness. I never fly without it. It’s my backup flight plan. I also tell my wife or a local pilot where I am going and when I’ll be back. Better safe than sorry.


Good luck and congrats on the purchase!

Very exciting. You have been very fortunate it appears!

The Nanaimo Aero Club Is always extremely friendly. They invited me to a member bar-b-que. I spent the night on their couch, used the hot showers and free long distance to file flight plans etc.. The fuel is less cost than the FBO. WIFI is free and fast.

1_Robert wrote:….I’m training on a C172 with a wonderful flight school here in BC Canada and last week I purchased my first aircraft, a 1964 PA18-150. My plan is to get going on it the moment I pass my ppl. ....

Good thinking-- knock out your PP in the 172, then hop in the supercub and never look back.
A friend of mine tells people "I got my license in a 150, then I learned to fly in a cub".

hotrod180 wrote:

1_Robert wrote:….I’m training on a C172 with a wonderful flight school here in BC Canada and last week I purchased my first aircraft, a 1964 PA18-150. My plan is to get going on it the moment I pass my ppl. ....

Good thinking-- knock out your PP in the 172, then hop in the supercub and never look back.
A friend of mine tells people "I got my license in a 150, then I learned to fly in a cub".

Why not skip the extra 150 step and just learn to fly and get the license at the same time? I can’t see a reason to spend money on a rental when you own one. Then spend more money on an instructor right after flying with one for like 20hrs.

If your almost done with your ppl then I can see some reasoning to finish out in the 172 so your not learning a new plane. But if you still have a ways to go then I’d find an old crusty instructor, my preference is ag pilots, and have them teach you in the cub.

If you do the PPL in the 172 first, have your instructor take you up in the Cub once and allow you to try to turn with aileron only. Which way does the nose go when you bank without rudder? Next try the same thing in the 172. Finally remember that rudder pulls the down aileron to make the nose go where we wish, even in the Cessna. It just is a lot harder to make yourself do it every time to develop proper muscle memory. Rudder leads aileron for coordinated turns. Rudder is primary, aileron secondary.

Finish up in the Supercub. You will never regret it. My daughter did her PPL Checkride (as well as all her training) in a Maule M5-180C. Got her done on her 17th birthday. Doing your Checkride in a tailwheel is something you will always remember. I wish I had.

There may be good reason to finish up in the 172. Bear in mind that the PPL flight test may require simulated instrument, for one.

You also may find that the SC gross weight would preclude you flying with an examiner. Depends on your weight and the weight of the examiner.

And, you may have trouble finding an examiner who is tailwheel qualified, and comfortable doing a flight test in a Cub. I don't know about Canada, but finding DPEs in the states has become difficult, and some have to schedule months out.....

Etc. Lots of good reasons to FINISH up that PPL ASAP, then move on to the Cub. Don't set yourself up for a longer path to the PPL.

MTV

Congrats! I did my primary in a J3 but had to do the solo XC's, night and check ride in a 172. Two weeks after, I bought a Maule and haven't been in a tri-gear since. Heel brakes will no doubt take some getting used to!

Jump into the cub right now!
Spend the extra money you save on rentals on extra hours of flight instruction in the plane you own. The earlier you can unlearn the muscle memory of tri-gear and reinforce tailwheel the better. I was told when I started: "If you learn in a taildragger you can fly anything. If you learn in a tri-gear you must re-learn in a tailwheel."

I got the Explorer model inReach for the longer battery life also.

Many thanks guys. Well the feedback is fairly consistent here haha. I will finish the ppl this spring and finish it at the school, I have a great instructor and I’m almost there.
I do have a problem in that I’m not aware of a TW instructor in Nanaimo or surrounding area. My eventual goal or mission with the Cub is to fly off airport and putter around the island/interior of BC. It would be great to find an instructor that is knowledgeable and experienced with off field flying.