Resky wrote:The back seat generally has less heat... Major factor for a non-pilot spouse.

You fix that with a second opening in the heat box and a length of scat hose that reaches to the back seat. Great for defrosting windows too.

I don't think the original poster mentioned if he had time in both?

-DP

You guys have all been very helpful. In answer to a couple of questions, I'm about to start taildragger certification. My tandem choices are all on the small side, ranging from a Savage Cub up to a Citabria. My fantasy taildragger is probably a Husky. My primary concern is my spouse and kids. I'm hoping they'll fly with me, and I think that to get them to enjoy it as much as possible, parking them behind my head is probably substandard. If I was a single guy, I'd opt for the taildragger in a heartbeat. At the moment, my flying plans don't envision flying anything beyond about 300 miles. I have a "fly-across-Canada" fantasy that I'd like to indulge someday, but it isn't a "fly-fast-across-Canada" fantasy so anything with wings will do. There's also no question that taking the doors off and puttering around has great appeal.
Thanks to you all for your comments. This forum has proved to be an invaluable resource to me and I'm very grateful to you all for taking the time to contribute.
Best wishes,
Chip

Our first plane was a side by side. I thought it would be better to be hit in the arm by my wife than the back of the head. Our present plane is a tandem and just the other day my wife said she knows why she was made short. Cause she fits just right in the back seat of the cub. Aren’t I lucky?

Steve

kasilofsteve wrote:Our first plane was a side by side. I thought it would be better to be hit in the arm by my wife than the back of the head. Our present plane is a tandem and just the other day my wife said she knows why she was made short. Cause she fits just right in the back seat of the cub. Aren’t I lucky?

Steve

You got a practical women there Steve. Nice catch!

pitfield wrote:You guys have all been very helpful. In answer to a couple of questions, I'm about to start taildragger certification. My tandem choices are all on the small side, ranging from a Savage Cub up to a Citabria. My fantasy taildragger is probably a Husky. My primary concern is my spouse and kids. I'm hoping they'll fly with me, and I think that to get them to enjoy it as much as possible, parking them behind my head is probably substandard. If I was a single guy, I'd opt for the taildragger in a heartbeat. At the moment, my flying plans don't envision flying anything beyond about 300 miles. I have a "fly-across-Canada" fantasy that I'd like to indulge someday, but it isn't a "fly-fast-across-Canada" fantasy so anything with wings will do. There's also no question that taking the doors off and puttering around has great appeal.
Thanks to you all for your comments. This forum has proved to be an invaluable resource to me and I'm very grateful to you all for taking the time to contribute.
Best wishes,
Chip

95% of the time I fly solo the 5 percent is one other person. Tandem is great so everyone gets the same view-Left side looks same from front or back .When someone or something is in the back in Tandem CG changes where as SxS stays approx. same except for more weight. Side by side gives alternate views .Have a buddy who has L-19 and it's WIDE in front and back.Depending on size of SxS could be more or less comfortable (width ?) - I have Citabria(project) for sale if anyone is interested.

Drawbacks to tandem: not "connected" with your passenger, poor viz forward from the back seat (but great downward viz for both seats), plus when you load baggage, it's waaay back there behind the back seat & has more effect on moving the CG aft (not always a bad thing, but usually not good) than if it was right behind the two front seats. There is some advantages, as others have described, but I prefer a side-by-side.
I thought the 2-seat M4-180V that Maule introduced a few years ago would make a viable alternative to a Husky Top Cub or Scout, and would take some market share from them, esp given the low introductory price (around $100K-ish). Surprisingly, it didn't. There's only 12 of them on the FAA registration database.

Eric