Right out of college my first instructing job was in a J-3, which was a blast! The owner of the little flight school would take students through their solo in the Cub, then transition them to a 152. Man, those students knew what a rudder was for and how to use it! I look forward to getting back to flying tail draggers some day.

In my experience, people don't get exposure to crosswind landings today like they should. Flight schools have rules and limits on how much instructors can fly in, and honestly, I'm willing to bet that a lot instructors also didn't get the exposure and possibly might even be intimidated by them. As a result, pilots aren't getting good training at doing them. I see this all the time and it is flat wrong. Just tonight as we landed in Boston and Tampa with winds blowing 24G34 and 11G17 respectively, I was thinking that I am grateful for an instructor that didn't shy away from taking me out on ugly days to play in the wind. I actually enjoy crosswinds!

Hi all, I'm a newby here ,so g'day
Why fly a taildragger,,for me they're always going to teach me a lesson, and challenge me constantly.
On a recent trip I arrived at a field just north of us for a refuel, the crosswind was so far above the ARFOR(10 knots , it would've been 25 plus in reality) I thought I'd got the wrong day, on final I had the bugger so far wing low I thought the tip would touch before the wheel,,anyway touched down ,rolled along on one wheel then got the other two down and as soon as the tailwheel touched off I went into the scrub just off the runway, did a bit of dancing and got it together, I learned more in the one landing ,about my plane and myself, than a hundred tricycle landings in nice conditions. In fact on that trip we had howling winds all the way ,some places I had to touch down on one side of the runway edge ,roll up over the runway and stop on the opposite side, I started like everyone else in a 172 but I didn't really learn to feel what the plane was telling me till I got into rag n tube taildraggers
Matty

A good bump.

Yes. I finally got to read the very good article. Old computer, inept operator in 13. Anandeep Pannu also gives pertinent information on why the round out and hold off technique is so much more difficult than the apparent brisk walk rate of closure approach. The latter keeps power, and with it excellent rudder effectiveness, in place to touchdown or very near touchdown.

Another good reason why you must fly a taildragger is because it is so much fun. I agree with all of the comments previously mentioned about increasing your stick and rudder skills and flying coordinated. It could be argued that everyone who flies would improve their abilities if they had a tailwheel endorsement. For me, I just can't imagine what my aviation life would have been like not flying a taildragger. I don't think I would have gotten into backcountry flying. I bought my 180 because I wanted a decent cross country bird and had to have a tailwheel airplane. Exploring the backcountry became a natural progression for me because of the type of airplane I bought and where I live. Tailwheel airtplanes are also beautiful. To me they conjure up memories of the early time in aviation history. There was a time when a tricycle gear airplane was unusual. I love doing wheel landings and setting the airplane down on one wheel in a X wind. It's just too much fun. Sometimes I think about trading my airplane in for something faster like a bonanza but I just don't think I would enjoy the experience as much.

I think the taildragger thing is something invented well after I got my tickets a few decades ago. You flew what you flew, and it wasn't notable whether the wheel was in back or not. Instead, the same discriminating/tribe-defining fashion at that time seemed centered on horsepower. I would get lectured frequently about how the strips I was in were totally inappropriate for my PA-20. Perhaps it was my age (high school) or whatever, but I had 210 or 182 pilots telling me how dumb I was for taking it into Moose Creek and similar places, and suicidal for soldier bar or cabin creek in anything with less than 200hp. Not just one kook, but several. All of them loved to talk about how much better of a pilot you had to be to "handle all that horsepower" and that once you could, you were a real pilot. They could easily choose to forget that the strips were made in an era dominated by jennies, travelairs, and others with ease. The comments certainly played a role in my learning how silly adults could be for sure.

It was a fashion thing, looking back, but now the fashion is tailwheel skills.

That being said, tailwheels do require better landing skills on windy days and offer prop clearance. That's about it. More accidents happen with them, and the skills learned probably don't help overall flying safety, and add to insurance premiums.

They're fun to drive around when you are on the ground in some form, they're interesting to learn to fly well, and they look good. Isn't that enough?

While Anandeep points out some basic skills that older, mostly tailwheel, airplanes require closer and continuous attention to, all airplanes fly better when those skills are present. Instructors can require the same attention be paid to those basic skills in whichever airplane. More precision and more efficient control and energy management can be taught in whichever airplane.

Yes, it is more difficult and more speed is generally required to damage nose geared airplanes. Slowing down on short final reduces damage to all types of small aircraft. The energy management Anandeep mentions can happen on short final reducing the need for round out and hold off.

While Anandeep points out some basic skills that older, mostly tailwheel, airplanes require closer and continuous attention to, all airplanes fly better when those skills are present. Instructors can require the same attention be paid to those basic skills in whichever airplane. More precision and more efficient control and energy management can be taught in whichever airplane.

Yes, it is more difficult and more speed is generally required to damage nose geared airplanes. Slowing down on short final reduces damage to all types of small aircraft. The energy management Anandeep mentions can happen on short final reducing the need for round out and hold off.

contact has been talking about energy management since he has been here, ie walking speed etc. He had it right I think, manage energy and be the same always.

Nose wheel or tail wheel the concept is the same.

Want to learn energy management and skill, go fly sail planes for awhile. One tire, in the middle, no go around, all or nothing every time.

It will teach you fast. It will also teach you to fly within the capability of the air frame.

This is worth exactly what you paid for it. Just my 0.02.

Much easier to move around when ground handling, as in pivot in place, a super valuable trait in tight quarters. And they look cool.

Logged PIC time in a J3 Cub before 1991 (Grandfathered in before tailwheel endorsement requirement) after a tailwheel checkout. Almost all of my time has been in trigear airplanes including initial PPL.

The late Bill Kershner taught me positive G spins & basic aerobatics in his tri-gear Cessna Aerobat. Bill said folks wanted to know if he taught with a tri-gear airplane because he didn't like taildraggers. Bill would tell them he enjoyed flying F4U Corsairs off of carriers when he was in the Navy, but he liked flying the Aerobat, too. Also went up with Bill Finagin in his Pitts S2C for negative G spin training, first time ever flying an aircraft like the that! The aerobatic bug bit me and I purchased an Aerobat to learn about basic aerobatics.

The reason I purchased a taildragger is more aerobatic aircraft are taildraggers and I wanted to increase my taildragger experience before purchasing an aerobaic taildragger. Ended up going with a Shortwing Piper, C85 powered PA-17 Vagabond (non aerobatic) with slightly less than 30' wing span. It has clipped J3 Cub wings with large ailerons, no flaps, and J3 tailfeathers as built by Piper. The Vag has very responsive controls with side by side seating with shorter fuselage than the J3 weighing in at 1150 pounds gross.

The Vag is the first airplane I have owned that would climb as high as 800 to 900FPM. Find myself continuously working on pattern work & landings with the Vag like I used to work on aerobatics in the Aerobat. Now the STOL bug bit me, the Vag has changed my mission from Aerobatics to STOL flying and learning all I can about this kind of flying.

Happy to be learning about STOL flying with the Vag!

Bill