Taildragger Training
- Details
- Category: Quickheads BLOG
- Published: Wednesday, 16 April 2008 13:50
- Written by Dan Yager
- Hits: 6966
I have a dream. I want to build and fly my own high performance taildragger. Unfortunately, I don’t yet have a taildragger endorsement. I’ve been itching to get this endorsement for quite a while but lately it seems that life keeps “getting in the way.” Well no more excuses. I am taking off from work early to start my taildragger training tomorrow afternoon.
At my local airport (WBW) they have a Decathalon for rent, but my instructor, who just signed off my bi-annual, suggested that I drive a half hour up the valley and check out the Piper Cubs at Skyhaven airport (76N). This will fulfill another dream of mine, namely, to fly in the famous Piper Cub.
Now I realize that the Cub will not come close to getting me ready to fly the Q-200, but hey, “You’ve got to start somewhere.” My thought is that, once I get signed off to fly the Cub, I’ll head back down to my home airport and get checked out in the Decathalon. My intention is to fly nothing but taildraggers from now on, unless it absolutely can’t be avoided.
Now I expect to be out in the weeds quite a bit, as I learn to taxi, and learn how to properly coordinate my feet on the rudder pedals with my hand on the stick. Then again I’m excited to even have a stick again. There’s something kinda’ “uncool” about a flight yolk. It’s always made me feel, on some level, like I was driving a car. I started my pilot training at Hanscom Field near Boston, and the low wing Katanas there had a stick right in the middle of your seat. It made you feel like a fighter pilot, even though the 100 H.P. engine lacked an afterburner. 
To make a long story short, I plan to document my experiences learning to fly a conventionally geared airplane! So check back here and you can find out how I’m doing. If you’re interested in learning everything there is to know about flying a Piper Cub, perhaps you should read a little 32 page pamphlet put out by Piper Aircraft Corporation in 1945 “How to Fly a Piper Cub.” I especially liked the “Instructor Hand Signals” on the last page. I’ll probably see a lot of the picture #14. (Above.)