PROFICIENCY & EFFICIENCY 82 TECHNIQUE 87 WX WATCH 88 OWNERSHIP 90 AVIONICS 91 DOGFIGHT 94 NEVER AGAIN 56% of AOPA members have logged time in a tailwheel aircraft. In a recent online poll, 28 percent of AOPA members said they have ground looped an aircraft. | TECHNIQUE | The third wheel Back to basic stick-and-rudder skills with a tailwheel endorsement B Y A LY S S A J. M I L L E R 82 | AOPA PILOT July 2013 training program (www.fly5g.com/) at Southern California’s John Wayne Airport-Orange County. Pilots who become complacent and touch down misaligned with the runway in a tricycle-gear airplane may bounce or skid, but the poor form won’t likely lead to VIDEO EXTRA Ride along as AOPA Online Managing Editor Alyssa J. Miller progresses from botched landings to smooth touchdowns in pursuit of the tailwheel endorsement. JESSICA AMBATS FOR SUCH A TINY PART of the airplane, the third wheel of a taildragger has a vicious bite if it’s not treated with proper respect. “You can’t get lazy in a tailwheel,” instructor Ron Rapp explained early in 5G Aviation’s tailwheel endorsementhttp://www.fly5g.com/