AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - November 2018 - 22

PROFICIENT PILOT

Taildragging

BY BARRY SCHIFF

Tailwheel skills translate to all kinds of flying

BARRY SCHIFF

has owned several
light airplanes; all
have been
taildraggers.

A COLD FRONT had just bulldozed its way across
Southern California, leaving in its wake severely clear
skies and a blustery crosswind that angled directly
across my single-runway destination. No problem, I
thought. Even though I had never flown a Cessna 195,
I had been weaned from taildraggers that were reputedly more challenging.
The landing wasn't pretty, but it was good enough.
As soon as I touched down and began working the rudder pedals, the tower controller requested that I exit
the runway as soon as practical. A Douglas DC-6 was
on short final. I nudged the left rudder pedal, but the
big Cessna continued tracking straight ahead. The
right crosswind was having its way and resisted my
command to turn. Losing patience, I shoved the pedal
more aggressively. Although the 195 yawed left, it continued tracking along the runway centerline. I shoved
the pedal to its limit, and the airplane finally veered
off the runway and onto the parallel taxiway. It did so,
however, while rolling in one direction and heading
in another. I was literally taxiing in a crab, convinced
that my sloppy landing had broken the landing gear.
I continued taxiing in this awkward, embarrassing
condition until reaching the FBO that had hired me to
deliver this airplane. The aircraft owner and two pilots
who had witnessed my struggles and frustrations were
laughing so hysterically that tears were running down
their cheeks.
The owner apologized for not telling me that his
195 was equipped with crosswind landing gear. In
other words, the main landing gear wheels would
caster so that a pilot could land in a crosswind while
crabbing and without having to land in a slip (with a
lowered upwind wing). Turning sharply on the ground
also would cause the wheels to caster.
I am occasionally asked if obtaining a tailwheel endorsement is worthwhile. I always reply
with affirmative enthusiasm. Flying a taildragger
improves your ability to handle any airplane. It is
intolerant of sloppiness or inattentiveness, and the
skills obtained while learning to fly one are transferrable to other airplanes.
A taildragger is more demanding because its center of gravity is behind the main landing gear instead
of ahead of it (as is the case with tricycle gear). If this
were not so, the taildragger would taxi on its nose,
which is hard on the propeller.

22 | AOPA PILOT November 2018

This leads to two problems. The first is avoided
by landing a taildragger in a three-point attitude.
Consider what happens if the airplane is allowed to
touch down on its main wheels (instead of on all three
wheels). If the airplane has any sink rate at all when
the mains touch down, the center of gravity of the
airplane-which is behind the main gear-continues
downward because of its momentum. This forces the
tail down and the nose to rise. It also increases the
wing's angle of attack and balloons the taildragger back
into the air. The pilot finds himself several feet above
the runway, in a nose-high attitude and on the verge of
a stall. He needs to react quickly and skillfully.
Such a bounce can be avoided by ensuring that the
airplane does not touch down until it is in a three-point
attitude with the stick held fully aft.
I use a teaching technique that reeks of male chauvinism to prevent new taildragger pilots from touching
down prematurely. After my (male) student chops
the power and is gliding over the runway threshold,
I inform him that there is a young lady stationed at
each runway light and that these ladies become progressively more beautiful as the aircraft floats along
the runway. I also tell him that the fictitious lady to
whom he will be introduced at flight's end is determined by his touchdown point. The farther along the
runway he lands, the more alluring will be his companion. (Handsome men can be "placed" along the
runway when instructing women pilots.) This technique encourages a student to prolong the flare for as
long as possible and increases the likelihood of a successful three-point, no-bounce landing.
The second problem that results from the center
of gravity being behind the main gear is directional
instability on the ground. During takeoff and landing,
the pilot must be extremely attentive to the slightest
yaw and apply immediate and appropriate corrective action. Applying insufficient rudder (especially
in a crosswind) enables the taildragger to yaw into
the wind like the weathervane that it is. Applying
excessive rudder can enable the airplane to perform a
dizzying, ground-looping pirouette.
To avoid surprises, taildragger pilots must constantly work the rudder pedals until the landing is
complete, the engine has been shut down, and the
chocks are in place.
AOPA
www.barryschiff.com

http://www.barryschiff.com

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - November 2018

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