Tailwheel training for Seniors

[mbauer]

My first hour of tail wheel time was at 59. Have over 300 now.

Best thing you can do is make sure you're sitting at the right height.

Recently added a 1" thick pad of Ergo kneel "handy mat" between the seat cushion and the little foam piece at the bottom of the seat well.

Makes all the difference what you can see! Landings are easier now that I have the right sight picture. Still have some clearance under the canopy.

Like mentioned above, these RV's are fairly easy to fly and land, even though they have the small wheel in the correct location.

The rudder provides plenty of correction for x-winds. Have done three-pointers in x-wind as well as wheel landings.

Winds will teach you quick, no relaxing on the controls until tied down.

Landed at Battle Mountain, NV last summer, when help arrived to tie me down while I sat inside fighting the winds. Great big guy held my wing down to stop the gusts from lifting it. That was a landing and taxi that will be remembered for a long time....One heck of a dust storm could be seen heading for the airport, winds were over 32kts with gust over 40+. Winds became much stronger once on the ground, during the taxi. KBAM 7Jun2019 landed at 1233 hours. Very impressed with the handling that day.

Have fun & be safe!

Best regards,
Mike Bauer

[Christopher Murphy]

Originally Posted by Robert Sailor

Michael is correct...not all tailwheels are equal when it comes to the skills required to fly them safely.
I've done many tail wheel checkouts over the years on many different types. Real loosely in my opinion RV's are some of the easiest to master, right with them are Cubs and Citabrias.
Moving up a notch or two are older Piper Pacers and Luscombe 's they demand a higher level of skill. Nearing the upper ladder might be an early Pitts.
Long and short don't think for a moment that because you have lots of time in RV's that you'll be able to jump into a Pitts and safely operate it.because you won't, it's much more demanding.

Moving on to the age question..I've checked out many older folks on tailwheels and it's been my experience that it takes much longer, sometimes twice as much time to learn and the older pilot does not retain his skills anywhere near as well after periods of inactivity.. That being said there is absolutely no reason an older pilot can't learn to fly any tailwheel aircraft given enough time so add some fun to your life and learn some new skills....at the very least it will improve your stick and rudder skills and make you a better pilot.

Some years ago our line boy helped me ( he did most of the work) change the bungees on our old S1S. I told him, ? you are now among the rarest of rare, even more rare than a Pitts driver. You have changed the bungee cords on a Pitts !?

[Fhuber]

Walt, Everyone has given you lots of great advice. Use it all. One other thought, remember those pedals are not foot rest. Be ready to move your feet as much as it takes to keep the aircraft tracking straight down the runway. Frank

[RV8JD]

Re: "Tailwheel training for Seniors."

Walt, I got a chuckle out of the title of your thread. I wonder if you could get a Senior discount?

Anyway, give it a whirl (no pun intended) and have fun. Good luck!

(From another Senior TW pilot.)

[waltb]

Yes, Agree Good advice. What Mike said rings true about taking more time than a kid. Thanks for the posts.

[74-07]

One very simple rule to remember:

Always, always keep the little wheel behind the big ones

[pitts flyer]

One person's experience....
http://www.mig17.com/pitts_s1c.htm

[Robert Sailor]

Originally Posted by pitts flyer

One person's experience....
http://www.mig17.com/pitts_s1c.htm

Great pics and a wonderful aircraft. This was the first Pitts I flew and even though its flat wing and single ailerons they really do a great job of flying aerobics if you do your part.

[506DC]

I have given flight training and tailwheel training since 1969. Age has little to do with the ability to safely land a taildragger. What determines the potential skills of a taildragger pilot are the skills of the pilot. If you are a good noise wheel pilot you have the ability to be a good tailwheel pilot. If you are an older pilot, you need to fly more than the average pilot because the older pilot will lose skills faster than the younger pilot in most circumstances. The reason why we are comfortable driving a car at an older age is because we drive more often than we fly.

I teach three point landings before wheel landings for good reason. If you muff up a wheel landing, you will be able to safely recover into a three point landing. If you are making a short field landing, you will need the skills to make a three point landing. If you try a short field landing by wheel landing and you land to long or you land on a runway that is to short, you have set yourself up to either flip over like the guy in the RV a few days ago or you will ground loop unless of course you can or will go around. All landings are three point landings anyway because you will always end up on 3 wheels?.hopefully.

[JonJay]

Originally Posted by 506DC

I have given flight training and tailwheel training since 1969. Age has little to do with the ability to safely land a taildragger. What determines the potential skills of a taildragger pilot are the skills of the pilot. If you are a good noise wheel pilot you have the ability to be a good tailwheel pilot. If you are an older pilot, you need to fly more than the average pilot because the older pilot will lose skills faster than the younger pilot in most circumstances. The reason why we are comfortable driving a car at an older age is because we drive more often than we fly.

I teach three point landings before wheel landings for good reason. If you muff up a wheel landing, you will be able to safely recover into a three point landing. If you are making a short field landing, you will need the skills to make a three point landing. If you try a short field landing by wheel landing and you land to long or you land on a runway that is to short, you have set yourself up to either flip over like the guy in the RV a few days ago or you will ground loop unless of course you can or will go around. All landings are three point landings anyway because you will always end up on 3 wheels?.hopefully.

Spot on Dale.
I read the forums and way too often folks have settled for wheel landings as they just can?t figure out how to nail the three point. The only argument some might have is IF you are very accomplished well practiced you can land shorter hanging off the prop, tailwheel low wheel landing and ?roll? onto the mains for maximum braking effectiveness. However, I wouldn?t t teach it to a newbie of any age.

To the OP, regardless of age, get your training in something like a Cub or Champ. You will learn important things like taxiing in wind, and be forced to use your rudder. RV?s allow for really sloppy rudder use and ground ops. Learn in an antique, and maybe even in Dales 170. That?ll force you to become a complete tailwheel proficient pilot with skills that will transfer to the RV.