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[Colonel]

Unfortunately flight schools that offer primary training on tailwheel are few and far between.

This means that they produce inferior pilots, but remember the objective of an FTU is not to
produce good pilots.

People that don't know how to use the rudder pedals crash more, but that isn't really interesting
to most people, I have learned.

For 99% of people, they have to learn on nose wheel, which means that they develop bad instincts
with their feet. When they try later to transition to tailwheel, they have to unlearn their bad instincts
and learn new instincts which is painfully slow and frightening and completely unnecessary - they could
have just learned the correct instincts the first time, which is what happens when you do your primary
training and solo on an unforgiving taildragger. Learning factor of Primacy. Teach it right, the first time.

Everyone thinks taildraggers and tailwheel training is stupid, but I was watching a video on the
supersonic single-seat (no dual versions) North American F-100 last night, and it brutally killed pilots
with the wrong instincts.

The NA F-100 had adverse yaw, and also as a bonus, would do a nasty, fatal "dance" on the runway,
when inexperienced pilots pulled up on the stick instead of nose down to lower the alpha.



Colgan 3407, anyone? That ace in the cockpit pulled back HARD when speed bled off, and he stalled,
same as AF447. Stick all the way back for three and a half minutes. Wrong instincts. They're all dead now.

The F-4 also suffered from (wait for it ...) adverse yaw.

Lest you think adverse yaw is something exotic, let's watch a white shirt try to land a 172 with
adverse yaw and his feet flat on the floor:



There's a pilot with bad instincts. He doesn't know how to use his feet. No one ever taught him
about adverse yaw.

And no one gives a shit, because it's a "learning experience". Got that. We'll give you a nice funeral.

I spent 25 years of my life in Canada, trying to teach pilots the correct instincts to deal with
pitch and yaw. You know. Fundamental aircraft handling skills. I'm not saying it was a complete
waste of time, but I still don't have my laptop and phone after over four years, and I stay as far
away from Canada as I can now.

[Liquid_Charlie]

I find it amusing that we now need a checkout to fly a conventional gear aircraft (love that phrase) but no one ever needed or though about a checkout to go from conventional gear to a tricycle gear -- just saying

What the colonel says is so true about "old" aircraft. I watched it everyday taking a new generation pilot and throwing him into an aircraft where both hands and feet were required and required with a big dash of finesse. Feet flat on the floor does not cut it.

That would be a dream school - learn to fly on a tail wheel and for me even no radio or electrics on a short grass strip, Nirvana. I was never big on theory and all the rules and regulations(different times) I was always honing stick and rudder skills and at 16 puddle jumping from farm strips, farm fields and lakes. It was an adventure. I would drop in on my buddy beside Hwy 10 just a little south of Steeles Ave in Brampton, new subdivision streets in Georgetown and once I had to land in a farmers field in Haliburton to ask what town was that. Yup a little turned around, but that's another story Went all over and even places like YTZ nordo. Never attended a "organized" ground school and passed all my exams from private to ATP with self study and a trusty JEPP wiz wheel. It's gone to the complete opposite today. New pilots know theory and rules like no tomorrow but they leave the schools with less emphasis on stick and rudder skills.

Oh ya, almost forgot. A lot of these crashes are self induced it's like that old saying "worst thing you can do with a hard on is fuck with it, then it's gone

[John Swallow]

Full story (and more)...



https://www.historynet.com/deadly-sabre-dance.htm

[Colonel]

Learn to fly on this.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Best little trainer and most fun airplane ever built.

[Colonel]

Flight Training is all about

1) Basic aircraft handling skills. Developing good instincts in your feet (to control yaw)
and your hands (to control AOA). Precision in flying. Locate the aircraft exactly where
you want it, at the speed that you want it. Over time, it should become an extension
of your body. If it isn't, fly more.

2) Systems knowledge. You need to know about the production of thrust and lift. You
need to learn about engines, their internals, their systems, their weaknesses and failure
mode. Airframes: landing gear, flight controls, fuel systems. When you encounter a
problem in the air, your systems knowledge will help you quickly diagnose the problem.

3) Weather. If there were no clouds and no wind, flying would get pretty boring. You
need to learn to predict, deal with, and avoid it when it gets too bad.

4) Navigation - no longer applies in the 21st Century - GPS. If you can hold a heading
for a given time, you are a genius.

The rest is made-up chicken shit.

[Liquid_Charlie]

did you fly from back seat or front. I flew from both but on skis and floats always the back but on wheels mostly from the front unless I was going off strip. 90 horse j3 grasshopper. It was sweet. Took me from private to commercial. It wasn't all cub yellow, blue with yellow trim.

[TwinOtterFan]

For what its worth I appreciate the information that has been provided, and one way or the other I will be getting some tail wheel time, it might not be right up front but I am still looking into that. Even without ever flying I have always been drawn to them, and I love the idea of eventually owning one and having it on skis.

The tentative plan is to release from the military and move the family south towards Brampton and attend BFC's self paced program, I have also been eyeing Stratford Air Services. My wife may now be looking at a medical release coming up which does broaden our scope of where to live and train. We do have family North of Brampton so this is why that area is a strong contender. But I like what I hear and see about Harv's air in Manitoba actually, and they do tail wheel and aerobatics as well, not that I am super interested in any kind of stunt flying but I figured it would really give you a really good feel for what a smaller aircraft can do. I found this place if anyone knows it?

Golden Eagle Flight School - www.goldeneagleflightschool.com/

I have always liked "older" tech on some level, I built and drive a '77 Cj5 it's kinda loud, has no heat or radio, but there is something I love about it. before that I built and raced an '87 Honda Hurricane I used to love racing it, after thousands of km's going around the same corners you just became one with it, I used to slide my left foot just slightly back and put the edge of my heel on the rear swing arm so I could feel the suspension loading and unloading, I knew every inch, click, squeak and feel of that machine.

Anyway this forum was recommended to me from the "other" forum as it may be a little more "my speed" lol, I'm not young hot shot, and have no desire to fly for an airline so I guess I didn't fit in.

Thank you for the advice, and explanations I look forward to learning more.

[Colonel]

I highly recommend Harv's Air. Good people. They have a couple Citabrias.

PS. You don't have to out-fly Rob Holland or Skip Stewart. How about you
just learn to fly a falling leaf?

In case you haven't seen Skip fly:



He lost his card for that, but it was worth it.

[TwinOtterFan]

I highly recommend Harv's Air. Good people. They have a couple Citabrias.

Your not the only one, as I said it has become more of an option lately. I may just pick the family up and move there for a year or so. I've started plugging away on thier online ground school whole I sit on the base waiting to see what happens next.