Harvard Mk II eats some corn in New York.

[David MacRay]

Stop that. I’m not allowed. Plus Nark is probably too busy kicking ass and winning to hang out with me.

So just to confirm, what’s the runway surface?

[Liquid_Charlie]

Conceding that there might of been a tail wheel issue or a locked break but when you blow the chaff aside its been my experience that after talking to groups like war birds and such they are an elitist group who have very little experience or currency and we see the results. Flying from behind a big round engine and only ever seeing half the world go by at any given point, especially during t/o and landing is an art that must be exercised enough to get it well entrenched in muscle memory. These group just don't have that for a lot of the group. There is always a good experienced guy hanging out somewhere but they are usually pushed aside by the guys in the tailored zipper suits.

[Slick Goodlin]

my experience that after talking to groups like war birds and such they are an elitist group who have very little experience or currency and we see the results.

I’m not disagreeing with you, but how on earth do you fix that? The most obvious answers are stop flying cool airplanes or “Give them to me” which isn’t super likely.

[Colonel]

how on earth do you fix that?

Well, you either have different (skilled) pilots like Steve Hinton or Rick Volker
fly the aircraft (not bloodly likely) or ...

You train up the warbird pilots. See, the problem is that they can't get enough
stick time on the antique stuff, to get any good at it, especially when the organization
splits up the very few hours available on type, to a pool of pilots, none of whom
get enough hours.

So, they're going to have to get stick time on other stuff, and you hope it transfers.
Rick wrote an article about this, a while back.

The problem is, most people want to be a rock star, not a session musician.

There is no glory (or flight suits) for session musicians.

Note that there are schools to teach pilots to fly different types. We call it
"test pilot school" and it costs millions of dollars per student, and takes at
least a year. Creates good session musicians.

In the 21st century, no one wants to spend even one year, getting good at
anything, even if it's the difference between life and death to them. I find
that odd, that they value their lives so cheaply, but I am a 20th century pilot
with half a century in aviation so far so I probably have the wrong idea about it.

[Liquid_Charlie]

In the 21st century, no one wants to spend even one year, getting good at

How true that is, working after I retired for a company that had a pilot wanabe plan and witnessing attitudes with the "new" f/o's it was amazing the sense of entitlement of some of them. The one good thing was the DC3T was a very humbling experience.

Once they were able to handle a 10kt xwind the attitude would return and a little attitude adjustment was required from time to time.

Ironically, we got a few from Chicoutimi and they had a really good work ethic and attitude of wanting to learn. Southern schools and colleges not so much.

I can remember back in the day not many companies would hire Seneca grads just because of attitudes.

[Colonel]

I remember Bernie S - the Basler guy for Canada, I think I've mentioned him to you before -
telling me that when they had a new crew for the DC3T with no tailwheel time, they would
send them out to get 50 or 100 hours in a Maule with one of their Basler pilots.

I presume the time transferred, despite the gigantic difference, otherwise Basler wouldn't
have done it.

God knows the Maule hourly cost is a bit lower

Bernie is a great guy. Must be retired by now. He would occasionally ping me for recommendations
for pilots for customers of his - I was the local tailwheel instructor, but I seemed to end up
teaching people from all over. Nobody else wanted to do it, I guess.

Oddly I am reminded of a buffoon called Porkchops, that flew into OSH with two of my former students.
Apparently they scared they shit out of him, the way they flew, and I am told it really steamed
Porkchops when my two former students would discuss fine points of techniques with comments
like, "Well, Andrew said to do it like this ..."