I can't get an answer.

[Liquid Charlie]

[quote]Taildraggers are safe in the sky.  When the tires are on the ground
is when shit can go horribly sideways.[/quote]

Sign of the times back in the day conventional gear was the way it was and nobody gave the fact a second fault.

Land crabbed on pavement was always a treat with new F/O's I got the bruises on my head from smacking my head on the side window and how many times a little help on the rudder to give him or her a better perspective of what it should look like out the window. I also stopped the use of reverse for the time it took for a person to actually keep flying the aircraft on the roll out. Reverse has the potential to completely fuck up your day in a conventional gear aircraft. All sorts of shit working against you.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

[quote]
Sign of the times back in the day conventional gear was the way it was and nobody gave the fact a second fault.[/quote]

There are not many of us here that can remember when all we had to train on was the Cessna 140 and the Cessna 170, because the Cessna 150 and the Cessna 172 were not made yet.

So we come by flying tail wheel airplanes as a natural thing to do.  :)

Not some superhuman feat.  :)

[Colonel]

Heh - 172 first flew in 1955.  If someone was 16 then, they would be born in 1939 --> 80 now!

In Canada, that by itself is probable cause for losing your medical.  Ask Jim Pfaff.

Anyone over 80 and still flying, my hat is off to you.  My father was over 80 when he flew his
last airshow.  Transport Canada fucking hated it.  We did it in the USA.  The FAA was cool.

On the subject of ageism ... between LC, Chuck and myself, I'm pretty sure that's over 150
years of aviation - [i]and we're still alive[/i].  I know Millenials think experience is worthless,
but maybe, just maybe, you might learn something that keeps you alive.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Well I'm 84 and still as healthy as a 16 year old with a hard on.

I will only renew my medical if I need it for insurance to fly my CX4 when I finish building it.

I quit keeping track of my total hours when I had thirty thousand hours, it just was not worth the effort to keep logging time.

Never ever bent one nor did I ever get violated by any regulator in any of the sixty or so countries I flew in.  :) :) :) :)

[Colonel]

[quote]Never ever bent one nor did I ever get violated by any regulator[/quote]

Is 50% a pass?  Freddy always told me that if you didn't have your licence
suspended at least once, you weren't having any fun.

[img width=500 height=333]http://www.airrace.de/reno2005/05u103/05u103_9273.jpg[/img]

I remember Gary Ward lost his licence for a couple weeks, after it turned out he
had done aerobatics too close to a victor airway that he didn't know about.  With
all due respect, he is an incredible stick - better than 99.999% of the pilots out there.



He's an old guy, too.  I hope Jim Pfaff doesn't find about him.  He fucking hates old pilots.

[John Swallow]

Lead just turned 73; wing will be 81 in February... 


(It was a little bumpy as can be periodically evidenced by camera...)

[Colonel]

[quote]wing will be 81 in February[/quote]

Awesome!!

Some of the RV formation flying is very, very good.  This is because the
hourly cost of the RV is very affordable, compared to a P-51 or even T-6 -
people can afford to spend the time, to get good.

There simply is no substitute for practice and experience.  There is no
shortcut.

[John Swallow]

[color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=inherit][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=inherit][size=12px]This was my response to someone asking about doing/getting into formation:


[size=12px]Almost anyone can learn to fly formation.  However, it takes time and these days, time is fuel and fuel is money.  So not only do you have to spend time and money on learning a new skill, you have to find someone willing to spend an equal amount in your development.  [/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][/font][/color]

[left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px]
[font=inherit] And that skill has to be practiced:  here in Vernon, our little group is airborne about twice a week as we hit coffee in Salmon Ar[/font][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][font=inherit]m and Penticton.  [/font][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px]
[/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][font=inherit]A normal flight to Salmon Arm (CZAM)  would entail 2-ship formation take-offs; join up in finger/box, a few minutes in close formation, then spread out into "route" formation for cockpit checks and frequency change. About 10 miles back from CZAM, we'll go back into box formation and execute an approach to runway 32, do the miss out over the bay, then join downwind in echelon for the landing.  Other times, we’ll come back overhead in echelon for a pitchout and landing.[/font][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][font=inherit] Every now and then, we'll do some manoeuvring in close formation prior to reaching destination:  turns, gentle climbs and descents, and formation changes.  We don’t do any tail chases because some of the aircraft aren’t aerobatic. [/font][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][font=inherit]
It is fun and you do get a sense of accomplishment: on 11 November, we fielded eight aircraft for fly-overs:  one 4-plane did three towns to the east while another 4-plane did two to the north.  Following which, they joined up in an eight plane “Double Diamond” and overflew Vernon prior to landing back at the airport.[/font][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][font=inherit]All of this to concur with your statement that it is a skill that has to be practiced...[/font][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color][/left][color=rgb(28, 30, 33)][font=Helvetica][size=12px][/size][/font][/color]