Regaining Currency , Tailwheel or Nosewheel ?

[vanNostrum]

I have flown 1 hr , Feb 2015, since 2006  :(
I been thinking about regaining my currency in a tailwheel airplane [ 0 experience]
Is this a good idea or should I become current first on a nose wheel ?

[Slick Goodlin]

If you hadn't driven in years would you get back into it by learning stick?

I would.

[vanNostrum]

Just finish reading CS articles about tail wheel training, I would like to give it a try.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Why in Gods name would you have to fly from the right seat if the airplane only has brakes on the left side if you are being checked out by a tail wheel instructor?

[vanNostrum]

Becoming current on a tail wheel airplane  will challenge all of my  limited aviation skills.
I'm not too far from YSH , maybe the Colonel can teach and old dog some new tricks ;D

[David MacRay]

Rumour is there is a flying club with a very nice 172 there too.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

When teaching someone to fly a tailwheel airplane why in Gods name would you put him/her in the passenger seat?

If an instructor is not comfortable putting the student in the left seat where he/she will be flying the thing then the instructor should not be trying to teach something they are not competent in.

Thousands of people were taught to fly in tail wheel airplanes with no brakes on the right hand side and we never started the student in the left seat.

I just can not understand how flying training got so dummbed down. :( :( :(

[Chuck Ellsworth]

I come from a different era of aviation because when I learned to fly all we had for trainers was tail wheel airplanes.

If an instructor could not teach from the right hand seat of the airplanes with no brakes on the right hand side like the Fleet Canuck which was half of the fleet in the company I started with you would be unemployable....period.

I realize that most airplanes in schools today are nose wheel airplanes, however there are thousands of tail wheel airplanes in aviation and in my simple mind I do not think it is unreasonable for a flight instructor to be able to fly and teach on tail wheel airplanes because the simple truth is they are still basic airplanes.

If tail wheel airplanes are that difficult to fly how come the PPL had a minimum of 30 hours in those days for the license and today it is 45 hours for the PPL?

[Colonel]

Actually, when teaching tailwheel, I like the [i]student[/i]
to not have any brakes.

If you learn to fly tailwheel with no brakes, you won't
need them after you get them  ;D

I also like people to learn to fly both both right and
left seats, as well as center.  Comes in handy.

If someone can only fly left seat with a control
column, they are annoyingly inflexible, like a guy
that can only fly formation on one side.

You should be able to fly right or left seat, column
or stick, nosewheel or tailwheel, etc.

[Chuck Ellsworth]

Another way to look at it is if you need the brakes to keep it straight on the runway you are behind it control wise.

There was no problem keeping the S61 straight on the ground without brakes even though it is a tail wheel aircraft. :) :)