I find that generally it takes about 80 takeoffs and landings for a pilot to become proficient in fair weather flying, tailwheel operations. In my opinion, that dual flight time and associated ground instruction is equivilant to an 8th grade education in conventional gear aircraft operations. The first time you find yourself in taking off or landing with a forty five degree crosswind component in a wind gusting to fifteen or twenty, you will probably feel very inadequate at the controls, and believe me, there is a lot more going on in tailwheel operations that most can envision. Items such as weather vaning, engine torque, spiriling slip stream and gryrscopic propeller action are forces that need to be understood, experienced and continually thought about. Although you may feel comfortable in one tailwheel aircraft you may feel very uncomfortable another, so it is prudent to get instruction in the type of aircraft you will actually be flying. Jim in Oshkosh |
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