AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 103

Simpler, but more demanding
Tandem seats, a stick, and (of course) a tailwheel
< BY DAVE HIRSCHMAN

I

An airplane that was built to be a trainer and is easy to fly, but hard to fly well, is an ideal instrument.

n a perfect world, every flying student’s first 10 hours in a powered aircraft would take place in an Aeronca Champ at a grass airstrip. And that Champ would be devoid of radios and other needless distractions. During the presolo phase, a student’s sole focus should be learning to fly the airplane—so radio communication, avionics programming, and regulation memorization can come later. And an airplane such as a Champ that was built to be a trainer and is easy to fly, but hard to fly well, is an ideal instrument. High or low wing doesn’t much matter. Metal or fabric is unimportant. But the ideal trainer should have these three features: tandem seating, a stick, and a tailwheel. Tandem seating puts the student on the centerline and makes it easy for him to see exactly where the nose is pointed. Slight changes in pitch, bank, and yaw become obvious when viewed from this vantage point. Tandem seating also allows the instructor to guard the controls without the student noticing. As far as the student knows, he is doing everything—but the instructor’s hands and feet are positioned and ready to take over in an instant if necessary. A stick is desirable because it allows the student to quickly apply (and remove) full control deflection. A yoke, by nature of its clunky design, makes full deflection awkward and slow to obtain. A tailwheel is a plus for a primary trainer because it demands rudder awareness. A student’s feet are involved from the first moment the tires start rolling on the initial training flight. That pays dividends even if the student’s future airplanes are not equipped with tailwheels. For example, during multiengine training, a tailwheeltrained pilot with lively and responsive feet will counter asymmetric thrust conditions by stepping on the correct rudder pedal reflexively. And when landing in crosswinds, a pilot with good tailwheel skills applies full control deflection without hesitation. Those who learn to fly in nosewheel airplanes equipped with mechanical linkages that eliminate adverse yaw tend to be reluctant to use full control deflection—and they get less than full aircraft performance as a result. Like most of my generation, I learned to fly in a Cessna 150, an economical and rugged airplane that was built to stand up

to abuse. Then, after I got a certificate, I relearned in a Champ and clipped-wing Piper Cub, airplanes with more adverse yaw, crisper stalls, and more idiosyncratic personalities—and having to “unlearn” some of my newly ingrained Cessna habits made me wish I had started in a Champ or Cub. Many other airplanes can fit the bill. A Citabria is a more muscular Champ cousin; the de Havilland Chipmunk is regarded by the Brits as the best trainer of all time; Piper Cubs and their more modern variants (Legend Cub and Carbon Cub) have fanatically loyal followings for good reasons. Students fortunate enough to get their first 10 hours of instruction in a tailwheel airplane will have an easy time moving to the tricycle-gear trainers they’re likely to fly during their initial solos and checkrides. And those checkrides will go much more smoothly because of the experience students have had in mechanically simpler, but more demanding, tailwheel aircraft. Some instructors advocate side-by-side seating because they can more easily see their students’ faces, communicate better in the air, and get an unobstructed view of the instrument panel. Personally, I’d rather sit behind the student so that I can see where they are looking. (The presence or absence of sweat on their necks tells me everything I need to know about how they’re feeling.) Verbal communication is easier in a sideby-side aircraft, but cockpit conversation is overrated, and most instructors talk way too much in flight. Save those kernels of wisdom for the brief and debrief. As long as I can see the oil pressure gauge, I’m not concerned about anything else on the panel of a primary trainer. Any instructor should be able to fly such airplanes by looking outside, feeling the controls, and listening—even when broad-shouldered students block their forward view. It’s worth repeating that the best trainers are easy to fly, but hard to fly well. They reward good technique and punish sloppiness and inattention. They lay the foundation for future aviation accomplishment and safer, smoother, and more rewarding lives in flight. Email the author at dave.hirschman@aopa. org.
AOPA PILOT • 103 • JANUARY 2012



AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012

AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - January 2012
Contents
President's Position
Hangar Talk
AOPA Media
AOPA Action
Letters
Waypoints
Proficient Pilot
Safety Pilot
License to Learn
Pilot Counsel
Fly Well
Pilot Briefing
At Your Fingertips
Budget Buy: Affordable Aerobat
Serious Fun
Tour the Strip, Fight a Friend
LSA: Half Price, Full Featured
FBO Freebies
Air Mobile Joe
2012 Tougher Than a Tornado Sweepstakes: ‘I Came For This’
Technique: Declaring an Emergency
Avionics: No Mandate for ADS-B “In”
Wx Watch: Searching for Snowmageddons
Products: Training Topics
Dogfight: The Perfect Trainer
Never Again
Fly-Outs
Fly by Wire
Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - January 2012
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Cover2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Contents
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - President's Position
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 5
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Hangar Talk
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 7
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 8
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 9
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - AOPA Media
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 11
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - AOPA Action
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 13
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 14
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 15
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 16
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 17
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 18
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 19
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Letters
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 21
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 22
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 23
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Waypoints
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 25
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Proficient Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 27
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Safety Pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 29
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - License to Learn
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 31
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Pilot Counsel
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 33
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Fly Well
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 35
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Pilot Briefing
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 37
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 38
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 39
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 40
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 41
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 42
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 43
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 44
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - At Your Fingertips
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 46
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 47
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 48
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 49
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Budget Buy: Affordable Aerobat
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 51
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 52
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 53
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 54
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 55
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 56
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 57
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Serious Fun
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 59
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 60
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 61
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 62
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 63
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Tour the Strip, Fight a Friend
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 65
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 66
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 67
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 68
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 69
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - LSA: Half Price, Full Featured
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 71
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 72
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 73
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 74
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 75
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - FBO Freebies
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 77
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 78
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 79
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 80
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Air Mobile Joe
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 82
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 83
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 84
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 2012 Tougher Than a Tornado Sweepstakes: ‘I Came For This’
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 86
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 87
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 88
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Technique: Declaring an Emergency
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 90
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 91
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 92
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Avionics: No Mandate for ADS-B “In”
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 94
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Wx Watch: Searching for Snowmageddons
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 96
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - I1
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - I2
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 97
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 98
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Products: Training Topics
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 100
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 101
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Dogfight: The Perfect Trainer
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 103
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Never Again
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 105
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 106
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Fly-Outs
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Fly by Wire
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 109
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 110
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - 111
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Pilots
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Cover3
AOPA Pilot Magazine - January 2012 - Cover4
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