Flight Training - November/December 2021 - 36

TAILWHEEL
Tailwheel airplanes fly just like the
nosewheel variety when they're
in the air-but ground handling is
much more difficult when the little
wheel is in back.
Becoming proficient in tailwheel
airplanes requires pilots to vastly
improve their use of rudder. And
getting their feet in the game leads
to pilots making better crosswind
takeoffs and landings, gaining more
directional control, and operating
off narrow runways no matter what
kind of airplanes they're flying.
The first hurdle that most
tailwheel pilots confront is the realization
that they won't be able to see
directly over the nose in the takeoff
or landing attitude. That seems obvious
given the nose-high deck angle
of most tailwheel airplanes. They sit
on the ground at about a 10-degree
nose-up attitude, and that means the
engine and propeller block the view
directly ahead no matter how tall the
pilot happens to be.
Yet new tailwheel pilots genuinely
seem surprised that they
must S-turn on the ground to clear
the path ahead while taxiing, and
they're extremely reluctant to raise
the nose sufficiently when landing
because of their innate, self-preservation
instinct to maintain forward
visibility. To be successful, however,
tailwheel pilots must accept the
fact that they won't be able to see
directly ahead during takeoff and
landing and that they must rely on
peripheral vision for directional
control. Once that happens, pilots
must get rid of their heavy, plodding
" elephant feet. "
Even low-time pilots quickly
develop good instincts for directional
control. They know where
the centerline is, and they know
whether pushing the left or right
rudder pedal will better align the
airplane with it. The problem is that
they tend to apply heavy, steady
rudder pressure in the direction
they want the nose to go-and they
stick with it too long.
Tailwheel airplanes tend to
react quickly, and a tap on the
36
rudder pedal is all it takes to get it
moving. In boxing terms, rudder
application in a tailwheel airplane
should be like a jab. Lightning fast,
but without a great deal of power.
In engineering terms, these rudder
inputs should have " high frequency
and low amplitude. "
You get the point.
Tailwheel pilots become accustomed
to using full stick deflection
for maximum performance-and it
soon becomes ingrained. During a
typical three-point, full-stall landing,
for example, a tailwheel pilot
must use full back stick (nose-up
elevator). Doing so allows the airplane
to touch down at the proper
attitude, at the minimum speed, and
avoid bouncing. Anything less than
full back stick simply won't do.
Beyond technique, however,
successful tailwheel flying requires
an odd combination of swagger
and paranoia as well as a generally
scrappy outlook.
The swagger comes from
the supreme self-confidence a
tailwheel pilot must have to fly an
inherently demanding airplane to
backcountry strips in strong winds
and distant locations. Pilots don't
have to be boastful, but self-assuredness
is essential.
So, too, is a healthy dose of
paranoia. Tailwheel pilots have got
to know deep down that, no matter
how many times they've flown their
airplanes successfully, they're fully
capable of losing directional control
on their next takeoff or landing and
putting their airplane on its nose or
in a ditch. And even though a touchdown
is smooth and well placed, a
mental lapse on rollout can allow
for a potentially damaging swerve.
They've got to fly " all the way to the
chocks " to avoid such embarrassing
and costly errors.
The nagging notion that, even
though everything appears to be
going fine at the moment, it's all
an elaborate set-up to make you
drop your guard is the default
state of mind among veteran tailwheel
pilots.
FLIGHT TRAINING NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
IN BOXING TERMS, RUDDER
APPLICATION IN A TAILWHEEL
AIRPLANE SHOULD BE LIKE A JAB.
LIGHTNING FAST, BUT WITHOUT
A GREAT DEAL
OF POWER.
CHRIS ROSE
Flight Training - November/December 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - November/December 2021
