Taildragger endorsement

There are a lot of older machines that have this problem - they either have the main gas tank, or a header-tank, right in front of the cockpit. I believe Ercouples have gotten some bad press for this. Older Aeronca's also have this. The Howard DGA15, a notoriously ill-mannered airplane on the ground, has 121 gallons of gas in three belly tanks under the cabin. I am always surprised when a Howard groundloops and rips a gear-leg off that these don't rupture and create a pyre, but to my knowledge it hasn't happened (recently at least - like the last 40 years or so).

I think a key strategy to keep from burning alive in a Pawnee is to not crash. Seriously though, I think that they obviously moved to wing-tanks for a reason but I still wouldn't be fearful to fly it - lots of airplanes have that set-up.
 
mooneyguy said:
Tail dragger is still on my to-do list unfortunately! I wish I could do it! Have fun with it!
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It is much easier and cheaper than I thought it would be. Fly the correct airspeed and maintain directional control (rudders) and you will be fine. Highly recommend doing it. For how little it cost, I wish I had started sooner.

Thanks to all for the safety advice on the Pawnee. I will keep all of it in mind. Not sure if I'll be wearing the Nomex, but still cautious.
 
Drunkenbeagle, good advice all around. Don't be afraid of the airplane. Respect it and fly within the plane's parameters, but most importantly, fly within your parameters. Just take it slow and easy for a while and you will develop a "feel" for the airplane. It will probably outperform anything that you are used to so far. It is a fun airplane to fly. :)

Have fun and don't take your eyes (and feet) off the road till it stops. It's also no big deal to go around if things aren't right.
 
t-cart said:
. It's also no big deal to go around if things aren't right.
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Trust me, I will.

I'm sure my first few pattern hops will be intentional go-arounds to get and idea of the sight picture and approach. I'll be in the hanger for my first lesson at 0900 tomorrow.

Thanks again, everyone, for the good advice.
 
You'll love the Pawnee. Like they said, for all its inherent dangers, its a really fun airplane to fly. Sitting up high and behind the wing like that, I used to liken it to driving a farm tractor. There's just something about the seat position and how your feet sit and how the stick fits in your hand and how your other elbow hangs over the edge of the open window... :) Its a machine for doing work, but its a fun machine.

And just to clarify, I didn't bring up its tendency to burn to scare you. Rather it was really more to warn you so you were aware of the risk and so you could factor that into any plan you might have to make should an off airport landing ever become a reality (because god knows no one warned me). Chances are better than not that it won't ever be an issue. But I wouldn't be able to sleep with myself if I didn't speak up about it a little bit. ;)

There is nothing like getting paid to fly taildraggers day in and day out. They're tons of fun. And while I appreciate that its been easier than you thought it'd be so far, I'll caution you that the day is coming when you realize that there really is something to all those warnings about how fast a taildragger can turn on you if you're not careful with it. Believe me, your trip through the weeds on the side of the runway is coming. If you're lucky (like I was), no one will be at the airport to witness your inevitable off roading excursion when it happens and no one will be the wiser afterward. ;)
 
Joe Gremlin said:
And just to clarify, I didn't bring up its tendency to burn to scare you. Rather it was really more to warn you so you were aware of the risk and so you could factor that into any plan you might have to make should an off airport landing ever become a reality (because god knows no one warned me).
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Okay, I had my first day of initial Pawnee training. Some good news - it is assembled out of several Pawnees. The wings came off of a D model, which is good. It has wing tanks. That makes me feel a bit safer. Looked over the paperwork - it appears both airworthy and legal. It also appears to be held together with duct tape and spit, though I am assured this is the typical appearance of a Pawnee.

An off-airport landing is unlikely - just because of how glider tows are done. We generally tow in a wide circle around the airport. Both the glider and towplane are in gliding distance most of the time. Long runway, so straight ahead isn't a problem either.

A typical tow day is about 4.5 hours on the tach, I'll do 2-4 a month for a while. About 20-25 flights per day is typical. So I guess I'll have plenty of practice on those wheel landings :)

Filled out some insurance paperwork, going back to do 10 flights in the pattern, and then I guess I'm a tow pilot.
 
Well, it is now official. I have a taildragger endorsement. Now time to learn how to land the aircraft I needed it for. The A&P is probably going to be cursing my name the next time the Pawnee goes down for MX, I don't see too many pretty landings in its future for a while...

Everyone, thanks for the advice. Wheel landings in a C-140 certainly do take some finesse. Worth it when you do a good one though.
 
t-cart said:
Way to go! You'll do fine.
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Thanks. The last guy to start flying it just sent me an email. Says it is a blast, except for taking it out of the hanger, putting in oil, putting in gas, filling out paperwork - all the typical non-flying bs.

I guess it just comes down to this - it's an airplane, I'm a pilot. Get it in the air and put it on the ground. And don't bend any metal while I figure out the finer points :)
 
Hey man congratulations!

Now that you got that taildragger endorsement, go rent out a Pitts w/instructor and learn some acro! ;)
 
Joe Gremlin said:
This seems relevant to this thread. Lets be careful out there.

http://lakeconews.com/content/view/11510/919/
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I posted this to the General Topics this morning, our club safety guy sent it out.

This isn't a taildragger or glider issue, everyone needs to look for traffic. Always. Mishaps like this happen, but they shouldn't.

Tow pilots have an even more important duty - being over the field most of the time, you are almost a tower controller. Call out the traffic, and let arriving traffic know what's going on. Keep in mind, it isn't always easy for a glider pilot with two hands on the controls to pick up a handheld radio to make radio calls in the pattern. Eyes out for traffic, and all that other good PPL stuff.
 
You're right, it isn't a taildragger issue. And while traffic avoidance is everyone's issue, I thought this particular accident was relavent to this topic due to the fact that involved a midair between a glider and a tow plane who didn't see each other. Since this thread is going to show up when someone searches for glider towing in the future, I thought it was a good idea to include that article.
 
To correct a common misconception. It is not necessary to land with power while doing wheel landings. Yes, it is easier, but not necessary. You merely need to arrest your rate of descent prior to the main wheels touching down. One of the things I teach my advanced pilots is power off 180 spot wheel landings.
 
drunkenbeagle said:
Did a 3 point landing. Greased it in. Beginners luck. Did 5 more, all were fine. Then 4 wheel landings. These are a bit trickier - keeping the right amount of power in is tough.
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you'll find the 140 is kind of hard to do wheel landings, but the pawnee is just the opposite. wheel landings are easy, but 3-point is a lot trickier.

it should be fun, the pawnees i have flown were rockets when empty. but completely different story with 150 (or more) gallons of water onboard.
 
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