Tailwheel Endorsement

Travis John

Travis John

Well-Known Member
I am in need of my Tailwheel endorsemnt ASAP. Does anyone know of a good cheap place to go around the Atlanta aera? I know a couple guys, but im just trying to compare prices


Thanks
 
Superior Flight School at McCollum Field in Kennesaw used to have a 150 with a tailwheel. They were the cheapest I knew of back in 2012. I liked flying at that place, though I did not actually fly the tailwheel aircraft. I started working on ground knowledge, but moved before I actually flew it.
 
Yeah, they are one of the ones i knew of. Its been a while, but ive flown their Gruman Tiger a good bit and always considered getting a tailwheel, but never thought id need it. Now i need it
 
Several things I've learned from my tailwheel endorsement...

Three primary rules:
1. fly it straight
2. don't hit the brakes
3. fly it straight

Also: You haven't stopped flying a tailwheel airplane until it has been parked at the ramp and the prop has stopped spinning
 
I don't know anyone in your area, but would advise: Don't do it quick.Unless you have a t/w ship to practice later(i.e you leave with an endorsement which is merely a license to learn) You want to spend MORE time learning to fly it right, it will save you a ton of problems in the future.
 
Recently, I am finding that my tail wheel training is helping me with my instrument rating. The ability to more precisely control the heading, has been extremely helpful.
 
Definitely will emphasize quality over quantity and price. Find an old guy who has flown taildraggers longer than you've been around. You'll really learn how it's done.
 
If you strike out in the ATL area, PM me. I give tailwheel instruction in Florida.
 
If you don't spend 50% of the time at grass strips for training, look elsewhere. I've found one very simple demonstration to initiate pilots into the concept of flying tail wheels, what a ground loop is and what these tendencies look and feel like:

-flying tricycle gear airplanes is like pushing a shopping cart in a conventional manner. If you are pushing the cart and then push it away from your body and let go, it wants to track straight.

-flying a tail wheel is like pushing a shopping cart backwards. If you push the cart away from your body and let go, it wants to do a 180 degree turn(displaying the concept of a ground loop).

I had several hundred hours of tricycle time, had read books about tail wheel flying, but this simple demonstration finally made it click in my mind.
 
thats the way I teach it. The shopping cart is a very easy concept that relates perfectly to flying a TW.
 
TOGA9 said:
Definitely will emphasize quality over quantity and price. Find an old guy who has flown taildraggers longer than you've been around. You'll really learn how it's done.
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No, no, no!The old fart will only sit in the back and scream for no reason. He'll hit you with a sectional.He will shake the stick, he will make you groundloop.He will not tell you about pushing carts, instead you'll push the plane a lot. Anytime you screw up he'll not explain but only scream "What's wrong with you".
He's no longer here..I miss him.
 
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I am still learning Aero and tailwheel at the same time (in a Pitts). It has been more than a humbling experience. I started up front, got hit in the head a lot and heard "Now why did you do that?!" which I always wanted to respond "Well if I knew what I did, I would not have done it!" Just transitioned to the rear seat and after this weekend felt pretty comfortable in gusty conditions.... then the CFI had me fly a non-standard approach. Nearly ground looped. Quality, quality quality is key. Another outfit around here told me it would take maybe 30-45minutes to get the endorsement!
 
Runincolorado said:
I am still learning Aero and tailwheel at the same time (in a Pitts). It has been more than a humbling experience. I started up front, got hit in the head a lot and heard "Now why did you do that?!" which I always wanted to respond "Well if I knew what I did, I would not have done it!" Just transitioned to the rear seat and after this weekend felt pretty comfortable in gusty conditions.... then the CFI had me fly a non-standard approach. Nearly ground looped. Quality, quality quality is key. Another outfit around here told me it would take maybe 30-45minutes to get the endorsement!
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30-45 min is a joke. That's all of what, 2 or 3 trips in the pattern? The place I fly at requires you to have flown a tailwheel in the previous 30 days to go out in one without a CFI. If your 30 days past due, you can take your pick of one of the tricycle gears, but you are not flying a tailwheel without a sign off. Having learned in a tailwheel a couple years ago, I have seen plenty of examples of just how quickly things get out of hand in them. We have had a few CFI's ding them up with students onboard, all of them with way more time than 30-45 minutes in them.
 
Typically an endorsement is 3-6hrs depending how docile the airplane is. Being said, you're fooling yourself if you think you're done learning after that. :)

Nosewheels suck.
 
I dont know if I am hard headed or dense, but it took about 15 hours in a cessna 120 for my tailwheel. Granted, I largely only have time to fly 1-2x/week when everything is working perfectly at home and work. Otherwise, not so much.

My instructor claimed that if you learn to fly in a 120 or similarly finnicky tailwheel, you can largely fly any other tailwheel without much difficulty. The other way around becomes a steep learning curve. I also did a lot of my landings on asphalt, making grass landings seem like a breeze as a result.
 
ozone said:
I dont know if I am hard headed or dense, but it took about 15 hours in a cessna 120 for my tailwheel.
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You're not dense-since there's a learning curve and everyone learns in a different way, there just isn't a fixed # of hours for T/W(or any) rating.Also note, that the 15 hours would wildly increased your planning skills(the other part of your new rating) compared to the 45 minute rating.Heck, it'll take half an hour to find the exact wording of that checkout and another ten for the student to find the logbook in his/her flight bag, so they can knock themselves out with t/w stuff in the remaining 5 minutes.
Never forget the planning part. You can't be a great stick&rudder pilot without the ability to watch the weather and plan for it/say no.
 
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