Tailwheel tomorrow!

pilot602

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Well I start my tailwheel endorsement tomorrow.

I'll be flying a 1948 Aeronca 7AC "Champ."

Any tips, or words of wisdom on what to expect.

I've been drillin my dad ( no smart@$$ comments on that, BTW) pretty hard - as the first airplane he ever owned was champ - but the more viewpoints the better.

This is tha actual aircraft I'll be flying:
http://www.arizonaaviation.com/champ.htm
 
I dont know much about taildraggers, but i saw a video of one that the pilot must have hit the brakes to hard because the nose went forward, the plane did a full frontwards flip! So my advice is to go easy one the brakes.
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Well, if it has the heal brakes - those take some getting used to. You pretty much don't need them except when slow taxing so be sure your heels aren't touching them. I've found that instead of graceful (and slow) rudder inputs, quick jabs at the beginning of a swerve help a lot (never flown a champ, just a J-3 and Decathalon). Stalls in some old planes lead to an easy spin because of the certification standards back then, so be on top of the rudder. The stick and throttle arrangement seem more natural to me then the yolk deal, so that wasn't hard at all to get accustomed to.

Other than that, just have fun!
 
Two words....... CARB HEAT Those things ice up when it's 300 deg.

P.S. If your instructor tells you to take off your shoes and fly in your stocking feet.. He probably knows what he's doing.
 
I flew a tailwheel airplane for the first time today. I don't have any hints, but it was a blast. The instructor I went up with is one of our clubs aerobatic instructors and she showed me a bunch of cool stuff. I will probably get the endorsement later this summer or spring, it was a blast.
 
For you to get used to the new look on takeoff, push the stick full forward until your tail starts lifting up to get the best visability... once you get a little more used to pheripheral flying you can just leave the stick neutral till you get up to higher speeds... and dont over correct on the rudders, or you will go swerving...
 
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