Why Learn Tailwheel?

Because maybe you'll get to fly this:
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    141.7 KB · Views: 245
Here's the reasons I came up with:


Bigger picture, this is the intro video to a "Learn Tailwheel" series that I haven't quite finished yet.


Thoughts and critiques are welcome...
Sweet. Just sweet. Well done.
 
I don't get it?

One day in 1977 the mechanic took me to another airport to pick up an airplane and bring it back to his shop.

Opened the hangar and there sat a Piper Pawnee, it reaked of spray chemicals. We argued for a couple minutes, I drew the short straw and had to fly that stinky SOB home. When I landed I was grandfathered into tailwheels without an endorsement.

What's the BFD?
 
I don't get it?

One day in 1977 the mechanic took me to another airport to pick up an airplane and bring it back to his shop.

Opened the hangar and there sat a Piper Pawnee, it reaked of spray chemicals. We argued for a couple minutes, I drew the short straw and had to fly that stinky SOB home. When I landed I was grandfathered into tailwheels without an endorsement.

What's the BFD?
That's 'cause you had a 1975-ish instructor. He taught you how to control an airplane. That doesn't happen much these days. That's the BFD.

#8.
#8.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Here's the reasons I came up with:


Bigger picture, this is the intro video to a "Learn Tailwheel" series that I haven't quite finished yet.


Thoughts and critiques are welcome...
Because they're F'ing awesome. And when you think you have it all figured out, that little wheel in the back rears its ugly head an humbles you. Like they say "fly it until your in the chocks".
 
I don't get it?

One day in 1977 the mechanic took me to another airport to pick up an airplane and bring it back to his shop.

Opened the hangar and there sat a Piper Pawnee, it reaked of spray chemicals. We argued for a couple minutes, I drew the short straw and had to fly that stinky SOB home. When I landed I was grandfathered into tailwheels without an endorsement.

What's the BFD?

That's because it was a Pawnee, one of the tamest taildraggers I have ever flown. Now if it was a Pitts I would be impressed.
 
I still don't get it. If tailwheel flying was that great at making you a better pilot, wouldn't airline training departments include it?*

*post may or may not be dripping in sarcasm.
Because they got rid of DC-3's decades ago. Didn't you get the memo?
 
Last edited:
That's because it was a Pawnee, one of the tamest taildraggers I have ever flown. Now if it was a Pitts I would be impressed.
I never heard of someone crop dusting with a Pitts?

My hangar neighbor just finished a Christen Eagle build. He told me pretty much the same thing.
 
Here's the reasons I came up with:


Bigger picture, this is the intro video to a "Learn Tailwheel" series that I haven't quite finished yet.


Thoughts and critiques are welcome...
I think this is just awesome!! Flying a dragger is probably some of the best fun you can have with your pants on. It's pure, it's simple and it's what real flying is all about. It's makes you aware of everything the plane and you are doing and how you work in tandem together. It makes you aware of speed, of the controls, energy, altitude, balance, AOA, wind, coordination and so much more. It will give you better skills and better perception. And most importantly, it's damn fun.

It's a good video. I like the idea of it, too. Please share when you expand/make some changes on it.
 
Last edited:
Nice video Chris.
I'm not a photographer, director, producer, editor, marketing professional, or anything like that. I'm just a Joe who loves aviation and flying, but, since you're asking for help, I'll give you some observations and critical feedback that is purely my opinion, but hopefully useful to help you improve your final product. I am at no time attacking you and don't mean any offense by anything. If something I said offends you, I apologize in advance. You are free to take my observations and opinions or leave them.
I love the in-flight footage. The narration and the music go nice together too.
On the whole though, the video seems a bit cold, distant, and impersonal. Kinda Joe Friday-ish, just the facts. Adding some people smiling, laughing, and generally having a good time in the airplane would probably help with that. It might sound dumb, but in my 40-something years of life, I've learned that people will forget what you told them or showed them, but they won't ever forget how you made them feel. Get them excited. Get them involved. Make them want to see themselves doing that and feeling like they are joining a small community of pilots who know and experience something fun, special, and amazing that nosedragger pilots will never get to know or experience.
Maybe you could also find or make some pics/video of people having a good time, chilling out around a campfire or fishing in the backcountry with an airplane or two in the background. I might be biased there; escaping congested and controlled airspace, paved runways, radio traffic, and crowds in search of freedom, peace, quiet, adventure in nature, and landing on airstrips that aren't even airstrips is one of the main reasons I want to get a tailwheel endorsement.
At the end of the video you have like 15-20 seconds where you put up a boring list of what you just told them. It seems like lazy, "filler" material hanging there, marking the end of the video. At that point, I stopped listening and started reading the video shot instead because you lost my attention. I'm not talented enough to read and listen at the same time, so that's on me, but that would probably be an excellent opportunity to put in video and/or pictures of happy pilots and passengers laughing, smiling, waving, and having a good time while you continued your narration.
If you wanted the viewer to see the reasons written on the screen, I suppose you could just very briefly put the word, Aerobatics at the aerobatics scene, Warbirds at the warbirds scene, Gliders...broader employment opportunities, etc.
I didn't see your contact information anywhere in the video. The beginning had a small block that had Chris Dupin KCAB in the bottom left hand corner, and your copyright tag stays at the top right, but there's no link, email, or phone number to contact you, or to use to find a CFI nearby someone that they can use to get an endorsement. Maybe that was intentional, or maybe it was accidentally left out. It just seemed weird to me that a promotional video didn't have any means for an interested viewer to follow up with.
Also, at about 1:00 into the video you use the term "Private Pilot Rating". Have you thought about editing that to "Private Pilot Certificate"?
All that said, I think you have made a GREAT start with your video. I really enjoyed watching it!
 
Last edited:
Nice video Chris.
I'm not a photographer, director, producer, editor, marketing professional, or anything like that. I'm just a Joe who loves aviation and flying, but, since you're asking for help, I'll give you some observations and critical feedback that is purely my opinion, but hopefully useful to help you improve your final product. I am at no time attacking you and don't mean any offense by anything. If something I said offends you, I apologize in advance. You are free to take my observations and opinions or leave them.
I love the in-flight footage. The narration and the music go nice together too.
On the whole though, the video seems a bit cold, distant, and impersonal. Kinda Joe Friday-ish, just the facts. Adding some people smiling, laughing, and generally having a good time in the airplane would probably help with that. It might sound dumb, but in my 40-something years of life, I've learned that people will forget what you told them or showed them, but they won't ever forget how you made them feel. Get them excited. Get them involved. Make them want to see themselves doing that and feeling like they are joining a small community of pilots who know and experience something fun, special, and amazing that nosedragger pilots will never get to know or experience.
Maybe you could also find or make some pics/video of people having a good time, chilling out around a campfire or fishing in the backcountry with an airplane or two in the background. I might be biased there; escaping congested and controlled airspace, paved runways, radio traffic, and crowds in search of freedom, peace, quiet, adventure in nature, and landing on airstrips that aren't even airstrips is one of the main reasons I want to get a tailwheel endorsement.
At the end of the video you have like 15-20 seconds where you put up a boring list of what you just told them. It seems like lazy, "filler" material hanging there, marking the end of the video. At that point, I stopped listening and started reading the video shot instead because you lost my attention. I'm not talented enough to read and listen at the same time, so that's on me, but that would probably be an excellent opportunity to put in video and/or pictures of happy pilots and passengers laughing, smiling, waving, and having a good time while you continued your narration.
If you wanted the viewer to see the reasons written on the screen, I suppose you could just very briefly put the word, Aerobatics at the aerobatics scene, Warbirds at the warbirds scene, Gliders...broader employment opportunities, etc.
I didn't see your contact information anywhere in the video. The beginning had a small block that had Chris Dupin KCAB in the bottom left hand corner, and your copyright tag stays at the top right, but there's no link, email, or phone number to contact you, or to use to find a CFI nearby someone that they can use to get an endorsement. Maybe that was intentional, or maybe it was accidentally left out. It just seemed weird to me that a promotional video didn't have any means for an interested viewer to follow up with.
Also, at about 1:00 into the video you use the term "Private Pilot Rating". Have you thought about editing that to "Private Pilot Certificate"?
All that said, I think you have made a GREAT start with your video. I really enjoyed watching it!

Good inputs. If you (or anyone) has awesome "people shots" and you want them included, PM me.

Here's what I'm making overall: Imagine a Sporty's type app that is "How to fly a tail wheel?" It'll be a mix of videos and animations all packaged together.

The rest of the videos will be more technical. Here's the few that I've done:



(Note: I've since re-shot the normal take-off. I recieved some feedback not to go stick forward immediately. I get it: what works in a Citabria may not work in a Texan.)
 
Back
Top