Tailwheel Endorsement

Got to fly my airplane a couple of hours today (We flew 1.5, landed, took a short break, then flew another 1/2 hour).

One good tip that John provided that really improved my control was to maintain pressure on the rudder pedals, essentially taking up the bit of slack. I could feel the rudder much better and make fine adjustments before the airplane pointed one way or the other. Before I had my heels on the floor resting on the pedals the way I normally fly, but the .05 second delay between control input and effectiveness made the difference.

Takeoffs were solid tracking straight and true. Winds were 3-5 kts 20-30 degrees from the left. The Aeronca Chief has an Oleo landing gear that gives you the sensation of flying as the oleos stretch -- even through wheels are still rolling -- it's a bit disconcerting the first few times as first one wing then the next lifts the oleos. The best route is to treat it as crosswind correction (aileron into the "wind") and correct the yaw excursions caused by the differential lift.

I landed in the grass parallel to the paved runway and this time had the sight picture correct (Last time I was a bit too nose high so the tail was contacting the ground first). With the proper sight picture the airplane gently touches down on all three points nearly simultaneously.

Speeds were predictable -- airplane wants to fly at 40 -- I held it on until 50 and it flew itself off the runway. Vy is 60, and by the time I was 500' AGL it was time to pull to 1500 RPM and pull carb heat (patterns are CLOSE when you're flying 60 MPH!)

At idle the approach angle was fairly steep at 60 MPH. With 1500 RPM I could maintain 60 MPH and a good descent rate all the way to the runway. When 10' or so above the surface I pulled power to idle and let it slowly descend as I held it off, held it off, held it off. About 100' passed under the mains before touchdown, and we were still flying in ground effect in the low 40s.

With the airplane so slow the ground roll on grass is minimal. It's quite comforting to know this airplane can be landed on a postage stamp.

We practiced power off, slips, some crosswind (the winds picked up a bit and were soon 60 degrees left). The wing low method comes naturally since there's so much rudder control.

Slips are fun -- with so much rudder it's easy to lose alot of altitude in a little space -- another way to get into tight places. I thought I was good at slipping a Bo or 172 or 205 -- this airplane will have a bit more to give when it's downright sideways!

We practiced pavement landings and as expected the handling was a bit more squirrely, but manageable. We tried wheel landings but the grass is pretty rough. We'll practice some more next weekend.

So now I have my endorsement and ticket to learn! It's been tough scheduling myself, the weather, and a tailwheel CFI. Now it's just me and the weather, as the airplane is always available!

I also topped it off with 3 gallons of ethanol-free BP mogas. Everything ran fine without a hiccup. Refueling was made easier by a siphon.

So, I'm a new tailwheel pilot!