How to land a tailwheel (wheel landing) - Sporty's flight training tips with Patty Wagstaff
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- čas přidán 11. 01. 2022
- Shop: www.sportys.com/tailwheel
Join aerobatic pilot and flight instructor Patty Wagstaff as she explains how to land a tailwheel airplane using the wheel landing method.
** This tip is part of Sporty's Tailwheel Checkout Course **
Take your flying skills to the next level with Sporty’s Tailwheel Checkout Course. Over two hours of 4K video help you master these demanding airplanes and explore the huge variety of tailwheel operations, from Piper Cubs on grass strips to Turbine Otters on glaciers. Earning a tailwheel endorsement can open up an exciting world of flying adventures, including Light Sport Aircraft, high-performance experimental aircraft, and backcountry flying. This course is the perfect introduction.
Patty Wagstaff - Fly with an aviation legend
Your host on this journey is legendary pilot and instructor Patty Wagstaff. You know her as one of the world’s greatest aerobatic pilots, but she’s also an experienced bush pilot, having flown extensively in Alaska and Africa. Throughout this course, Patty shares her practical tips for safer and smoother flying, learned through decades of flying in some of the world’s most extreme conditions.
This comprehensive course covers both the theory and practice of flying tailwheel airplanes. Multiple camera angles help you visualize every maneuver from start to finish, and 3D animations explore key topics.
Visit www.sportys.com/tailwheel to get started
From Cessna 140 to Cessna 180 to DC-3. Had an opportunity to fly with some amazing DC-3 Captains. 👍👍👍. 1-21-2022
Long live Patty ! Hands down the best.
I bought my first plane when I lived in Europe. A Czech state owned flight school in Velke Biteš between Praha (Prague) and Brno was being liquidated shortly after the Wall came down. They had 6 Super Cub Czech made clones all bright Commie Red. I was a 2900+ Cobra/Huey pilot then but had only a handful of fixed wing hours from when I was a OV-1C/D crewman (TO). An old Czech Mig 21 Squadron Commander came out and after a 30 minute ground school all in German, we started up my future Airplane and with my Czech gf and German Uncle (owner of the newly privatized Airfield Hangar and planes) watching ... I did 6 traffic patterns, a 20 mile/3 point cross country, a few touch and go's and Voila...15$ later and a pat on the back I was a tail draggin' fixed wing pilot with a shiny new Czech Aeronautical Administration PPL. I bought the plane the next day after an almost all day/night Pig roast party blowout we had with over 100 guests attending for 3500$...along with some parts, spares, Hangar space and a maintenance agreement that cost me a whopping 150$ a year. (Even had a loft in the Hangar that I built out to accommodate weekends camping out and grilling at the Hangar). My intro to tail draggers . Didn't even know there was a such thing as a tail dragger "endorsement " until I got my twin Commercial/ATP in 2018!
Czech Republic is very fond of tailwheels, most aeroclubs still run some variant of Zlin Z-*26, so your basic PPL training might be on it 😉
Champs and Citabrias are two of the easiest taildragers to learn in. Very easy and forgiving!! Not to mention, you can see over the nose with the tail down.
Yep, I learned in an 47 AC. Dad and I rebuilt it .
@@davidhakes3884 Nice!!! I sure hope you still have her!!😊
Agreed. I learned in a Citabria. Other than one 3g wheel-landing, all went well😳
I had a Kitfox 5 with the tall aluminum gear, with really poor forward visibility with the tail on the ground. By all means, stay proficient in stalling the plane onto the ground for those short field situations. But my most satisfying landings were done coming over the fence with one notch of flaps, level, and with a touch of forward trim. Focus on the far end of the runway and at the flare, establish a very slow, constant sink rate. As the wheels contact, release the backpressure on the stick and the tail will come up slightly, preventing any tendency to bounce. It worked great on pavement and on grass.
Lot of "experts" on here stating "never" and "always". It would be better if they stated how they prefer rather than issuing edicts to others. You'll also notice the presenter did not state never or always, so I admire that
Agree - it varies by airport and airplane. Most DC-3 pilots are not fans of full stall, three-point landings. Most bush pilots don’t have the luxury of a wheel landing. It all depends on the mission.
Lots of great insight packed into a short video!
Back in my flying days, I always considered the 185 on wheels to be the most fun...flew them with skis and floats as well but wheels were the most entertaining...
Big Miss Patty! Great Teacher
You sure brought out the pilots with this video
I too had a beautiful tailgater, one of the last 4 seater's made in 51, Aeronca sedan, and i loved to do short circuits
had a massive 37 foot wing span and I loved to side slip it in every time, and be able to stop and turn and get off the run way at the beginning of the air field, never aimed at the far end of the run way, but always came in steep,
It was fun in those days gone bye. And seriously if I'd kept flying, I wouldn't be here, as flying s addictive and one always wants to stretch the envelope, and take more chances,
Thanks for that. Food for thought. 😀
Good taildragger tips!
Great tips!
Fun fact: any airplane can be a taildragger if you pull back too hard on the stick when landing. :)
😂😂😂
Good video. Patty provides better explanation that most other videos see on line.
So interesting. I have my first flight lesson in a couple weeks. I've never been so excited for anything. I hope the pilot takes it easy on me. I have a lot of blind spots knowledge wise.
Don’t take it easy. Have the instructor push till you find your limits, study and train to strengthen where you are weak, and then push more. An easy instructor will never prepare you as well for an emergency when you are PIC and the lives of your passengers rely on you being calm and aware of your limits.
I look forward to the cross wind lectures on how to take off and land a tailwheel.
Nice thanks god bless
Beware everything happens faster with a wheel landing. In a cross wind you eventually have to slow up to get the tail down giving a cross wind or gust more time then in a 3 point. If anything goes wrong in a wheel landing the plane is likely totaled cause of the extra speed. A 3 point landing is much safer & easier. If you ground loop the damage is usually minor or none due to the slower speed. Some planes like the Maule prohibit wheel landings. Wheel landings work well with bigger planes like the DC 3 & Beech 18.
This was far more informative than the video.
An old mentor of mine with thousands of hours in tailwheel airplanes told me that there is no reason to wheel land a tail wheel aircraft unless you’re just showing off.
Bravo! I don't know why anyone would opt for a wheeler.landing, it's completely illogical when one can choose a 3 pointer which with its higher landing AOA, slower landing speed, shorter required runway, is safer and optimal. A poor 3 pointer fizzles out if steam rapidly. Where as a botched wheeler can be potencialy deadly as the excess of stored energy can come back and bite you.
I want to reiterate again that when you wheeler land you are carrying an excess of stored energy that is otherwise required for landing. Fact.
My father had 8000+ hours in a Cessna Agwagon mainly (some time in Transavia Airtruks, and in Cubs) cropdusting and he stated he almost never used a 3 point landing, either on flat airports or hill country strips. Maybe it's a personal competency thing (whatever you're most confident and capable of). Unfortunately I can't go back for more information as he's already headed off to far yonder
Good wheelie in in a C-180-185 maybe 2-3 mph more than a three point, therefore NOT likely to cause much less damage because of excess speed prior to LOC. 3 point in those Cessnas MUCH more difficult than wheel lndings. Because of greater difficulty 3 point more likely to lead problems. Beech 17 rather difficult to 3 point. Almost impossible with only a small pilot and fuel in the main only. Goons and 18s are indeed usually wheeled on. C-46s same same. Think RI incorrect big time if he's all in on 3 point in strong Xwind. My opinion: the stronger and gustier the Xwind, the greater the reason to land on the upwind main first, in a J-3 or Staggerwing or C-47 or even a Pitts.
First tail dragger I flew was a super cub all I did was line up with the run way cut power and it just floated in ,
The couple times I flew a taildragger, used 3 PT landing OK.
After I got comfortable with an AC, I used only 3pt landings. 100 hrs 7ECA, 200hrs Midget Mustang, 5hrs Pitts S2, 60hrs DC3, 3500hrs SNJ-5.
Well, If you have 3500 in a SNJ, their's not a airplane on the planet that you can't handle!!!!!😁
@@scotabot7826 landing anything (I learned) especially tailwheel ac, is all about speed control on short final. My goal was to be at 1.1VSO on short final and present the ac to the runway at 1 foot above the pavement, power off, and let it settle 3pt, so you are not wasting runway with the tail in the air. Ideally, the wind would be within 45 degrees of runway heading. The most difficult situation was when wind was 90 degrees or variable or behind you. I don't want to write a tutorial, but, the process is actually pretty easy in the SNJ (or anything really) when the wind is on the nose or close. I often see guys landing T6's or whatever 20 knots faster than necessary and using 2000 feet of runway with the tail up... this extends the time of vulnerability enormously. Better too land with all the excess speed eliminated before touching down. I don't remember the exact numbers but 72kts on short final with flaps 30 would be about right for my SNJ.
I soloed in 1961 in a Tail dragger. So glad I did! It is no problem transitioning to a tricycle gear once learning to handle a tail wheel aircraft. But I have watched, cringing, pilots who first learned in tricycle gear planes trying to transition to a tail wheel! Why that is, I'm not sure, but it is a real problem for most!
I learned to fly in 1966 in a Cessna 172. I took a couple lessons in a Taylorcraft and couldn't wait to get back to tricycle gear. I was extremely uncomfortable in a tailwheel aircraft.
@@MikeBrown-ex9nh You are not alone!! However, for those of us who did first learn with a tail wheel, not a problem. Years ago I dated a young woman flight instructor. She was a darn good pilot, but had not learned in a tail dragger. The FBO that hired her had 3-4 Super Cubs and when I arrived one afternoon she was doing touch and goes in one trying to master it! Was doing pretty good until she turned of the runway. She ground looped! No damage except to her pride. No, I did NOT tease her.
@@Valor_73737 Good for you for not rubbing it in. A tail dragger is an entirely different animal on the ground for those who are accustomed to only tricycle gear. I was absolutely embarrassed by my attempt. It was a long time ago, but as someone who was used to pulling back for elevator in a tricycle gear, pushing the stick forward on the takeoff roll to raise the tail was scary. I felt like I was going to put the nose into the runway.
@@MikeBrown-ex9nh I will always feel I was blessed to start flight training in tail draggers. Watching those were not made me aware of that. As for rubbing it in, not in my nature! Especially when related to flying! Everyone makes mistakes, the real talent is learning from those mistakes, yours and others. Also, because I did have tail wheel experience, I often flew a Beechcraft-18! One of my favorite airplanes, but it has a reputation for eating one's lunch! The guy who checked me out in type told me that there are 2 kinds of B-18 pilots! Those that have ground looped, those that haven't. YET! Fortunately, I moved on to other types before I qualified for the YET! Oh, by the way, the fellow who checked my out in the B-18 had over 5,000 hours in type! About two weeks after checking me out he ground looped late one night at DEN! One of the things NOT made clear to anyone transitioning to a tail dragger is if you allow the tail to swing too fast in either direction there is a point where you can't stop it from continuing to swing, that's what leads to the ground loop.
Piece of cake. Now if I could only manage a trike landing first. LOL
Thanks babe
Super D is a great plane!
I have thousands of landings in conventional gear airplanes. Have never gotten comfortable with the wheel landings even in crosswind situations. 3 points for instant..sort of..rudder control. In the crosswind I touch down on the upwind gear simultaneously with the tail wheel making sure all sideways motion is stopped.
Absolutely in a cross wind 3 point is the way to go. More planes are destroyed in ground loops with wheel landings. Sometimes the only way to save a bad wheel landing is to go around if it's not to late cause everything happens fast when it goes wrong.
Practically every professional aerobatic Air show pilot wheel lands their airplane on pavement regardless of wind. It's standard practice with them.
I see that a lot and I do not doubt it is more for forward visibility than anything else. Air Show Pilots are a whole different breed compared to most of us other Pilots no matter how much experience we may have. They do things differently by their nature and they are very good at what they do most of the time.
Wheel landings require more energy (speed) at touch down due to the lower AOA at touch down. Lower AOA requires more energy to maintain lift. Conversely a three point landing touches down with a significantly higher AOA, with much reduced energy and speed. The 3 pointer requires less runway and are the optimal choice for short field landings. I practice these the most.
In an emergency landing you'll wish you did too! My 2 cents
Bravo capt.
Better to know in the 1st 1/3 of the runway that the xwind or aircraft limits exceeds the pilot skill level, than in the last 1/3 with a wheel landing.
I have 700 hours in Cessnas, all tri-gear. I'm on lesson 5 of my hoped for TW endorsement in a Champ. It's harder than I expected. My approach and landing is good, but on rollout, I tend to over control with my feet. I'm getting frustrated with myself.
Who knew Terry Bradshaw is such a good pilot.
Practically every professional aerobatic Air show pilot wheel lands their airplane on pavement regardless of wind. It's standard practice with them.
It seems incomplete to not discuss how the main wheels in front of the CG will impart angular momentum around the CG, if touchdown includes some crab angle, when instructing tail dragger landings.
I have millions of hrs in 172z but no tail wheel AC.what would be the best to start out with ?? ✌
A good tailwheel instructor. The Aircraft is not that relevant but the instructor is.
Microsoft Flight Simulator
I remember her from MFS and her Extra 300s
In tail wheel landings we need to understand the POF theory of the aircraft ie., clhalferowvsquareds. The other vital is to be fully competent with stalls in all configuration including the landing. A C180 is a very well behaved 3 point landing aircraft. Of course !!!! You need to know the Pof F that goes with it.
why no mention of ground looping
This is just a brief section from a two hour course. We cover lots more: three point landings, ground loops, takeoffs, taxiing, and short field landings. Check out sportys.com/tailwheel for all the details.
A tail low wheel landing isn’t a beginner thing…it’s a working landing for Ag pilots in particular who might do 20-50 landings a day….and it works with everything I’ve flown (J-3/to DC3, heavy 180/185, up to anAT-802 with 750gals of retardant) except a DC-3…only do a regular wheel landing with a -3….
Wheel landings are prettier than 3 point. Always wheel land at fly ins and air shows. Make sure the tail is high, don’t get slow and land tail low and then push forward ,that’s not pretty. ;-)
Whenever I hear some old coot tell me that 'you're not a Real Pilot if you don't fly a taildragger', I simply point out that most, if not all taildragger ground loops and accidents are caused by taildragger pilots. I guess some of them are more 'Real' than others. I will on a more serious note, mention, that a lot of older flight instructors were heavy on emphasizing that ailerons are for banking, not correcting....... You can almost get a pilot's license these days without ever really being proficient on the pedals.
directional control by differential braking...(?)
I prefer aileron and rudder as in... fly it to the tiedown.
Guess yall never have flown a '20s era plane that has no brakes and sometimes just a tail skid.
Damn sure better know how to use your controls....
or...
stick to a nose roller.
JME/JMO
On take off, or roll out, missuse of the ALL POWERFUL & LARGER ailerons, sets up a scenario that the wee rudder and brakes cannot repair, too often leaving too many tail, as well as nose wheel planes inverted on the runway. NOT GOOD !!!
It is imperative, that CFI'S make clients aware that their normal muscle memory from decades of driving car, is counter to that required for aerodynamically keeping plane on the runway.
Simple rule: ALWAYS maintain ailerons PROPORTIONALY & OPPOSITE to needed rudder.
The adverse yaw created by the ailerons, will aid the rudder with directional control, be it grass, ice or water. On landing roll out, this is simply a proper Xwind landing follow thru.
Cheers
RRF CFI 1507987
_'3 Point but not really, then raise the Tail before letting the Tail settle down.'_ ? No thank you. 3 Point it at Stall Speed after the Numbers. That's good for my Instructor/Father, good for F4U Corsair Carrier Landings and for me.
3 point is the safest way to land in a crosswind. Wheel landings gone wrong cause much more damage. Lots of wrong narrative about how to fly a tail wheel. Wheel landings are not required for a tail wheel indorsment if the POH of the airplane used recommends 3 Point Landing Technique. Much better directional control with the 3 pt method. Better braking also.
So, you’ve never flown a DC 3, huh? Ha!
You don't have to land. That'll pretty much take care of itself. Really, you're going to land. Promiss.
I'm annoyed they call it a wheel landing when all landings are wheel landings.
I've been flying tail draggers for years and would cringe at the idea of having to meet mother earth with all that potentially deadly speed. Using most of the runway as you wait for all that energy to dissipate. Nope, sorry 3 pointers only here.
All due respect to the presenter, a wheel landing is never the correct way to land a tail wheel aircraft because the airplane is still flying. It's a recipe for a ground loop and a whole host of other issues, none of which are good. Fly the plane to a few inches off the runway in a 3 point attitude, hold it there until it stops flying, and you've successfully landed.
Never say "never."
Should it be as simple as that? Can that be?
It’s literally required for the endorsement.
Respectfully but fully disagree. This totally depends on the aircraft. Don’t even think of three pointing a Beech 18 or many warbirds. Three point in a Skywagon with a 13 knot or greater cross wind, and when the fuselage blanks out the tail, and your rudder is full deflection, you’ll discover that the brake you need is on that tire that’s still up in the air. That’s a bad thing to learn before calling your insurance company. Keep your Supercub/ C-140 techniques where they belong.
Please, please, please do not teach to land with power in a light SEL airplane. A NORMAL landing is a NO POWER landing.
Hogwash! A little power keeps air flowing over the tail feathers and facilitates continued rudder control, especially as the tail comes down. Once the tailwheel is firmly on the ground, then cut the power. Power on or off, do what works for the particular situation.
I'm confused now.....what is the right landing procedure in a taildragger?
get that tailwheel off the strip