The Tailwheel Endorsement Adventure Begins!

After some disappointing attempts to find an instructor and a tail dragger plane that I could use to start working on my tailwheel wheel transition training, it all finally came together today. I got my first ride in a Citabria on leaseback with Aspen Flying Club at Centennial Airport. My instructor is also part owner in the airplane - John Good. He is a really nice guy and I am looking forward to completing this next episode in my flying experiences with him.

We flew for 1.4 hours after an additional hour or so just spent getting familiar with the plane, prefight procedures, etc. This airplane has basic configurations that are similar to the RV - tandem seating for two, throttle on the left side, and a joystick in the middle. I believe it has a fuel injected IO-320 engine in it, and it is aerobatic capable. It is a tube/wood/and fabric covered airplane. After that, most everything else is just a bit different than anything else I have ever flown before. There are also no flaps on this airplane, so you have to work with power, pitch, airspeed to get this baby back on the ground correctly. The panel is anything but conventional, and there is no attitude indicator on this airplane (not required for VFR flight). From left to right, there is a VSI, Altimeter, Airspeed indicator, G-meter, Tachometer, and then the engine instruments. The fuel guages are in each wing root, and are float-based (not electric). It has only one comm radio and a transponder. It has a plugin for a handheld or portable garmin GPS, but no VORs. In short, this is really a VFR day, local-area airplane, which is just fine with me.

All of the avionics switches are are on the left sidewall behind my left shoulder, and some of the switches are very hard to reach from the front seat.  The mixture control is a push/pull knob with no verneer adjustment, and is located on the instrument panel. The startup procedure is the same as other fule injected lycomings, but it involves a rather awkard arm/hand positioning exercise where the right arm drapes around the joystick to hold the elevator in the up position during start, and then the left hand goes on the mixture control. The right hand crosses over the left arm to push the starter button (yes, I said button) - no keys needed to start this puppy.

So your arms are crossed up to get the thing started - a bit strange, but the procedure worked like a charm. I got her started with no trouble at all. WE then performed som basic taxi drills on an open part of the ramp with no other airplanes so I could get the feel of the throttle, power, rudder authority and braking action. That all went fairly well. The instructor did the takeoff and landing on this first trip, but I am already scheduled for  a next flight early tomorrow morning, and I imagine it won't be long before I will be performing those actions as well.

The plane was very tight to get in and out of. I will have to keep working on my technique for that. It has one of the smallest transponder control heads I have ever seen in any airplane. It has a multi-strap harness (not sure if it is a 4 or 5 point harness). Either way, it takes a bit to get all the straps hooked up and tightened down properly. This will be the same as the RV, which will also have a multi-point harness for each seat.

I can't even describe the feeling as we took off. WOW! The last time I had this experience was when I flew in the back seat of John Loretz' RV-8. The difference is that this time I was in the front seat. While the Citabria did not necessarily push me back in my seat when we began the takeoff roll, it accelerated cleanly and quickly to flying speed, and the tail came up in very short order after the takeoff roll began. One of the most amazing things I experienced on this flight was the way in which the instructor needed to manipulate the trim lever, which is right next to my left hip. He used his left foot to move the trim lever wherever he needed it while he as controlling the plane. I can't even imagine the amount of work it would take to train someone from the very beginning in an airplane like this. I have a newfound respect for those that instruct in these types of airplanes. No wonder they are so hard to find in a local flying club setting. If you have to work a bit harder adn stay a bit more proficient to fly one of these types of planes, then to instruct in one must require at least twice as much proficiency.

 I gotta admit - right now I am still all about building and flying a taildragger. Part of my dream is to come as close as possible to flying a WWII fighter airplane, and so the taildragger element is obviously a very important part of that. I may have to make some concessions about certain wind and weather conditions if I maintain that direction, but in my older years, being a chicken and waiting for the "better weather" days to fly is not such a big deal for me. Especially after already experiencing some of the most difficult flying there is while serving as a Civil Air Patrol Search and Rescue pilot for 26 years.

So now the hard work begins. I must be able to practice taking off and landing in a variety of cross wind conditions during this training to determine once and for all if I will continue to build my RV as a tail dragger or a nosewheel airplane.

I will provide pictures and maybe some video later on after I get a few more flights under my belt. The plan is to have my endorsement completed by mid September or sooner - time, weather, and airplane permitting. Sure felt good to get up in the air again!