Now, this is flight simulation!

[HomeBoy 1]

[Test Pilot 0]

 

What would be great is to have an accusimed WWI bird!

[Condor44 0]

 

 

Oh, no! Time to get out the credit card again.

[Mr. Lucky 0]

Close, very close. I got my tailwheel endorsement in a cub. Really enjoyed flying with the door and window open. Just make sure your chart isn't loose.

You know, if any of you are near a grass field, and would like to try your hand, I'll bet for around 30 or 40 bucks you can get an hour of instruction or an orientation flight in a Cub or Champ or other tail draggers. It's about as close as you can get to flying a WWI plane without building a replica. And, the time counts if you want to take lessons later.

[tn_prvteye 36]

Close, very close. I got my tailwheel endorsement in a cub. Really enjoyed flying with the door and window open. Just make sure your chart isn't loose.

You know, if any of you are near a grass field, and would like to try your hand, I'll bet for around 30 or 40 bucks you can get an hour of instruction or an orientation flight in a Cub or Champ or other tail draggers. It's about as close as you can get to flying a WWI plane without building a replica. And, the time counts if you want to take lessons later.

 

I wish that was true around here. It's hard to find tail-draggers nowadays. One of the guys at a local FBO told me that no one does it anymore for insurance reasons. Hell, it's getting harder to find a freakin' Cessna 152 for that same reason!

 

I'd LOVE to pay $40 for an hour of instruction!

[Mr. Lucky 0]

I wish that was true around here. It's hard to find tail-draggers nowadays. One of the guys at a local FBO told me that no one does it anymore for insurance reasons. Hell, it's getting harder to find a freakin' Cessna 152 for that same reason!

 

I'd LOVE to pay $40 for an hour of instruction!

 

Yes, you may have to travel a bit. Most guys at FBO's are there just to fill their log books so they can move up to the airlines (I said most, not all), so they're not knowledgeable about the more aesthetic aspects of flying.

There are still places that do the training. The people you talked to are probably referring to the FBO's wanting to do initial training on tail draggers for the sport pilot rating that have had trouble getting reasonable insurance. You may have to travel a bit because there aren't many, granted. I was fortunate to have one about 30 miles from where I used to live. It is in Waynesville, OH. Talk to aerobatic people. Find out where they got instruction. A lot of places that do tailwheel training give aerobatic training (many aerobatic planes are taildraggers) or glider towing. Also, if you can, get one that's on a grass field. Tail draggers are much easier to handle on grass and there's nothing better. Look for antique aircraft fly ins also. This will get you among a group of people who might have info. There should definitely be lot's of Cubs, Champs, Taylorcrafts, Stinsons, Wacos, etc. and if you're lucky, you might get a ride for free are a couple of bucks.

[tn_prvteye 36]

Yes, you may have to travel a bit. Most guys at FBO's are there just to fill their log books so they can move up to the airlines (I said most, not all), so they're not knowledgeable about the more aesthetic aspects of flying.

There are still places that do the training. The people you talked to are probably referring to the FBO's wanting to do initial training on tail draggers for the sport pilot rating that have had trouble getting reasonable insurance. You may have to travel a bit because there aren't many, granted. I was fortunate to have one about 30 miles from where I used to live. It is in Waynesville, OH. Talk to aerobatic people. Find out where they got instruction. A lot of places that do tailwheel training give aerobatic training (many aerobatic planes are taildraggers) or glider towing. Also, if you can, get one that's on a grass field. Tail draggers are much easier to handle on grass and there's nothing better. Look for antique aircraft fly ins also. This will get you among a group of people who might have info. There should definitely be lot's of Cubs, Champs, Taylorcrafts, Stinsons, Wacos, etc. and if you're lucky, you might get a ride for free are a couple of bucks.

 

Good idea. I might have to do that. I've also being considering getting into the Ultra-light scene...my dad flew and tested them for years.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to drag this into OT territory.

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Ultralights are a blast! Quite inexpensive to get into, and relatively safe as long as you remember their limitations and don't try to fly in any wind over 5 mph. A ballistic safety chute is a good idea as well but that means you need to get some altitude to have it be effective. Nearly all the UL flying I've done has been around 500' above the ground, so a chute would likely not have helped me out at all. But as long as you follow all the safety procedures, do a complete pre-flight check, and DON'T DO STUPID THINGS WHILST FLYING, you should be fine. Fine of course being a relative term.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[tn_prvteye 36]

Ultralights are a blast! Quite inexpensive to get into, and relatively safe as long as you remember their limitations and don't try to fly in any wind over 5 mph. A ballistic safety chute is a good idea as well but that means you need to get some altitude to have it be effective. Nearly all the UL flying I've done has been around 500' above the ground, so a chute would likely not have helped me out at all. But as long as you follow all the safety procedures, do a complete pre-flight check, and DON'T DO STUPID THINGS WHILST FLYING, you should be fine. Fine of course being a relative term.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

 

Well, not to bring the conversation down, but my Dad was actually killed flying an U/L, so I take the advice very seriously. He did have a BRS, which he fired, but it failed to deploy correctly. He was flight-testing an aircraft he worked on and helped design when the wing de-laminated due to stress.

 

However, as anyone who's in the flying biz can tell you, if you're around airplanes long enough it's gonna happen (someone getting killed). But that didn't stop me from continuing to fly afterward.

 

He definitely had a great time flying these aircraft. And there's actually a legal ultralight version of the Nieuport 11 out there (I think it's a legal U/L, I'll have to double-check). THAT is as real as you're gonna get!

[RAF_Louvert 101]

Yes Sir tn_prvteye, flying anything should be taken as dead serious. But as you say accidents will happen, and in the case of catastrophic structural failure there is unfortunately little you can do if your chute doesn't deploy, or you don't have a chute at all. That being said, it is still a lot of fun. Yes as well to that N11 replica, that's what the Dawn Patrol group flys various versions of. There are a few other WW1-style UL's out there as well, the DVIII "Razor" being one of them.

 

Cheers!

 

Lou

[tn_prvteye 36]

Dawn Patrol, that's it! Man I'd love to convince the wife to get one of those Nieuports. Somehow I doubt I could pull it off. I can dream, cant I?

[Mr. Lucky 0]

UL's are what prompted me to get my tailwheel endorsement in the first place. I had heart trouble and figured I'd be relegated to ultralights if I wanted to keep flying (this was before sport pilot in the U.S.) and I figured if I had an ultralight, it'd probably be a taildragger, so the training would be useful not to mention the opportunity to fly the classics. I got my endorsement before I got my medical back, so I kept scheduling time with the instructor since I couldn't fly solo. I'd ask him what he wanted to do and he'd reply 'It's up to you, I'm just insurance and a medical'. It all worked out though and I got my medical back, but now I use the sport pilot rating. I too may take up some ultralight flying since I developed a taste for low and slow.