Originally Posted by
Wingnuts
It appears that aircraft begins to fish tail with increasing amplitude as it accelerates. Perhaps this is what alarms video man.
The tail wheel is castoring type and the last item on Take Off checklist is to ensure it is locked straight.
I wonder if initial swing was caused by application of take off power and unlocked tail wheel?
I think you may be right. I looked at the video several more times and it does appear to fish tail early in the takeoff. There are are several comments above from some very experienced DC-3/C47 pilots, which discuss the tail wheel issue.
Thanks for noticing that and posting.