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Old 20th May 2020, 02:19
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megan
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
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Like we folk, all aircraft have their very own unique character, some are pussy cats, some are tigers, it matters not if it has a nose or tail wheel. Cessna introduced the nose wheel in order to open up the market to attract the less skilled and marketing stressed how easy they were to land, which their tail wheel products with the spring steel legs were anything but for the less skilled. Learnt to fly in a Chipmunk, an extreme pussy cat, but not when it came to spinning. With only double figures in the log book then checked out in an Auster, when solo one day trying to land in very benign conditions I did circuit after circuit trying to land and was coming to the conclusion that the only way to arrive at a meeting of plane and earth would be running out of fuel or getting shot down. Never had so much trouble in all my life. Shortly after checked out in a Tiger Moth, a whole new lesson in aircraft handling, no brakes, effects taxiing in wind, necessity of having wing walkers at times, never had any problems though. Most DC-3 operation manuals dictated that three point landings were not to be made, the issue being the pointed wing tips were given to stalling with resulting uncontrollable roll leading to an accident, those with the necessary skill and judgement were able to show that they could be three pointed. All tail wheelers have a propensity to ground loop, some more than others, and is an area where handling finesse separates the men from the boys, crosswind operations open up a whole new area where you can demonstrate your ground loop skills, or avoidance of. Give it a go, it will open up a new area of aviating enjoyment for you.
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