Originally Posted by High Wing Drifter
If difficulty is seen as the best ab-initio training aid, then why not start with an Extra 300 and then progress to a PA28 once mastered
It's not 'difficulty' that is the desired ingredient, HWD, it's teaching the correct skill. If the aeroplane demands it be done correctly, it will be. If the aeroplane accepts sloppy technique, then sloppy technique will prevail. Up until the 1960s, pretty much all pilots were trained on tailwheel aeroplanes, and they managed to solo the likes of Tiger Moths and Austers in surprisingly few hours. Difficult it's not.
Learning how to hold off, and to use the rudder correctly, are not esoteric post-PPL skills such as one might practice in an Extra. They are basic airmanship skills that should be taught from day one.
And, in reference to an earlier post, the X-wind limit of a taildragger is at least as high as that of a tri-gear. One could argue that it is higher, since tailwheel gear is inherantly much tougher than tri-gear (that's why bush planes are tail wheel), so it will accept more abuse before breaking.
SSD