Decathlon rear seat flying
I loved instructing in the 8KCAB , the 180hp tailwheel.
This machine sort of assumes that the front seat is occupied by a licenced
pilot, or, a student who can be "trusted" to operate the mags, mixture, and or follow instructions in the event of an emergency, like read out the numbers.
It is very difficult viewing the instruments from the rear, you tell the student to lean to the right so you can see the airspeed or read out the altimeter..
If you are operating in a controlled airspace, its real easy to blow altitude limitations.
As far as flying goes, you don't need an airspeed indicator when you have a pair of ears, and can feel the slipstream on the machine.. You can just about shut your eyes, put in earplugs, and put one finger on the stick to guess the airspeed...
You al pdon't need a G-meter, your gut will tell you most of the time what G you pulled etc.
If you don't have those kinds of perceptions about the airplane than you should not be instructing in it..
Rear seat flying is easy when you have good basic tailwheel training.
There is a problem in the 8KCAB as in the front seat, you can easily see over the nose, which is just perfect for all those pa-28 students who just stare at the end of the runway and wait till the wheels make a squeeky noise.
Rear Seat Training , for the first time will teach you how to use peripheral vision, how to sideslip and do circular approaches not to mention, wheel take offs and the harder wheel landings.
All that training will give you abilities you did not have previously, make you a safer pilot not to mention a more confident pilot.
Good operators have a graduated training program and you should be feeling very confident when they let you loose by yourself in cross winds etc.
Its the same for the pitts, its a fun machine to fly, easy to fly when you know how but if you don't get the right training, you are almost guaranteed to end up with a wreak and a fatal streak in your aviation career.
If you fly with someone who likes making the g meter read 5 gs, or has a n obvious personality disorder, then go get someone else.
There are a lot of aerobatic pilots who end up dead from accidents. Don't be one of them. Just take a list of books on aerobatics and check to see how the authors died.
Ramjet