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Old 24th Mar 2014, 03:20
  #47 (permalink)  
HappyJack260
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Sydney, Australia
Age: 61
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I've a couple of hundred hours in tailwheel - mostly Chipmunks, Citabria/Decathlon and Pitts S2A/S2B/S2C, plus a couple of hours in a Tiger Moth and an Extra 300L.

I was taught to 3-point all of them, except the Tiger which I was told should be wheeled on, due to the relatively ineffective ailerons and rudder. I preferred to 3-point the Chippie but after a few years of flying Pitts with a much higher sink, kept on coming in a little too fast, resulting in a wheeler, after which the tail would drop as speed washed off.

However, I should not recommend a wheeler for any Pitts. It can be done, but unless you're very smooth the high speed required to offset the sink rate and make it a wheeler, will tend to result in the bungie gear throwing you back into the air. A 3-pointer helps kill the lift and keeps you on the ground, though even experienced pilots will often get a little skip before the aircraft settles. You just have to get used to the [lack of] sight picture, and steer the aircraft down the runway as you land, by peripheral vision.

In crosswind conditions, the rudder and ailerons in the Pitts are powerful enough to let you bring the aircraft in with a 2-pointer, tail and windward mainwheel, with the windward wing low. As the speed comes off the downwind gear will lower and then you can have fun pedalling hard on the rudders/brakes to keep it on the centreline.

I've landed a Pitts a few times with greater than 20 knots crosswind component, and the windward wing down technique will stop you drifting; you don't want to try a crab in those conditions as by the time you've straightened up you'll have drifted halfway across the runway.
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