pleasant cessna surprise

[cessnasey]

logged my 4th hour yesterday. having done my previous 3 hours in a worrior, i thought id try a cessna. heard allot about the cessna being a boring plane so avoided it.

i totaly disagree! my experience is not much to go by, i know! but i found that the cessna had a better view ahead and felt more stable to fly (less effort).

im not trying to open debate on the whole worrior or cessna debate (theres plenty of those threads if you do a search!)

just saying dont judge till u try! thats what i did till yesterday, and i will be completing my training in the cessna.

i even get to save a few quid:)

[AerBabe]

I never found the Cessna boring. I did most of my PPL training in a C152 and loved it. I then went to the Cherokee, which was a bit cheaper to hire from my group, and found it really quite dull. Now I've decided neither are a match for having the third wheel at the right end.

We all have preferences. It's important to decide for yourself what yours are!

[Chequeredflag]

So! Just to expand this thread a little further, can you taildragger guys tell me exactly what is the attraction/advantages of having the 'little wheel' at the back instead of the front. I've often been intrigued by the passion shown for these planes by their pilots, and wondered why. (if this has been done to death before, I apologise, and tell me to go away!!)

[robin]

Gosh - you've opened a can of worms there.

2 main reasons

1) it takes a little bit greater skill to handle it well, and some people are happier not extending their skill.

2) It opens a whole different area of flying unknown to nosewheel pilots and a wider range of high performance aircraft

Give it a go and see the difference for yourself

[High Wing Drifter]

For me it is merely coincidental that older. cheaper, much more frugal and simple aircraft that are basic with vintage like charm and handle delightfully just happen to have a dinky little wheel at the back. Helps the overall asthetics too methinks.

Disadvantages, apart from the theoretical (as in I only ever seem to fly VFR and avoiding built up areas is hardly difficult) limitations of PFA types (our is, not all are!), I find crosswinds much more difficult. I find most tricycle gear types pretty straight forward and certainly the ones where I have had the opportinity to land in excess of the max demo xwind a non-event. The max demo xwind on our taildragger is 10kts, I have found 8kts a handful. I am pretty low houred at the taildragger malarkey though.

[foxmoth]

Personally I am happy with the 3rd wheel at either end, though often tailwheel types seem to have better handling, certainly think that modern Cessnas/Pipers are pretty boring types, whichever you chose out of them - great for touring but not much else!:8

[Mike Cross]

Having the third wheel at the right end:-

1. Is more efficient. Think of the drag of hauling that noseleg through the air.
2. Makes you fly better. Land going too fast with a nosewheel and it's a non-event but you use more runway and put more strain on the brakes. You therefore don't modify your technique. Then one day you go into something short and find yourself in the hedge although the POH said it was do-able. Try landing too fast with a tailwheel and you'll soon improve your technique.
3. You can't break the noseleg off if you haven't got one.
4. Means better payload 'cos it's lighter.
5. Stops the airplane tipping on to its tail when someone fat climbs up on the wing.
6. Makes crosswind taxying easier (I saw a C152 needing a wingwalker once when the nosewheel didn't have enough grip on the grass to counter the leverage of the fin being blown sideways.)

[funfly]

Methinks the (tailwheel) men do protest too much;)

[S-Works]

i fly both, cant see why those with the training wheel at the back think ill of those with the training wheel at the front. Both types are a non event to fly, either that or eating my weetabix finally turned me into a skygod...... :cool:

[Pitts2112]

"can you taildragger guys tell me exactly what is the attraction/advantages of having the 'little wheel' at the back instead of the front?"

A Pitts has a tailwheel. Don't really need to say much else...:D

Pitts2112

[S-Works]

and what makes you think a Pitts is the bee all and end all? Of course you fly one so naturally it is the best...........

I think my 152 is the best thing since sliced bread when I fly it, then strangely the next day I think my Cessna Skyhawk is the best thing since sliced bread (and it will give any tailwheel type a run for its money on short field). The when I get in the cub it all starts again....... I like flying the Pitts but once you have thrown it around a bit it all gets a bit samey. Give me a tour through complicated airspace ending in a 5 Star Hotel anytime........ :p

[Whirlybird]

Flying anything is good, but REAL flying machines have skids instead of wheels and whirly wings on top, and you don't need a runway and you can slow down before you land. :ok: :) :)

Have I opened up a real can of worms now? ;)

[High Wing Drifter]

I must admit Whirly, I do glance across from the school to the other side of the airfield and watch the less than graceful kangerooing and gyrations of the helo tyros and worried instructors and think: "Hmmm, that looks fun!"

[Piltdown Man]

Wheel at the front means that you can hire out your plane to anybody who walks through your door because less skill required. They are a damn site easier to deal with on the ground and will take most things in their stride - apart from rough, horrible, unpleasant patches of ground which some people refer to as a landing strips. It took aviation nearly 40 years to learn the first bit and we are still learning the second!

[Andy_R]

Me? I'm happy as long as it has wings and it flies :cool:

[NNB]

keep up the effort and do get into a tail wheel earlier rather than later as it will teach you to use your feet.

tail wheel time will make you realise just how small you are in the scheme of things flying and keep your concentration levels at the high end.

once they're flying it become much of a muchness
blue skies :ok:

[flying dutchman]

There is an old saying in aviation Cessna for single (engine) Piper for twins.:ok:

[FlyingForFun]

Well, for what it's worth, the C152 is the most fun I've ever had in a tricycle - and certainly more fun than a PA28. Maybe it's just coincidence that all the really fun aircraft I've flown are tail-draggers, or maybe there's a scientific reason for it.

But for me, the simple challenge of flying something slightly more difficult is the main reason I enjoyed flying tail-draggers, and why I'm hoping to find enough money to get back into tail-dragging some time soon.

At the end of the day, though, we are all different. The reason there are so many different types of aircraft out there is because there are so many different people. Someone I know wanted to buy an aircraft recently. He knew exactly what he wanted it for, and what his budget was, and he went and talked to some of his pilot friends, instructors and other people around the hangar. He bought a brand new C172 with a Garmin 1000 EFIS system. I can't think of any circumstances where I would buy this particular aircraft - if I had that money, I would rather spend it on either performance or handling than snazzy EFIS and GPS. But the most important thing is that he is extremely happy with his purchase - and that is the only thing which actually matters. (And I have to admit it is a very nice aeroplane!)

FFF
-----------------

[S-Works]

I agree with FFF here, I love flying my 152 and when looking for a 4 seater to buy I went for a Hawk XP (172 with a big engine & wobbly prop) with loads of gadgets. This was despite several hundred hours in twins.

The Cessna singles are economical, easy to get bits for if you break them and fun to fly. I think they outstrip a piper any time.

When I want door off map and stop watch flying in the summer the cub and the pitts are great fun as well.

But at the end of the day there is nothing difficult about handling a tailwheel aircraft, people on these forums make them out to be some sort of mythical monster that makes them out as superhuman for taming it! If you want old and wimisical then you will most likely need to learn tailwheel handling at some stage, if you want new and shiny then it will invariably be a nosewheel.

[High Wing Drifter]

But at the end of the day there is nothing difficult about handling a tailwheel aircraft, people on these forums make them out to be some sort of mythical monster that makes them out as superhuman for taming it!
You describe two extremes. No need for super humans, but cleary handling many common tail dragger types on the ground, take-off and landing is a more complex endeavour with arguably a greater level of precision required. How difficult each individual finds the extra complexity is a purely subjective thing. Speaking personally, I however have never nearly ground looped a tricycle gear :uhoh:

[foxmoth]

I am amazed how many speak up for the C152! Personally I can think of quite a long list of tricycle types that IMHO are much nicer to fly - Bulldog, Pup150 (even the 100 if up against a C152!), Robin2150 (in fact almost any Robin), etc. etc.:hmm:

[SoundBarrier]

Foxmouth.

Most people (I think at least) have a soft spot for their initial trainer as I do for the C150 and the J-3 Cub. Now I love both dearly, but the main thing about the C150 is the fact that it has a cockpit and all them swiss watches and buttons and things, like a real big aeroplane!!:}

I love the cub for the seat of the pants flying, I get butterflies everytime I fly one and enjoy every minute.

As for Robins, I've flown a few in my time, however, I don't have a soft spot for it, in fact never have for low wing types.

So what am I saying? I don't know, I just have soft spot for my ealry flying days!

[foxmoth]

In that case I should like the Cessna as I learnt on them, but sadly I think they are poor example of a flying machine, and most of the types quoted have at least as many fancy bits as a C150 - still, each to his own;)

[Windy Militant]

Why not have the best of both worlds and have a go in a Cessna 150 T
They've got one at Old Sarum. So go on, you know you want to! :ok:

[Oxeagle]

There's a lot of talk of Cessnas vs Pipers on here, but what about the Socata TB series? My training aircraft is a TB-9, which I absolutely love. It looks great, is nice and modern, has a decent instrument fit, has four seats (so i can take my mates up with me and scare the hell out of them :} ) is reassuingly heavy (but not too heavy!) on the controls, and has a half decent cruising speed. Only things I don't like about it are the stall warning indicator which has a habit of going off a lot during turbulence, and the paint job on my club's aircraft - white with blue and pink stripes, oh so retro!