View Full Version : Tailwheel v Nosewheel
TempoTCu
18th Feb 2019, 00:58
Interested to hear some thoughts. Does tailwheel 'make you a better pilot' as I have been told by a person with a vested interest in me paying to get the endorsement? Does it add value to your application for a future airline job to have that endorsement (and of course be actually able to fly one with some modicum of practical experience beyond the endorsement)?
I wouldn't have thought so, unless they are flying DC-3s :).
redsnail
18th Feb 2019, 19:36
It won't add anything to your airline CV. It might make you a slightly better handling pilot if you are flying a tailwheel a/c to do aerobatics.
If you're looking at flying in the Canadian outback, then it might be useful. If you're interested in agricultural flying, then it's definitely useful.
Why flying a tailwheel a/c might make you a better handling pilot is that you have to be on top of the handling until you've stopped. Once you're flying, it's largely the same as a nose wheel aircraft.
If you're looking to the airlines and in Europe? I wouldn't bother unless you're going to do aerobatics.
Genghis the Engineer
19th Feb 2019, 17:25
Makes you a bit better at flying by reference to attitude, particularly for the landing.
Other than that - no, not really. It just happens that some of the most fun aeroplanes to fly out there are taildraggers. But the mystique of tailwheel flying is massively overstated by far too many people who should know better.
Relevance to flying a big jet - virtually nil. Chances of improving the fun in your life en-route, and in your spare time once there - moderate.
G
I did my Private in a Piper Cub and I don’t recall ever making a better aeronautical decision because of it......