A second vote for Jim at Curtis and Phil Unicomb.

And also another vote for the Pawnee being the easiest to fly taildragger... if it was a Cessna they'd have called it a land-o-matic

Thank you all! Some very good leads.

PS. A useless snippet of information from the other side of the world: nobody in my country has ever seen, let alone heard of, " The Castle".
How sad is that? ;)

Depends where you were flying of course. I had over 1000 hours as instructor on Tiger Moths in the RAAF over the period 1952-4 as well as a few hours crop dusting at 6000 ft density altitude and and the only prang I saw was when the CFI taxied into an unlit Christmas tree at night. Can you quote the accident rate statistics on the DH 82 when compared with comparable types especially as the Tiger was the primary trainer in Australian aero clubs in that period. Tee Emm is right. You don't need an aerobatics endorsement in order to qualify to fly a tail-wheel type.

Tailwheel training
 

Hi, you could try Airborne Aviation at Camden, they have three tigermoths one you can do your tail training in and private hire later if you want, or if you would like a Citabria, or if you really like a Pitts S2c however maybe start in the something a little sedate first.

Thumbs up for Phil Unicombe, just may mean you would be looking at starting out in a pitts maybe can't remember if he has access to something a little more sedate etc

Jim from Curtis, nice bloke likes to have a chat on the radio though!! (Just jokes jim) that why we call him the mayor of camden aerodrome!

Regards

Karl

Curtis aviation Camden Airpot Sydney. Jim Druin

That's 'Drinnan', and I'd like to recommend Jim too.

I didn't understand Karl's comment about talking on the radio. Jim doesn't say much, but when he does, you'd better listen!

Curtis has not one but three Citabrias, all well-maintained. I didn't find the Citabria particularly easy, but Jim taught me not to bring the tail up too soon and that certainly helped.

Errrrm, the EMT course at Red Baron is 6 hours. Yes in a Robin. It's not a tail wheel endorsement. However they will happily check you out on an extra or pitts if you are GFPT/PPL etc. You must have misunderstood. You definitely looked at the wrong course (this thread is about tailwheel).

I knew them very well, spend hours there every week.

However why call if you had no intention of flying with them?

They're one of the most well respected Aerobatic outfits in the country. I say that with some authority having just got back from 4 days at the State Flying comp and listened to the opinions of Aero pilots, School Operators and AAC officials from all over Australia.

I also complimented them on their taste in red wine but they left a bottle untouched in HQ!

No worries - just trying to help you out.

I'd recommend the EMT though - you'll spend most of the time getting dizzy doing spin training!!

They insist on these things as they have remained a Aerobatics focussed school. When the current owner purchased Sydney Aerobatics School they wanted to keep the aeros as the core focus as they felt it was an important resource for the aviation community. Most schools tell their students what to do in a spin - but very few actually have them practice it - on their own in the training area - pre GFPT! I guess by making you do EMT they are protecting their fleet.

DJPIL - haha!! But you didn't seem too critical about that fact when you cleaned up that same bottle on Monday!!

Redcliffe Aero Club
 

I did my tailwheel with Gerry Dick at Redcliffe. Booked it through Redcliffe Aero Club (+61732031777).

Gerry used to be an importer for American Champion Aircraft and has a brand spanking new Decathlon and even newer Citabria sitting in his hangar (the Citabria I flew had 210 hours airframe total time just over a month ago). He has a wonderfully relaxed teaching style and seems to be one of a rare breed of instructor: those with vast industry experience and a genuine love for what they do. He's a very skilful pilot to boot.

Also, you'll get plenty of practice handling taildraggers in somewhat challenging conditions, as Redcliffe often has strong winds in the afternoon and a pretty much permanent crosswind. That's a good thing without a doubt, because the biggest challenge in flying taildraggers is ground handling and takeoffs and landings. Everything else is (almost) the same. Don't worry though as Caboolture aerodrome, which has much more forgiving meteorological conditions, is only 5-10min flying time away, so you'd go there for the first few circuits (the aerobatic training area is, helpfully enough, right in between the two).

I'd highly recommend checking it out.

Taildraggers & aerobatics - not exclusive
 

Tee Em: I agree with you that specifiying minimum numbers of hours for tailwheel endorsement is often a moneymaking scam. My tailwheel endo was 2.1hrs and to a standard I felt was quite high and definitely safe. Another mate of mine did his tailwheel, basic and advanced aeros in just 1.4hrs...but he's just a freak of nature. :}

I do, however, disagree with you that doing aeros as part of the package is a waste of time. When I did my endorsement I had a very tight budget and as such did not include and aerobatic training, a decision I am regretting now. I feel that an aerobatic rating, if not at least some aerobatic training, makes a pilot much more competent and confident. I base this on observation of the aerobatic pilots I know vs the non-aerobatic types like myself.

We don't all fly aerobatic aircraft all the time, but surely if your C210 got flipped upside down by severe turb it would be better to have been aerobatically trained so that you could recover without overstressing the (most likely 30+ year old) airframe, rather than freaking out about if for precious seconds before rolling and pulling in a ghastly exercise in uncoordinated, dangerously edge-of-the-envelope flying?

All I'm really saying is that I think a certain amount of aerobatic training could only be a good, responsible thing to do (it's on my "to do when I have the money" list, by the way) as a professional (indeed, equally or moreso as a private) pilot. Given that many taildraggers are fully aerobatic, combining the two seems logical.

We're given the lives of our fellow human beings in an environment alien to most and more dangerous than sometimes we give it credit for. Anything we can do to improve our skills and confidence can only be a good thing, IMHO.

Did mine with Barry Foster in the pawnee. The Pawnee is very easy to handle maybe a bit too easy, a Scout or Citabria will be bit more of a challenge and a super cub is just pure fun.

I would be aiming for max amount of TO and landings as that is where the main diff between wheel on front or the bum is, when in the air its just another aeroplane. Make sure you do plenty of landings on the seal as well, as dirt strips are very forgiving and you can give yourself a big fright when you land on the seal for first time if you have done all your time landing on the dirt.

Have fun

i.dingbat

Ummmmm you dont fly at camden much do ya maaaaaaaaaayte? :p

Curtis Aviation @ Camden
 

Jim doesn't talk much, must be a different Jim , the one I know talks underwater with a mouth full of wet cement.
BUT in saying that "Try him he's the best I have struck for years and he IS a straight shooter"
Kickatinalong.

tailwheel where did you do you training?...the chap is asking!

Clearly kickatinalong is a regular on the airwaves at YSCN...
I really like that description - i might borrow it from time to time :p

ForkieNot neccessarily. The 180/185 type is the only T/W I was checked out in and have flown.

VH-BCYBCY, sometimes it is better to be uncluttered by what other T/W types handle like.

BeachyI have only been away for a few weeks, and you are already picking on me. Probably fairly close to the mark though.
Bloody Bo drivers.:ok:

Try something with imagination
 

I got my initial tail wheel and initial twin with only 120 hours TT on a L12A, was so out of my depth it scared me silly - valuable lesson.

No matter what all pilots should have tail wheel as part of their flying carriculum. It teaches you precision landings.

Happy flying

Aussie Tailwheel
 

Hello guys,
Planning for my first lesson of tailwheel, and found the price in aussie is extremely expensive compared to USA, makes me wonder why?

270AUD per hour inclusive all for super-D? is that normal?

Can't disagree with that. Runs the whole friggin airport too!:)