First tailwheel lesson

While on a week-long trip back to Fort Collins, Colo., I took a flight lesson with a good friend of mine who happens to be a certified flight instructor. Since I have been working towards my high performance rating, we had originally planned to do the lesson in a C-182. However, I apparently took some Alaska weather down to Colorado with me, which made me feel right at home, but which also caused some unforeseen problems. After postponing for two days, and dealing with a pair of hangar doors that were frozen shut, we decided to shift our focus to the only airplane that we could manage to get free, a Citabria 7GCBC.

I'd been planning to work on my tailwheel endorsement at some point in the near future, but I just haven't made the time to get over to the airport and start. Needless to say, I was overjoyed by this stroke of good fortune. Before pulling the plane out, my instructor Dan gave me about 45 minutes worth of ground instruction, going over the different aerodynamic forces and principles that apply to flying a tailwheel aircraft.

Since I had studied these concepts in my Jeppesen flight manuals for my private license, I understand the causes and effects of P-factor, gyroscopic precession, torque and spiraling slipstream, but I found it helpful to have them explained and illustrated by Dan. He also showed me a really cool equation (V₂/V₁ = √W₂/W₁) for converting typical aircraft speeds to their optimum values based on true aircraft weight in relation to gross weight. I've never been particularly "mathy," but I suppose it's because I never really had real world uses for things like quadratic equations. Seeing an actual useful application for something like this makes math much more exciting.

After the lesson, we got in the plane and taxied out to the active runway. It was my first time controlling a moving taildragger and I seemed to do pretty well, managing the rudder pedals with smooth authority when necessary to keep the plane going straight. I learned that even though the tailwheel itself is controlled by the pedals, much of the steering at low speeds on the ground is caused by the propwash over the rudder.

To read about the rest of Dan's taildragging experience, click here.

Daniel H. Bailey is a professional adventure, action, and travel photographer whose images have been used by clients worldwide, including Outside Magazine and The New York Times. Visit his home page at www.danbaileyphoto.com.