Today, there was virtually no wind. I was too relaxed while landing, for I came as close to a groundloop as I probably can without wrapping the airplane up in a ball. I barely kept it on the runway.
The lesson from the airplane was clear: "Pay attention to me." You cannot get too full of yourself when you fly a tailwheel airplane, for it will show you the folly of pride in a way that a nosewheel airplane will not.
This is a Pitts Model 12 coming in for a landing. The engine is a Russian-made radial of anywhere from 360 to 400HP. To say it is a "hot airplane" is a mild understatement.
8 comments:
I recall the wise words of the guy who gave me my first lesson in a taildragger, a Citabria:
"You don't stop flying a taildragger from the moment you untie the ropes until the moment you tie her back down again."
One thing I learned over and over during a 25-year truck driving career and a season of SCCA amateur racing is that you gotta pay unrelenting attention to WTF yer doin'. Obviously, that applies to airplane pilots, too. Glad you didn't C 'n' B.
The enclosed cockpit sez it all.
Glad yer still walking and talking.
Phil & BN, even if I had groundlooped it, probably the worst that would have happened would have been dinging a wing.
I kept control. No harm, no foul, only my pride was injured, and it needed the whack. After nearly a thousand hours of tailwheel time, I should have known better.
So if I may ask, which tailwheel airplane is keeping you humble? I've learned in a trike, but have just started working on an endorsement using a "brand new cub", a Cubcrafters S2. Fun! Well, OK it's more like a brand new pa-11. It has a starter & flaps, but still likes to slip.
Sara, one of these.
Ah, thanks. Nice looking airplanes, and rare these days. I've never been in one.
I laughed at your '10s of AMU' comment, recognizing it immediately as Aviation Monetary Unit. To me, $1000 = 1 AMU. Did I guess right?
Aviation Maintenance Unit, and yes, $1,000 = 1 AMU
Post a Comment