As we have noted in the past (see: Tips for flying an aircraft with a tailwheel), flying an aircraft with a tailwheel will feel a little different from flying an aircraft without one. However and in a very entertaining post, blogger Alex Hammer has recently recounted his second flying lesson in a taildragger after his flight instructor Dave had given him a very simple piece of advice:
Don’t hold the rudder down too long, just dance on the rudder peddals, jab jab jab.
Alex continues by recalling what happened next:
As I started the roll that began to make sense. Veer right, left pedal jab jab jab right peddal jab, oh boy what a workout, but we’re back on center line. Stick forward. Oh boy. Not what I’m used to rolling on the ground…… Here we go again with the peddals. Jab, Jab, Jab, back on center line. Aha effect. Now I get this whole jab the peddal thing…
Piece of cake, right?!!
Either way, Alex concludes by saying that “these planes require attention, but they are a joy to fly” and that “we should all be so luck to have a guy like Dave introduce us to these fantastic flying machines.” We could not have summed it up better!
