Tailwheel In Addition to...

[Pilot4Life]

Just a quick update and info post...

Getting my tailwheel endorsement (another step toward the Kitfox, allbeit a small one) with Marcus Paine from Alaska. He's here giving a group some Upset Recovery Training in his Super Decathalon and the Tailwheel Endorsement is just a bonus. Every time I do this training (URT), the importance of understanding what's happening with our airplanes is reinforced. Great training...Should be experienced by all. Purposely, not because we find ourselves upside down, stalled, or uncoordinated. Just my two cents...

Here's a pic of the 8KCAB I'm training in ...

Mark Paine's 8KCAB.jpg

[SkyPirate]

Cool on that Chris

[SkySteve]

Chris,
For your Upset Training, do you actually go Upside Down?

[Lion8]

Chris. I put quite a few hours training in a Kitfox IV before it developed some issues. I finished up my endorsement in a Super Decathlon exactly the same color and all as this one. Very nice machine. I found this Decathlon to be much easier to fly than the Kitfox.-Tom

[Lion8]

Chris, forgot to tell you. Flying aerobatics is real fun too. I did it in a Great Lakes.-Tom

[Pilot4Life]

SkyPirate...Cool indeed!

SkySteve...Through all my training to date, I've been every which way...including loose! In the Decathalon this time... I've done loops, rolls, stalls, spins, inverted flight, and loving every minute of it.

Lion8...The Decathalon is pretty agile, yet also stable. My only flight in PeteOhms' plane was similar in handling as I recall.

I'll keep everyone posted on tomorrow's excitement!

[SS7Flyer]

I did SPIN Awareness training as part of my tailwheel endorsement and I can tell you this... sitting in your chair on the ground and saying out loud the spin recovery procedure is WHOLE lot different than hanging in your harness staring straight down while the ground goes round and round in the windscreen for the first time. The first time in a fully developed spin is very eye opening. Great training!

[Pilot4Life]

All,
Training complete! Great time, as always. First upset recovery training was in a ZLIN, then out to Mesa Arizona to fly with "Otter" from Aviation Performance Solutions, or "APS" for short. Then back to the ZLIN during my Instructor Pilot training, and now in the Decathalon! Indeed, being inverted is eye opening! Remember though, given an upset airplane, most situations are recoverable. We simulated the take off today and getting caught in a heavy airplanes wake turbulence. I was on the controls and Mark suddenly (unannouncent) rolled me on my back. With ~ 50 mph on the indicator and rolled inverted, I rolled upright and recovered with NO LOSS OF ALTITUDE! Huge confidence builder. Becoming upset in the plane isn't too much of a concern, as long as you assess the situation, know how your plane responds, and you make the correct and timely inputs to fix it! Don't be afraid of STALLS, SPINS, LOOPS, & ROLLS....JUST TRAIN FOR IT. It'll save your butt one day!

On another note...I am looking, now, to add an aerobatics airplane to my list and train my future students in the same manner! Of course, I'll add Aerobatics Instructor to my qualifications before just for my own comfort and skill.

[Slyfox]

my opinion is to gain spin awareness, as to not get into it in the first place. with that said. my first time I did a spin in an airplane was the first lesson I got in a Cessna. the instructor said to pull straight up and put in rudder. the thing stalled and went right into a spin. like you said your looking at the ground with everything spinning in a circle. I did what the instructor said to do to get out of it. I than came back and said, " lets do that again, cool stuff".

later in ground school there was another guy, big guy, that previously thought he was the cats meow. he had the same instructor and the instructor did the same thing to him. lets say he was very upset and got another instructor, he didn't like having that done to him.

[Esser]

Good thing that guy wasn't training in Canada. You have to complete spin training to get your Private License.