2 June 2013: Taildragger training at North Hampton, NH (7B3): This short turf field has a restaurant, and, useful on a very hot day like this one was, a homemade ice cream stand. Really my second taildragger lesson if you count flying the Pitts Special, but I didn't handle either that takeoff or that landing.
Ground school, and then pushing the 1942 L-4 from its tiedown to the fuel pumps. This is the military version of a J-3 Cub. It's not yellow, and it has lots of windows in the back. On this very hot and very windy day, we left the side window completely open, both top and bottom.
Getting settled in for my first flight, taxiing on the turf, and taking off in a strong wind for the practice area to the west to practice airwork:
My first wheel landing:
Second flight, in even stronger winds:
Attempt at a three-point landing, with nasty windshear on final and lots of wind on the ground:
Taxiing back to the hangar since no one else wanted to fly given the strong winds.
Done for the day. Time for a debriefing - and ice cream!
Second lesson: Landing practice, in a 1947 J-3 Cub:
Sometimes you can get someone else to hand-prop.
Slipping; on final:
Full-stall landing:
Taxiing back:
Wheel landings, without and then later with a stiff crosswind:
Switched to a Citabria at Air Direct in Nashua. I don't get cramps in my knees trying to fold my long legs into this plane, and I can control the rudder pedals and the heel brakes without major contortions.
Switched tactics again, to an Aeronca Champ at Noble Airventures, and back to working with Devan Wiebe. This 1946 airplane, with no electrical system, is the ancestor of the Citabria and is very similar except for its very-small engine. We can use the turf runway at 6B6 unless it is too boggy. Devan handprops it.
I finally finished my tailwheel endorsement on April 19, 2014, in the Champ:
©2013, 2014Mermaid Underwater Photographic. All Rights Reserved.
Contact us at mermaid@underwater.org.
Last modified 13 May 2014