Cub conversion
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Teddington, Middlesex
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SSD: whoops! I didn't mean to imply that our old Chippie broke up in the air: it took a couple of stout trees to remove the wings, during an abortive attempt to get out from a small strip. That accident left the fuselage intact, but upside-down. The two occupants (who were virtually uninjured) had a job getting out - I now remember - because the release wire and locking pins you mention had been replaced with a set of nuts and bolts (because of the small boy problem!)
Back to the point; the Chipmunk really is a delight in terms of its handling. I'd love to get in a few more hours on one...
Back to the point; the Chipmunk really is a delight in terms of its handling. I'd love to get in a few more hours on one...
Join Date: Dec 2002
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L&S
Yes, the CAA stopped certified aircraft from obtaining a PFA permit to fly a few years ago now... much to the disapproval of the PFA.
Aircraft already on the scheme will remain though. I believe that only the smaller Austers were allowed on and then only for 2 seats.
Where are you based? as you are very welcome to have a go in the T-cart. Its a very efficient plane that glides like crazy and will float the lenth of a runway unless the approach speed is well nailed. Couple this with a surprisingly sharp stall and you have an aircraft that demands full attention in the curcuit - much more than a Cub.
Try to make the Auster-Cub fly-in (whenever it is!). I'll probably bring the L4, but we can talk about meeting up for the T-Cart-Auster comparison - It would be interesting!
Kingy
Yes, the CAA stopped certified aircraft from obtaining a PFA permit to fly a few years ago now... much to the disapproval of the PFA.
Aircraft already on the scheme will remain though. I believe that only the smaller Austers were allowed on and then only for 2 seats.
Where are you based? as you are very welcome to have a go in the T-cart. Its a very efficient plane that glides like crazy and will float the lenth of a runway unless the approach speed is well nailed. Couple this with a surprisingly sharp stall and you have an aircraft that demands full attention in the curcuit - much more than a Cub.
Try to make the Auster-Cub fly-in (whenever it is!). I'll probably bring the L4, but we can talk about meeting up for the T-Cart-Auster comparison - It would be interesting!
Kingy
Why do it if it's not fun?
Join Date: Jul 2001
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I did my tail-wheel conversion on the Super Cub, and it's a fabulous machine. Still never flown a Cub, but I'm sure it would be perfect to convert onto.
The most important thing when doing a tail-dragger conversion, IMHO, is the quality of the instructor. If your instructor doesn't intend to teach you wheel-landings as well as 3-pointers, go somewhere else. If your instructor doesn't have at least 100 hours of tail-wheel time, including lots of recent time, go somewhere else. I say this having ignored that advice when I did my conversion, and paid the penalty. I used an extremely good instructor - I would recommend her to anyone doing a PPL, and I intend to do my IMC rating with her. But she'd only recently done a tail-wheel conversion herself, and she was not the right person to be teaching me those skills. So much so that, after getting signed off and building my Super Cub time up to around 10 hours, I then went to hire a Super Cub from another school, and needed a further 7 hours instruction before they'd let me hire their planes. Yes - 7 hours on a type I was already current on. It wasn't wasted at all - I learnt far more in those 7 hours than I had on my original check-out.
I'd also recommend having a read of The Compleat Taildragger Pilot by Harvey S Plourde - an excellent book which explains everything that's going on with very simple diagrams, and only goes into the details of the maths in an appendix.
Apart from that, have fun!
If you search back to around October 2001, you might find a post where I described my first Super Cub flight, which should inpsire you!
FFF
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The most important thing when doing a tail-dragger conversion, IMHO, is the quality of the instructor. If your instructor doesn't intend to teach you wheel-landings as well as 3-pointers, go somewhere else. If your instructor doesn't have at least 100 hours of tail-wheel time, including lots of recent time, go somewhere else. I say this having ignored that advice when I did my conversion, and paid the penalty. I used an extremely good instructor - I would recommend her to anyone doing a PPL, and I intend to do my IMC rating with her. But she'd only recently done a tail-wheel conversion herself, and she was not the right person to be teaching me those skills. So much so that, after getting signed off and building my Super Cub time up to around 10 hours, I then went to hire a Super Cub from another school, and needed a further 7 hours instruction before they'd let me hire their planes. Yes - 7 hours on a type I was already current on. It wasn't wasted at all - I learnt far more in those 7 hours than I had on my original check-out.
I'd also recommend having a read of The Compleat Taildragger Pilot by Harvey S Plourde - an excellent book which explains everything that's going on with very simple diagrams, and only goes into the details of the maths in an appendix.
Apart from that, have fun!
If you search back to around October 2001, you might find a post where I described my first Super Cub flight, which should inpsire you!FFF
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Join Date: Aug 2001
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FFF wrote:
That is a lot of hours. Can you tell us what bits had been missed out in the first place.
FD
So much so that, after getting signed off and building my Super Cub time up to around 10 hours, I then went to hire a Super Cub from another school, and needed a further 7 hours instruction before they'd let me hire their planes.
That is a lot of hours. Can you tell us what bits had been missed out in the first place.
FD
Why do it if it's not fun?
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FD,
Wheel landings. Fast taxying (which is a requirement for being able to do wheel landings consistently and safely). Wheel landings. Cross-wind landings. Wheel landings. Slipping (using full rudder, while turning - not just a little bit of rudder to lose 50' on final). Wheel landings. Flying airliner-size circuits. Generally flying like an airliner, for example my lack of willingness to use full aileron deflection.
Basically, apart from the fact I hadn't been taught wheel landings, the main issue was that I was flying the Cub like a PA28 with the third wheel in the back. The Cub is a very different beast, and although it's quite happy to be flown the way that students are taught to fly PA28s, to restrict yourself to this style of flying prevents you from taking full advantage of the aircraft. And having the skill to fly it properly could well get you out of trouble in a cross-wind (and made some of the landings I did look easy, when I certainly would have ground-looped had I tried them without that training).
FFF
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PS - The training must have worked. When I got a few hours on the club's Aztec a month or so later, my instructor accused me of trying to fly the Aztec like a Cub - quite a change from being accused of flying the Cub like a 747!!!
Wheel landings. Fast taxying (which is a requirement for being able to do wheel landings consistently and safely). Wheel landings. Cross-wind landings. Wheel landings. Slipping (using full rudder, while turning - not just a little bit of rudder to lose 50' on final). Wheel landings. Flying airliner-size circuits. Generally flying like an airliner, for example my lack of willingness to use full aileron deflection.
Basically, apart from the fact I hadn't been taught wheel landings, the main issue was that I was flying the Cub like a PA28 with the third wheel in the back. The Cub is a very different beast, and although it's quite happy to be flown the way that students are taught to fly PA28s, to restrict yourself to this style of flying prevents you from taking full advantage of the aircraft. And having the skill to fly it properly could well get you out of trouble in a cross-wind (and made some of the landings I did look easy, when I certainly would have ground-looped had I tried them without that training).
FFF
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PS - The training must have worked. When I got a few hours on the club's Aztec a month or so later, my instructor accused me of trying to fly the Aztec like a Cub - quite a change from being accused of flying the Cub like a 747!!!
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Years ago I was on holiday in Guernsey and hired a PA38 to tour the islands. On the check flight, landing back at Guernsey, I flared and did a fully held-off landing. The instructor wondered what the heck I was doing; "no need to pull it that far", he said.
Since the check had gone well (including a nice landing) and I didn't want to prolong it with 'demonstrations of how it should be done' I didn't argue, simply saying "it's because I fly taildraggers".
But I did note that his comment may indicate why we see so many snapped-off nosegears on tricycle aeroplanes in the AAIB reports every month.
SSD
Since the check had gone well (including a nice landing) and I didn't want to prolong it with 'demonstrations of how it should be done' I didn't argue, simply saying "it's because I fly taildraggers".
But I did note that his comment may indicate why we see so many snapped-off nosegears on tricycle aeroplanes in the AAIB reports every month.
SSD
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My old flying instructor, Tony Ryan, used to have me pull so hard on the yoke of the 150/152 I was training on that it used to feel like the panel was going to be wrenched onto my lap. He knew that I was going straight on to the family Cub, as soon as I had my PPL, so he really drummed the tail-down hold-off thing into me.
Interesting to watch other, non-Ryan, students skimming onto the ground at high speed, then all but tipping on their noses with the faintest gust of wind or (self-induced) swerve on the runway. The wheelbarrow boys...
Tony's instruction must have been good, because my tailwheel and type conversion (courtesy of my father) was two hour-long dual sessions. My first solo flights in the L-4 followed a further quarter hour of dual, during which I still didn't break anything!
Interesting to watch other, non-Ryan, students skimming onto the ground at high speed, then all but tipping on their noses with the faintest gust of wind or (self-induced) swerve on the runway. The wheelbarrow boys...
Tony's instruction must have been good, because my tailwheel and type conversion (courtesy of my father) was two hour-long dual sessions. My first solo flights in the L-4 followed a further quarter hour of dual, during which I still didn't break anything!
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Northants School of Flying at Sywell have an excellent 90hp Super-Cub, and excellect Instructors. Accomodation on the airfield is not as cheap as at Clacton, but is very good.
Kingy I'm based at Rush Green (under Lutons approach) and this is where the Auster is slowly getting put back together after her Star Annual. Once she's up and running again we can arrane a meet.
Not so N, but still FG
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I did my tailwheel conversion on an L4 cub (although my first taildragger "landing" was on a Tiger Moth), and greatly enjoyed flying theCub. I had just bought an aerobatic tailwheel aircraft with two friends, both of whom are instructors with zillions of taildragging hours, and they recommended that I check out on the Cub first, as, they saif, it shows more pronounced and "generic" taildragger characteritics than some other types. I would echo the recommendation that you find an instructor who is a tailwheeel pilot, rather than an instructor with a tailwheel checkout, to show you how it's done. Have fun.
Join Date: May 2002
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Ther's a J3 Cub at the Rural Flying Corps at Bourn. The instructor is Lindsey Brown Has a great reputation, I think he is an Instructors instrutor, and a taildragger pilot.
http://www.rfcbourn.flyer.co.uk/
CC
http://www.rfcbourn.flyer.co.uk/
CC
