Is tailwheel endorsement really necessary?

[dardar]

i've flown a lot of airplanes. especially for the time i have. the sewer tube (sa227) was a pretty difficult plane to land, but the hardest was a piper tripacer with a tailwheel conversion. by far the hardest to land

did getting the tailwheel help me in my career progression at all? no, but it was fun. the only people that seem to care about tailwheel experience are the old timers, and they aren't the ones interviewing you.

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Completely worthless. Much rather be rolling in plush leather luxury of a G-1000-equipped Cessna Skyhawk 172SP. Aww yeah! Who would want to waste their time in something obsolete like a taildragger? I bet they don't even have GPS.

I can only hope you are being sarcastic.

I remember a kid who already knew everything try flying the Citabria
with me as the instructor. Wasn't interested in the ground schooling
about ground loops, and landing techniques. After his 3rd try he gave
up. As he walked away, he muttered that he didn't need to fly an old
fabric airplane since his daddy would get him a job at TWA.

I prefer an old dope and rag no radio, NO GPS, no electrical, and
biological starter.

It makes you a better pilot. Period.

CE

 

[Say Again Over]

(sa227) was a pretty difficult plane to land by dardar

No harder than a Cessna 210.

 

[Tram]

Needed? Nah.. but it sure is fun.

 

[hydroflyer]

but the hardest was a piper tripacer with a tailwheel conversion.

I thought the Pacer came first, and the tripacer was a pacer with the nose wheel conversion. Am I mistaken?

The tailwheel endorsement is on my wishlist of things to get, especially since I would eventually like to own an old taildragger. To me stick and rudder flying with a tailwheel is a more pure form of flying, back to basics. Technology is nice, but sometimes the basics is a nice break. Perhaps what will influence your decision about the endorsement is the availability to fly a tailwheel plane after the endorsement. They are getting harder to find for flight training and especially rental.

 

[UndauntedFlyer]

It's really hard for me to believe that young people graduate with a college DEGREE IN AVIATION as a pilot and they can not land three-quarters of the airplanes at Oshkosh.

Any such program should include a tailwheel checkout and a 10-hour course in aerobatics.

 

[VNugget]

I thought the Pacer came first, and the tripacer was a pacer with the nose wheel conversion. Am I mistaken?

He's probably talking about the history of the particular airplane he flew.

I can only hope you are being sarcastic.

Only on days that end with Y. I fully share your thoughts on the matter. Take a look at my profile.

 

[VNugget]

It's really hard for me to believe that young people graduate with a college DEGREE IN AVIATION as a pilot and they can not land three-quarters of the airplanes at Oshkosh.

Any such program should include a tailwheel checkout and a 10-hour course in aerobatics.

Hell, I know one where you don't have to ever set foot in an airplane.

Sometimes I wish I'd listen to Pilotyip

 

[A Squared]

I thought the Pacer came first, and the tripacer was a pacer with the nose wheel conversion. Am I mistaken?

If you mean that all tri-pacers are pacers which have been retrofitted with nosewheels, yes, you are mistaken. The tri-pacer was an actual factory model, the PA-22 (The Pacer is a PA-20) It is not uncommon for people to convert a PA-22 to a PA-20. the conversion is very simple.

 

[RightPedal]

My first twenty hours of conventional gear was a C-170. That thing will teach a person what not to do in an airplane on the ground. The next hundred or so was a piper J3 and she taught me how to fly. Then came fifty or so in the spring gear citabria. That thing lets one know what it's like to be a basketball. Then I spent the next thousand hours in a maule with some evil minded cone tail luscombe time thrown in. Stearman, oh yeah, right back to the question of, am I a pilot or a passenger. After all that, an over gross 600hp ag-cat working off a dirt road was childs play.
Does a conventional gear endorsement do anything for you. You want to be a pilot or just somebody with a ticket?