Taildraggers and turmoil

[Neal]

https://generalaviationnews.com/2025/02/07/taildraggers-and-turmoil/

 

[Waldom]

Conventional gear aircraft have ground handling characteristics that are less tolerant of poor pilot technique than tricycle gear aircraft. Their geometry also makes them more susceptible to nose over accidents. It is certainly true that they suffer a greater percentage per airframes involved in LOC-G accidents than tricycle gear aircraft do.

I do think the article missed a bigger point that the researchers weren't looking at. In pure numbers, and by their own declaration, two thirds of LOC-G accidents happen in tricycle gear aircraft.

In my opinion, the majority of these accidents were caused by substandard pilot ability. This is ultimately caused by the dismal quality of basic airmanship displayed by way too many flight instructors. This situation is self propagating, because these instructors are being taught to fly by others who were never made to master the basics. You can hardly be expected to teach students to fly properly if you don't know how to do that yourself.

I have given checkouts to a number or pilots with no previous conventional gear experience in a variety of tailwheel airplanes, sixteen of which did that in a Beech 18. Those that had good quality primary instruction had little trouble mastering the control of conventional gear airplanes. Their ability was obvious when their flying was always coordinated, they never touched down with any drift, and they did that within 12 inches of the centerline. Those pilots that couldn't do that in the beginning took a lot more effort to teach. Basically, they had to be retaught to fly before they were taught to fly an airplane with a tailwheel. They were done a disservice by their primary instructors.

There is already a long list of items to be checked in the Airman Certification Standards for a Flight Instructor practical test. There should be three more specifically added to them. The ability to never let the slip/skid ball exceed one half width unless a slip is required and to make every landing on the centerline with no drift should be demonstrated. Perhaps these requirements could supplant a few other items in the A.C.S. I disagree with the researcher's recommendation of enhanced training for tailwheel pilots. Instead, it is flight instructors that need the enhanced training.