Tailwheel, or conventional landing gear, flying is more demanding than flying a tricycle gear
airplane because the geometry of a tailwheel airplane's landing gear is less stable than that
of a nosewheel airplane.
Does it sound too tough for a beginner? Does it sound scary? It's not when you
consider that thousands of people learned to fly in Cubs, Champs and Stearmans. Learning
to fly a taildragger is a lot like learning to drive a manual transmission: If you learn
the manual first, it's easy to go to the automatic transmission later. Learn to fly a
taildragger first, and nosewheel airplanes are a piece of cake. It's no more difficult
to learn from the beginning and the pilot skills developed will be much better.
Pilots that learned to fly in tricycle gear airplanes and then converted to flying taildraggers
have been compared to having undergone a religious conversion.
Taildragger converts seem to have a different gait to their walk. These converted fliers
say they are more aware of the feel of an airplane. Many say they finally understand
the proper application of rudder. Are these perceptions true? Have taildragger
pilots discovered something worth knowing?
Many pilots receiving tailwheel endorsements in their logbooks were seeking to challenge and
improve their flying skills - they have taken their stick and rudder skills to a higher level.
At the same time, they're experiencing some "old fashioned" fun flying.
As my father always told me, if you're going to do something, do it right. If you're going
to make an investment in something, get the best, you'll appreciate the better quality.
Never short change your education as you'll regret it someday when it's too late. That's
why I chose to learn to fly in a taildragger.