TAIL DRAGGER TRAINING

In my opinion the Luscombe is one of the finest little airplanes ever built--and built for stout they are! Here is an original Luscombe factory advertisement showing off the 6.5 negative G strength of their product.   

Luscombe factory photo 1

Our 1950 Luscombe 8F is the last model this classic aircraft. Improvements include flaps, wing fuel tanks and dual brakes.

18B view right rear flaps extended18B cockpit through rt door

 

This sensitive airplane will teach you the finer points of tail wheel flying skills. It will prepare you for whatever scary stick and rudder stuff lies ahead for you; crop dusting, bush flying, banner towing or sport flying.

Here are a few of the other tail wheel-equipped airplanes I have flown or owned during my 28,000 + hours flying career: (I loved most of them)

                                                                                                       jm and 1177B front view

  Sacramento Sky Ranch 1960        

Fire Patrol in'41 Luscombe 

First job in 1941 Luscombe

                                Ryan-1

   PT-19

 

                                                          

I leased my Cessna 180 to Bridgeford Flying Service, South Lake Tahoe for awhile in 1964

 

C46-1

Interior Airways, Fairbanks, Alaska 1965                

 

JM and Stinson

Me and my Stinson at H & H Flying Service, Redding, CA during 1966

 

Glider at ESP-1

Enterprise Sky Park, Redding, CA 1968  to '72 off and on......

Aeronca at ESP-1

Enterprise Sky Park, Redding, CA

Pawnee Piper Pawnee -first Ag flying job with Chuck Stangle "Mid Valley Dusters," Lovelock, NV

 

Mid Valley's Stearman

                                                   Stangle's Stearman-1

 

Gary's Stearman-1

Flying Gary Hendrickson's 450 Stearman for "Boomer Bob" Nelson near Esparto, CA 1973. The aircraft was hangared at Vacaville glider port.

 


Agair at Eagle Field, San Joaquin Valley, CA 1974 to 1977. The duties included night applications.



                               JM helment face                               Thrush at Hoag Strip

 

                                                                                                                                              

Aero Union Corporation copilot in B-17G Fire Bomber in the '70'sB-17 CHESTER                                                                                                                             i
   
                                                                                Agtruck at Willows     

           

 

                                            N-3-N 7-16-76 JM

 

N-3-N prop   Navy N-3-N-3 at Chico, CA

 

Ag Pilot card

                                     JM 170B     

 

 Tail dragging at Sugarpine Aviators    170B newspaper add                              Wanted              

 

          94V right front    Sugarpine Aviators former Cessna 140 trainer

1950 Luscombe 8F - a true thoroughbred!

                                                   Luscombe 8F right side

 

You get the idea; I have had the opportunity to fly lots of different tail wheel-equipped aircraft. My sense is that the Luscombe can prepare you for most tail wheel-like characteristics. Of course there are many differences between large and small machines, puny and powerful, some heavy on the controls, some very light--but for some reason when I first tried my hand at taking off a 48,000 pound C-46 from a gravel strip on the North Slope, the captain was almost annoyed that I had no trouble keeping it straight!
You might be "good-to-go" in a Piper Cub, but without further training, you would most likely roll a Luscombe up into a ball! A big difference is in the rudder and elevator sensitivity of the Luscombe

. Another is the 8F's long thin wing that stalls quietly and all at once along its entire length as opposed to the "shake, rattle and roll" of most airplanes.

I PROPOSE THE FOLLOWING TRAINING PLAN OF ACTION FOR THE PILOT WITH NO TAIL WHEEL TRAINING:

 10 Hours - then let's see how close you are to an official Tail Wheel Endorsement.

... come and see me and I'll work to bring the bush pilot out in you...    Johnny Moore

 


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