Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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#1852661
Excellent Chippy trip this afternoon. Flying the Chippy is really starting to click now. Nearly nailed the take off, just need to let her fly off the ground when she wants too....its just getting that judgement I think....and not bouncing!

Landings were much improved too. I'm a bit impatient to flare at the mo and therefore some landings are firm.... but i'm now keeping to the centre line on landing....!

Need to nail the speed on approach. But finding my way around the cockpit is much easier, and i'm using the carb air successfully now too. Its certainly coming :D
kanga, PA28, Lockhaven and 7 others liked this
#1854149
Another good hour Chippy flying and its really starting to click.

Take off, rudder use and climb out really coming on, need to get more fluent in downwind checks and the really short runway at Wickenby doesnt help that! Still tend to fly the finals turn a bit like I do in the grob, so that needs sorting, as does the speed and nose attitude.

Landings are improving every time - not quite so Harrier like now...or at least my FI hasnt said they are! :lol: Still need to get what a chippy nose attitude looks like when landing.....
Still, its all moving forward.

Flew around the local area a bit too to get my bearings over North Lincs. Flew over Stenigot CH radar tower and old RAF Ludford Magna and its three Thor missile launching sites which are still very much there. Its great to see the RAF historical sites from the air...an added bonus of having Lincolnshire as ones aviating home!

https://historicengland.org.uk/services-skills/education/educational-images/chain-home-transmitter-tower-raf-stenigot-donnington-on-bain-8886

https://www.abct.org.uk/airfields/airfield-finder/ludford-magna/
kanga, Highland Park liked this
#1854158
Hazel C wrote: Still need to get what a chippy nose attitude looks like when landing.....

Really glad you're enjoying it. If you don't mind me sticking my oar in, one of the tricks for tailwheel landings is when you are lined up on the runway ready for take off, have a really good look at where the horizon is relative to the canopy/cowling/panel/fuselage. Maybe even reach out & touch the canopy or some part of the panel that is in line with the horizon. Mentally mark that point on the canopy or panel.

If you intend to do a 3 pointer, you should round out & then hold off until that point is slightly higher above the horizon than before you took off (the undercarriage will be slightly compressed when the weight is on the wheels, uncompressed when in the air.) If you intend to do a wheeler then the point you marked before take off is the max attitude you should hold off to.
Hazel C liked this
#1854160
Many thanks for that L&S,

GReat advice! One of my Chippy flying friends said that the time to land is when the coaming is on the horizon, which I guess is pretty much the same thing....

Yep, I do 3 pointers...i've never been taught the Wheeler.....

I'll try that next week and report back.... :D
By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1854162
I don't have much tailwheel experience, (a few hours dual in a Decathlon, likewise a Pitts S2A/B, and an hour in a Cub - all quite a long time ago now). Never soloed, but did do a fair few landings. I aimed to land in much the same way I land my Cheetah - hold off, and wait.

They all seemed to arrive on the ground three wheels at a time, more or less. It didn't seem very difficult. Was I just lucky?

Take-offs, mind you, I struggled with. The whole stick forward thing really did my head in. 'All over the place' wouldn't be a million miles from reality.
Hazel C liked this
#1854165
Take-offs, mind you, I struggled with. The whole stick forward thing really did my head in. 'All over the place' wouldn't be a million miles from reality.


Ahh, I actually think I have the hang of taildragger take offs now! Once I realised that stick forward = tail up, it made a lot more sense...wait till the nose is flat and you can see the hedge....then 40-55kts and she wants to fly off.....

Now I am getting more capacity in my head for Chippy flying, things are coming a bit easier.... that bloomin' carb air lever though... :lol: :lol:
By TopCat
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1854168
Hazel C wrote:Ahh, I actually think I have the hang of taildragger take offs now! Once I realised that stick forward = tail up, it made a lot more sense

Well yes. But I was always scared of pushing too hard and stuffing the prop into the ground. That and the years of starting Grumman takeoff runs with stick back, and I ended up not pushing hard enough, so it was squirreling about rather embarrassingly before it came free of the ground. :oops:
Hazel C liked this
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By Dave W
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1854170
I was partially cured of that by my tailwheel instructor standing me outside the empty aircraft, with the stationary prop vertical, and lifting the tail* to show how far it needs to go before the prop arc is close to the ground.

I've seen that demonstrated for a number of typical GA tailwheel types now, and the aircraft gets to a long way past the horizontal before there is a concern.


*I appreciate that this may be easier said than done for some types that have significant weight on the tailwheel.
TopCat, Hazel C liked this
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By foxmoth
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1854225
Dave W wrote:I was partially cured of that by my tailwheel instructor standing me outside the empty aircraft, with the stationary prop vertical, and lifting the tail* to show how far it needs to go before the prop arc is close to the ground.

I've seen that demonstrated for a number of typical GA tailwheel types now, and the aircraft gets to a long way past the horizontal before there is a concern.


*I appreciate that this may be easier said than done for some types that have significant weight on the tailwheel.


Something I do myself with a suitable aircraft - I think you might struggle with a Chippie!

that bloomin' carb air lever though... :lol: :lol:

The Crabs always used to wire them hot!
Flyin'Dutch' liked this
#1854227
On the Van's a good few notches of down trim and the tail will lift and then it will fly off when ready with no joystick pushing required, just held loosely near neutral.

Rob P
#1854239
The Crabs always used to wire them hot!


So I am told..... it may be useful to do that in this one! :lol: :lol:

few notches of down trim and the tail will lift and then it will fly off when ready with no joystick pushing required, just held loosely near neutral.


Thats interesting Rob, i'm learning that not all taildraggers are the same. All have their quirks. The C140 was stick all the way back for a short field take off technique, then slowly to neutral.

The Chippy is start in neutral then gradually push the stick forward to lift the tail off.....
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