Pietenpol-List: Flying Stories - Tail skids & hard surface
Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2003 12:08 am
Original Posted By: "Christian Bobka"
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Flying Stories - Tail skids & hard surfaceI just gotta share some of my flying stories with y'all (most of them are true), as well as some of the lessons I've learned. Flying a 'Low & Slow' airplane cross country is absolutely the best way to see this beautiful country we live in, and meet so many people...it's a realattention getter at the FBO's. Don't tell me this ain't no cross country airplane, cause I don't wanna hear about it. On the return trip, someone asked"Well, how many hours did it take to get there ?" I replied "When you fly a Pietenpol on a cross country, you don't measure time in hours, you measure it in days !!" After a good heart felt laugh, they gathered themselves back together and asked "OK, well how many days did it take you to get there ?" Ireplied with a grin "Three !!" Tail Skids, and hard surface runways:I have always flown off the grass runways, no brakes, and the tail skid performs very well on the grass. Simplicity at it's finest, and much less weightback at the tail. Stick forward, add power, and just rudder it around...no worries. I got the brakes operational just a week before Brodhead, but didn'thave time to get a tail wheel done. Well, when ya try to land a tail skid on ahard surface runway, ya really gotta spit your gum out, and pay attention !! My first one, was on the second leg of my trip. I did four hard surface landings during my adventure to Brodhead / Oshkosh adventure, and each time I almost lost it on roll out - maybe 20 or 15 mph down to zero mph. I learned thatany slight breeze will push the tail around, and with the engine at idle - no prop wash, she just doesn't pay any attention to where the rudder is, and the tail just goes wherever the wind tells it to. When I left, I thought I could just use a touch of brake in this situation, and everything would be cool...BigMistake...BIG BIG MISTAKE !! Example: When she's headed to the right side of the edge of the runway, I just lightly stabbed the left brake to keep it oncourse down the runway. Well, this got 'er pointed back on course, but it also brought the tail up upbruptly, and then it did a double bounce back down.Adding power takes a second or two, for the prop wash to reach the rudder. Onmy second hard surface landing, I just let 'er go to the grass off the side of the runway...I think she was just letting me know she likes it there much more !! Each time, I had visions of either nosing over, or doing a ground loop. So...THAT'S why I was the only one there at Brodhead with a tail skid !!When I landed at Oshkosh in front of all those people, and as I was doing thisdance down the runway, ATC was saying to me "Red high wing, exit runway...as soon as you can..."So... the morale of this story, is 'Entertainment is as close as my next landing'.Or...'Tail skids, and hard surface runways, just don't mix well'.Chuck GantzerNX770CGWichita, KS________________________________________________________________________________
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Flying Stories - Tail skids & hard surfaceI just gotta share some of my flying stories with y'all (most of them are true), as well as some of the lessons I've learned. Flying a 'Low & Slow' airplane cross country is absolutely the best way to see this beautiful country we live in, and meet so many people...it's a realattention getter at the FBO's. Don't tell me this ain't no cross country airplane, cause I don't wanna hear about it. On the return trip, someone asked"Well, how many hours did it take to get there ?" I replied "When you fly a Pietenpol on a cross country, you don't measure time in hours, you measure it in days !!" After a good heart felt laugh, they gathered themselves back together and asked "OK, well how many days did it take you to get there ?" Ireplied with a grin "Three !!" Tail Skids, and hard surface runways:I have always flown off the grass runways, no brakes, and the tail skid performs very well on the grass. Simplicity at it's finest, and much less weightback at the tail. Stick forward, add power, and just rudder it around...no worries. I got the brakes operational just a week before Brodhead, but didn'thave time to get a tail wheel done. Well, when ya try to land a tail skid on ahard surface runway, ya really gotta spit your gum out, and pay attention !! My first one, was on the second leg of my trip. I did four hard surface landings during my adventure to Brodhead / Oshkosh adventure, and each time I almost lost it on roll out - maybe 20 or 15 mph down to zero mph. I learned thatany slight breeze will push the tail around, and with the engine at idle - no prop wash, she just doesn't pay any attention to where the rudder is, and the tail just goes wherever the wind tells it to. When I left, I thought I could just use a touch of brake in this situation, and everything would be cool...BigMistake...BIG BIG MISTAKE !! Example: When she's headed to the right side of the edge of the runway, I just lightly stabbed the left brake to keep it oncourse down the runway. Well, this got 'er pointed back on course, but it also brought the tail up upbruptly, and then it did a double bounce back down.Adding power takes a second or two, for the prop wash to reach the rudder. Onmy second hard surface landing, I just let 'er go to the grass off the side of the runway...I think she was just letting me know she likes it there much more !! Each time, I had visions of either nosing over, or doing a ground loop. So...THAT'S why I was the only one there at Brodhead with a tail skid !!When I landed at Oshkosh in front of all those people, and as I was doing thisdance down the runway, ATC was saying to me "Red high wing, exit runway...as soon as you can..."So... the morale of this story, is 'Entertainment is as close as my next landing'.Or...'Tail skids, and hard surface runways, just don't mix well'.Chuck GantzerNX770CGWichita, KS________________________________________________________________________________