JMBreitinger
Registered User
Minneapolis, MN
Thanks to all who replied to my earlier post. It will likely come as no surprise that there was nothing wrong with my airplane.
After being suitably humbled, I re-read The Compleat Taildragger Pilot and ventured out on my own. I stuck mainly to grass and found that I could get the airplane to do almost exactly what I wanted. Mike Vivion's advice about breaking the corrections into three parts helped immensely. I did eight wheel landings and a dozen three point landings, practiced high speed taxiing and generally had a great time.
Coming home to the asphalt kept me from feeling too comfortable. It is amazing how differently the airplane behaves on this less forgiving surface. I would not have believed it without the experience.
The best thing was cruising low and slow. It is really amazing what one sees when cruising at 700' AGL at 92 MPH. There was not a lot to look at inside the plane so I spent much more time than I am accustom to looking around on the ground. I saw an incredible amount of game through the leafless trees. I am already seeing the world through different eyes. I never realized how many grass strips there still are around here.
My favorite mod is the music input that we installed with our new intercom. Since there is generally no one to talk to while cruising around low and slow in rural areas, I had my iPod pumping out my favorite music.
There is no question in my mind that the Citabria was much easier to handle on the ground. Looking at the two airplanes side by side, one can see that the landing gear geometry is different. Once I got my head right, I found the Super Cub to be vastly more fun -- more solid and more responsive -- but, for me, less forgiving.
After being suitably humbled, I re-read The Compleat Taildragger Pilot and ventured out on my own. I stuck mainly to grass and found that I could get the airplane to do almost exactly what I wanted. Mike Vivion's advice about breaking the corrections into three parts helped immensely. I did eight wheel landings and a dozen three point landings, practiced high speed taxiing and generally had a great time.
Coming home to the asphalt kept me from feeling too comfortable. It is amazing how differently the airplane behaves on this less forgiving surface. I would not have believed it without the experience.
The best thing was cruising low and slow. It is really amazing what one sees when cruising at 700' AGL at 92 MPH. There was not a lot to look at inside the plane so I spent much more time than I am accustom to looking around on the ground. I saw an incredible amount of game through the leafless trees. I am already seeing the world through different eyes. I never realized how many grass strips there still are around here.
My favorite mod is the music input that we installed with our new intercom. Since there is generally no one to talk to while cruising around low and slow in rural areas, I had my iPod pumping out my favorite music.
There is no question in my mind that the Citabria was much easier to handle on the ground. Looking at the two airplanes side by side, one can see that the landing gear geometry is different. Once I got my head right, I found the Super Cub to be vastly more fun -- more solid and more responsive -- but, for me, less forgiving.
