How to land a tailwheel (wheel landing) – Sporty's flight training tips with Patty Wagstaff

what goes up must come down now that you've taken off you'll have to land when landing the weight of the airplane is being transferred from the wings to the wheels the goal is to do this in a smooth elegant fashion touching down just a few knots above stall speed so you're being kind to your tires wheels and landing gear there are two main methods for landing a tail wheel aircraft the three-point landing and the wheel landing in either one the idea is to touch down in the correct attitude with no yaw or drift and to keep the airplane going straight on the roll out without any side load on the landing gear you'll be required to demonstrate both landing methods to earn a tail wheel endorsement if you're lucky enough to be landing on a smooth grass runway you'll find this to be the ideal surface texture it's hard to make a bad landing on grass it's beautiful and forgiving and slows the landing roll out making all landings feel like perfection the three-point landing is just like it sounds and is accomplished by touching all three wheels down at the same time the wheel landing is accomplished by touching down first on the mains in a level or near level attitude after which the tail is gently lowered to the ground some manufacturers recommend that certain aircraft only be landed one way read your airplane's poh for manufacturer stipulation or design limitations wheel landings give better forward visibility put less wear on the tail wheel assembly and are often considered the best technique for landing in a crosswind or gusty conditions because of the additional rudder authority on touchdown a wheel landing is made when you land on the main gear rather than touch all three wheels at the same time when first learning these we suggest a tail low method this is easier than trying to plant the mains on the ground in a flat or level attitude and you're less apt to bounce the landing for a tail low wheel landing you will touch down on the mains with the tail wheel very close to the ground and then gently push the stick forward to raise the tail in a wheel landing because you don't initially have tail wheel steering it's very important to keep a little bit of power on so you have more rudder authority regardless of the technique used to wheel land the mass of the tail upon touchdown will tend to bob down causing an immediate increase to the wing's angle of attack and this can cause a bounce common with the wheel landing to alleviate this event a perfectly timed gentle push on the stick as needed as the mains touch the runway line up with the center line establish a controlled steady descent to the runway at about 150 feet per minute with the nose slightly below the horizon make small progressive power reductions with the power slightly above idle prior to touchdown just before your touchdown point level off slightly nose high with the ailerons neutral and use your rudder to make small corrections to keep the airplane tracking straight ahead trim is necessary hold the airplane in the landing attitude and continue to use your rudders for small corrections as you wait for the ground to come up to you you should touch down on the mains with the tail wheel slightly low the instant the wheels touch gently add some forward pressure to raise the tail to an almost level attitude as you bring the power to idle anticipate the nose going right so lead with your left foot and gently let the tail wheel lower until it makes ground contact at the same time bring the stick all the way back let the airplane decelerate before applying brakes directional control may be managed by carefully applying differential braking you

Channel: Sporty's Pilot Shop

Views: 140,315

Keywords: tailwheel, flying, airplane, aviation, pilot, training, flight, aviator, patty wagstaff, alaska, bush, fly

Id: D7N-vWLGNSk

Length: 4min 21sec (261 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 12 2022