Warbird Information Exchange

I received a call from a guy that needs a tailwheel checkout in a "vagabond". I have flown most of the Pipers but none of the "short wings". It has an 85hp. engine, dual controls and brakes on the left side only. Would appreciate any information or pointers on this airplane.

Well he called me tonight and said he broke something on the airplane yesterday. He said he was fast taxiing and the tail came up and a brake locked.
Looks like it will be a couple of weeks before it's ready to fly again.

Why do people insist on doing high speed taxis in airplanes? Especially taildraggers??? I'd be willing to bet that more planes have been damaged by high speed taxiing than just flying it like it's supposed to.

I hope the airplane wasn't damaged too badly.

Gary

Why do people always have an excuse for a ground loop. Just admit you screwed up..............it's not the airplanes fault!

I agree. More antique taildraggers get dinged with a new pilot trying fast taxiing. Just fly it.

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President National Waco Club
Curator for the Waco Historical Society Air Museum
Writer for VINTAGE AIRPLANE, SKYWAYS, BARNSTORMERS.COM EFLYER

Very true!
Nothing like a mistake that you live through (and don't damage the aircraft) to keep you on your toes ever after!
It'd be nice if we had some old-style round grass fields to let newbies learn in - preferably in something somewhat old, and a little temperamental, but reasonably safe.

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

Agreed. We are supposed to try again to fly in two weeks and I'll try to find out what happened.
Just a guess, but it sounds like maybe the airplane was delivered. maybe the seller took him up in it and then left him with it on his grass strip. He probably couldn't stand the anticipation anymore and decided to do some fast taxiing. One of the worst things you can do is to raise the tail too early before the elevator has enough authorityl. He probably overcontrolled it untillhe ran out off rudder/brakes.
I'll bet you a beer the cost of repairs exceeds any costs he spends on his checkout!

I flew a Vagabond with the O-145 Lycoming engine and the basketball tires (no shock struts). I had a bunch of Luscombe time so I didn't have a problem with landing it, but it did fly a bit odd. You could pull back on the wheel on the downwind (slow cruise) and induce an accellerated stall (lots of buffeting) but remain under control. I think a novice pilot could get a heck of a sink rate going if he got too slow on short final. It was realy bouncy on landing and was prone to porpoising, at least with those tires. I understand some Vagabonds did have shock struts and may have landed quite differently. The level of difficulty in my opinion was the same as a Luscombe, but it did not fly anything like a Luscombe. This was about 20 years ago, so I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. The Lycoming eventually sucked a valve and I think the owner replaced it with a Continental.

Thanks for the input. It has about 6 feet less wing than a J-3 althougth they share a lot of the same parts. It has 85hp. So my guess is that it will be quicker on the controls, less climb rate, higher sink rate and with the shorter fuselage it is easier to , like you said, get a high sink rate going on landing.
The flight manual only costs 5 bucks and is only 6 pages! They had two types of gear available and I bet the oleo struts are the preferred one. I also ordered the parts manual which is 5 bucks.