Building skills to fly Warbirds

[Saville]

In another post, someone mentioned that their dream is to fly a real Mustang. Well that's my dream as well.
Other warbirds would be fun, of course, but the absolute goal is a P-51 solo. Such things don't come easily, but you know about the first step in the thousand mile journey......

In answer to that post I listed my Master Plan, which is:

Get PPL (Done)
Get Tail Dragger endorsement (Done)
Get Complex Airplane Endorsement (Almost done - couple more lessons)

After this comes:

Aerobatics! (what fun that will be - provided I don't barf)
High Powered Endorsement
Multi-engine (I've heard this helps in handling high powered warbirds even though they are singles)

AT-6 instruction

P-51 instruction.....


Coincident with all of this is getting my IFR ticket and lots and lots of hours.....


The PPL was fairly straightforward...did it in a Cessna 152. From there I upgraded immediately to a Piper Warrior. Getting the Complex in a Piper Arrow.

The Tail Dragger, though, was a different universe and I found it fascinating and pleasant to be thrown back into an earlier era of flying..........

Part I:

I drove to Hampton New Hampshire, where you can get a
tailwheel endorsement. There, I was introduced to my CFI and the J-3 Piper Cub.

I really couldn't stop smiling. I was in a different universe from the Beverly Ma. airport I normally do my flying in what with a tower, biz jets on the line, and a flight sim for IFR training etc.

Here, at Hampton Airport there was a 2000 foot dirt strip, a shack, with the paint peeling off, holding the training office and a cafe, and an interesting collection of aircraft.

To get to my Cub I walked across the runway ....that's what I was told to do - I asked if that was really ok.

Sure.

I was shown how to preflight the thing. different but not different - I mean never before had I had to thump flying wires for sound.

I'm shown the procedure for hand propping, and I get in and the CFI props the plane. Also a trifle different from turning the key.

The other thing you notice is the instrumentation: Whereas with the Warrior you have this vast wall of instruments on the panel - complete with dual radios and dual nav comms, with the J-3 you get.....

4

Airspeed, alt, tach, compass. Oh, well, you also have oil pressure and temp.

One solos from the rear seat. My particular plane was built for the Army in early WWII so the backseat had a great birdcage and the visibility was fantastic.

Mags? upper left ceiling

Carb heat? To the right of the front seater.

Want to turn on the carb heat?

Pull on the string tied to it.

Want to shut it off? loosen your shoulder harness and lean WAAAAAAAY forward... (I think I'm going to bring a backscratcher with me next time so I can keep my harness tight).

Elevator trim? To the left of the front seater..lean forward to adjust and DON'T let your shoulder hit the throttle when you crank it (like I did twice).

Taxiing: ahhh yes we're getting into P-51ness here....gentle S turns as you all know. But don't push too hard on the rudder or you pop the tailwheel out of detente and the pedals no longer turn the tailwheel. Took a few tries to figure that out.

Get to the end of the runway, runup, line up.

Hey! I can't see nuthin'!

"Ok take off," says the CFI.

Now this is the way god meant us to fly- stick in the right hand and throttle in the left. I gun it and off we go. It's no Merlin but I can feel it in the future.... Nothing to a takeoff but then - we had maybe 3 kts wind.

Some familiarization..turns first. Do a steep turn.

For a split second I hesitate. Huh? There's no AI? How am I to know when I get to 45 degrees? I shrug and guess.

Not a bad guess but this is no Warrior or C152.....RUDDER! this thing
has REAL adverse yaw. Couple turns later I have that down. Some stalls - you can really feel the controls mush out on you.

And now the CFI directs me to this private strip where he takes newbies to get a lot of taxi practice. I land - not totally awful but not great.

Back and forth I taxi. The field has an upgrade and on the high end there is a 30-40 foot, very steep hill. Great sledding hill. Two old guys standing on top of the hill watching me and smiling. After I get the taxi thing down the CFI takes it and guns her up the hill. I wondered why........ The two old men smile and wave.

He spins it around and says, "Ok take off."

WHAT?

Down the hill?

Yeah.

But the wind sock puts the wind on our tail! Yeah but that's better than trying to take off on an upgrade with the hill in front of you. I thought about suggesting we start at the bottom of the hill but, instead.....

I gun it and tip the thing over the cliff, down the hill and up into the air. Seems we made it ok.

Now I thought I was centered on the runway during the t/o roll but the CFI told me to keep it centered - meaning I wasn't. So I'll have to look more closely on either side.

We head back to Hampton, get into the pattern, I pull the throttle back, pull on the carby heat string, start cranking that darned elev trim - hitting the throttle with my shoulder - bring it in to a real
bouncer. But we make it in one piece.

I'll be working on those landings I guess ;^)

Anyhow that's what it's like. My landings sucked but then this is why I'm doing this. I'm now 1.3 hours closer to that P-51....

[Saville]

This is the J-3 I did most of my flying in to get the TD
endorsement. It was built in 1941 for the US Army - note the birdcage over the after seat - GREAT visibility. So I guess one coudl say I've flown a Warbird ;^)





Here are a couple photos I took while on climbout - it was a gas to
fly with the door open. Reminded me of my brainless skydiving days in
college:

Last edited by Saville on Fri Jul 15, 2005 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Saville]

Well I took my second hop in the venerable J-3. Now, it had been 2
weeks since my first ride (holidays get in the way of serious
business), and while I couldn't fly I could think things over.

First on the list was just exactly HOW does this "detente" tailwheel
system work? First time I was popping the thing out of detent on a
regular basis. And yet one would think that you could give the wheel
full rudder pedal and not break out.

Well, you can - ONCE you come to understand that it's a turning
rate/momentum thing and not a pedal travel thing. So this time, after
the hand prop and warmup I trundled the plane out of the revetment in
the woods ( can't let any marauding ME-109's see us), up the dirt road
and onto the runway..across the runway and down the taxiway. S-turning
and keeping things nice and sedate.

No detent popping. ALRIGHT.

So on the first takeoff I get an object lesson on operating from grass
fields in late fall:

bumps.

Bumps big enough to throw you into the air and make you think you are
flying..when you are not. Bumps that rattle your teeth. Well I soon
learn to keep it down until you have a good deal of airspeed and then
pick her up - bumps or no bumps.

We stay pretty much in the pattern and on the first circuit I got to
see some Relativity.....As we were waiting to take off a C152 had
aborted a landing and continued in the pattern. We took off and I got
to watch the relative speed difference.

the 152 lands and pulls off the runway while I'm midfield downwind. I
take care to keep the truck park off to my left - as per CFI
suggestion as an indicator of pattern size.

Now compared to the Piper Warrior world from whence I came, patterns
are much smaller so things move much faster. Especially when opposite
the numbers, you have to throttle back, bleed off speed, crank in 13
turns on the J-3 trim, and make your turn to base. For me, that
cranking deal requires that I lean over and to the left - kind of an
odd posture in which to fly. At the same time you are trying to look
out for other airplanes, your nose attitude, etc.

base....final.....and it's now that the CFI warns you of a "sinker"
just off the threshold in wind conditions. Goose the throttle - not
too much....

Not a bad landing but not great. At least no bouncing.

Pull onto the taxiway and there in front of me is the 152. I get to
follow him down to the end of the runway and NOW for the first time I
get to see how S-turning works when there's something in front of you
and how, for an instant or so the line of sight to the C152 is
blocked. last time I went, nothing was flying.

I'm told that in the summer there's cars, donkey wagons, bikes and
whatall all over the airport.

We did 3 , 3 pt landings. MUCH better than last lesson, still have a
long way to go. I have to learn to dance on those rudders. Somewhat
problematical when my feet are wedged between the front seat and the
fabric fuselage...just push on through.

2.6 hours in and I'm beginning to see things I didn't before. But I'm
still "missing" a lot.

I notice "The Compleat Taildragger Pilot" on the bookshelf in the
shack - and buy one.

Beginning reading has a key phrase:

"..must have taken out ALL sideways velocity prior to contact with the
ground...."

Hmmmmmmmm

So much to learn...such a great time doing it.

[Saville]

Well this aspect of the skills building to solo a P-51 must take a
temporary stall:

Seems that even on blue sky days with only a whisper of wind, you
can't fly a J-3 when it's too cold out. The poor cylinders stuck out
in the breeze can't warm up and keeping oil temps high are
problematical. Saturday's lesson was canceled on just such a day.

So this will have to wait until the Spring. In the meantime there's
the IFR XC requirements to fulfill - Saturday was a perfect day for
that.

Be back in the Spring............

Well Spring sprang and I resumed my quest for the TD endorsement. It
was a rainy Spring but the grassy field at Hampton dries off fairly
well. So back I went.

Got a new instructor - must have frightened the other one away. I
picked up where I left off...nice takeoff and 20 minutes of
refamiliarization. Then back to the serious business of learning how
to land the beast.

We started with 3 points and it didn't take too long to get the feel
of those. There were small complications - such as hedging towards
the right hand side of the field so that you catch a low notch in the
treeline. And a tendency - at the other end of the field - for an
interesting wind flaw to drop you like an elevator. But once you come
to expect it, it's not too bad.

I'm making the 3 pointers pretty well and starting to get a little
cocky - "Ok how about some wheelies?"

I'm thinking to myself that most of what I've read about the Mustang
says that you wheel them on. So here is a skill I want to tackle.

Well humility sets in right away....2 pointers are a whole new
ballgame. True, you do get to see the runway for a bit longer. But
you better learn to grease them on. Fortunately grass is forgiving.

The book says once you touch, a bit of forward stick to keep the tail
up.

How much? I ask my instructor.

He shrugs - whatever it takes..... Not a very satisfying answer. But a
review of the book gives the clue:

the idea is to keep the fuselage fairly level, so the amount is partly
a function of your downward velocity.

Landing after landing...I try. And convert more than half of them to
3 pointers. I'm doing something wrong though I can't figure out what. When I try to
analyze each landing with the CFI he merely shrugs and says, "There's
no point in analyzing it. You just have to "get it"."

Not a very satisfying answer, I must say.

Landing after abominable landing. Each time, on Base I say to myself,
"You gotta do this and do it right. THIS is your Mustang."

Then suddenly the light begins to shine a trifle:

I'm rounding out too high. The bottom falls out of the airplane and
I'm too far off the ground. I feel it happening..and go to a 3
point. And even that sucks.

Next landing I hold it longer before rounding out. Screaming synapses
try to get me to pull up the nose but I hold it..THEN round out...

YES! it clicked. a nice wheely...then another..and another.

It was the end of the session but now I feel I have it knocked.

Next time I go back and they aren't quite so good, but I feel as if
I'm over some hump.

Time after that it all seems to click. Now EVERY landing is a wheely
and I'm loving this. But.....

there's the dreaded asphalt runway...........

Last edited by Saville on Thu Jul 14, 2005 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Saville]

All the time I'm taking my taildragger lessons the CFI is reminding me that I
have to get it all down letter perfect. For while the grass is very
forgiving, landing a tail dragger on asphalt is much more demanding
and a ground loop is a mere moment's lack of attention away.

We fly over to a local field for this operation which has fairly light traffic.

I overfly it once to see what the layout is like......

It's perched on a plateau, and lined with trees along both sides. The
one working windsock is at one end of the field..the other windsock
hangs in shreds and tatters roughly mid-field.

The working sock tells the story......90 degree crosswind.

Hmm well this'll be interesting. Last thing I notice is a buzzard
circling the "final approach" end of the runway....not a cheery omen that.....

We start in and I soon realize this field is the bitch-field from
hell. That plateau causes this big updraft of air - hence the circling
buzzard - that ends rapidly. So even if you have a nice stable
approach coming in, you are going to get shook, some. Immediately
afterward is that 90 degree crosswind.....

I try a few 3 pointers and it's almost back to Day One of my TD
lessons. They suck. I'm all over the runway. gun it..take off...land
it..that sucked..do it again....

The approaches were tough - this place was working me like mad. We
move on to wheelies and they are no better. Finally the plane and the
CFI had enough and it was time to head back. I was duly humbled once
more. The CFI noticed this and said, "This is as hard as it gets..you
get it down here and you can handle anything. Besides, your landings
are safe..we're just adding the polish."

Nice compliment but I wasn't buying it..I sucked.

We get back to Hampton and it's grassy friendly field and I execute a
perfect wheely...

Back we went, to that bitch-field from hell, two more times. I got
better each time. After the last trip, we come back and we land and the CFI
tells me to do it again. So I take off and do it again.

In the shack, we talk and after filling in the log for the flight I
see him flip towards the back of the logbook....to the tail wheel
endorsement page....

Today was the day.

I feel great about it but not spectacular - my asphalt landings need
work. But I smile as I know exactly where to get that work:

ACRO!

That will be in a Decathlon, on a hard surface runway. The school gets
you your TD endorsement with the 10 hour acro package. As I already have the
endorsement, I can work hard on my landing technique.....ruthelessly expose and
expunge every deficiency......

Another step closer to the Pony.....

[Cindy]

a couple tips that I've been given over the years by warbird pilots....

1 - get formation training (FAST certification). It helps build your skills and is a LOT of fun!

2 - Fly any and all types of planes that you get the opportunity to fly. Again, this will help build skills.

and for the record, I fly a T-6 (when I get the chance), have my tailwheel endorsement and have flown both aerobatics and formation

[Saville]

a couple tips that I've been given over the years by warbird pilots....

1 - get formation training (FAST certification). It helps build your skills and is a LOT of fun!

2 - Fly any and all types of planes that you get the opportunity to fly. Again, this will help build skills.

and for the record, I fly a T-6 (when I get the chance), have my tailwheel endorsement and have flown both aerobatics and formation

Hi Cindy,

Thanks for the tips. AS to formation flying:

I'm doing a cross country to Dayton Ohio to meet a Navy pilot/buddy of mine. When there, he's going to give me Formation flying training.

As I understand it, there's no endorsement for formation flying. But what FAST does is get you signed off for airshow work. So I may add FAST to my list but towards the end.

I fly anything I can get a chance to fly...the bigger the engine the better.

thanks

Saville

[NeilD]

thanks for posting this Saville - this kinda stuff is always interesting for us 'non-pilots' to read..
Neil.

[tgarrison]

Saville,

Yes thanks for posting that, it was a good read.

I do remember reading that you had trouble working the rudder pedals with the shoes you were wearing...I have quite a bit of J3 time, and i always wear those Hush Puppy shoes...My tennis shoes just wont work. Although it wont be an issue in the Decathlon, it may be something to think about if you ever fly a Cub again.

Also, you may want to ask your acro instructor if you can fly the Decathlon from the backseat some. It will be a little more blind than the Cub, because the front seat sits a little higher, but it will be good practice. Flying a taildragger and being able to see over the nose is cheating.

Good luck, and congrats!

thomas

[Saville]

Saville,

Yes thanks for posting that, it was a good read.

I do remember reading that you had trouble working the rudder pedals with the shoes you were wearing...I have quite a bit of J3 time, and i always wear those Hush Puppy shoes...My tennis shoes just wont work. Although it wont be an issue in the Decathlon, it may be something to think about if you ever fly a Cub again.

Also, you may want to ask your acro instructor if you can fly the Decathlon from the backseat some. It will be a little more blind than the Cub, because the front seat sits a little higher, but it will be good practice. Flying a taildragger and being able to see over the nose is cheating.

Good luck, and congrats!

thomas

Thomas,

Many thanks. And thanks for the tips.

I haven't looked at the Decathlon's W&B - can you solo it form the back seat?

I sort of agree with you that being able to see over the nose in a TD is cheating ;^)

Thanks again

Saville

[Saville]

thanks for posting this Saville - this kinda stuff is always interesting for us 'non-pilots' to read..
Neil.

Hi Neil,

Happy to oblige. I remember when I'd read an aviation book the writers were terribly interested in recounting non-aviation info in their travels..when what I really wanted was the mental physical and actual learning/flying experiences.

Saville

[tgarrison]

"I haven't looked at the Decathlon's W&B - can you solo it form the back seat?"

Nope, you have to solo it from the front. But the instructor may welcome the chance to sit up front for once! Never hurts to ask.

Thomas

[RyanShort1]

Well this aspect of the skills building to solo a P-51 must take a
temporary stall:

Seems that even on blue sky days with only a whisper of wind, you
can't fly a J-3 when it's too cold out. The poor cylinders stuck out
in the breeze can't warm up and keeping oil temps high are
problematical. Saturday's lesson was canceled on just such a day.

So this will have to wait until the Spring. In the meantime there's
the IFR XC requirements to fulfill - Saturday was a perfect day for
that.

Be back in the Spring............

Ah, the things us folks down south forget to be thankful for... almost year round flying weather!

Seriously, nice descriptions. And hey, maybe you folks think that seeing over the nose of a taildragger is cheating, but Cessna 120s (what I got my tailwheel endorsement in) are still a lot of fun!

Ryan

[GIJOE290]

Great information to know. Thanks for starting the post!

[turbo_NZ]

Yes I concur, is a great read and J-3's are just awesome !!

I plan to build my Nieuport replica one of these days so taildragger time is something I will have to learn also.

Cheers
TNZ