Warbird Information Exchange

Looking for some information that might not be found in the ground school material or aircraft manual that would be helpful in the checkout process. Any characteristics, experiences etc for both the Mark 2 and 4 Harvard.

Thanks in advance

The airplane is extremely easy to fly. Just read the book and memorize the numbers, then fly the numbers. Your check pilot will go over everything you need to know.
One thing you will have to learn with the 6 is to keep the weight of your feet on your heels and use your ankles as pivots. This will allow you a vernier feel on the rudder pedals using your toes only. Another thing about the 6 is that if ever there was an airplane that proved the axiom that the landing isn't over until the aircraft is stopped, it's the T6. It's nothing scary, but remember this if you remember nothing else. On landing the T6, as the airspeed dissipates during the rollout, the effective relative wind decreases on the rudder as well. Be ESPECIALLY alert as this happens for the slightest tendency of the airplane to wander on you. The trick in landing the T6 is in catching any tendency to swerve on rollout UP FRONT with leading rudder to correct and as light a touch on any brake needed as humanly possible. In other words, catch it EARLY. Don't sit there and watch the nose wander on you. A good T6 pilot won't use any brake at all on landing. With a little experience you will begin to anticipate any wandering of the nose and correct it AS IT'S HAPPENING.
Just remember...............YOU are flying the T6, NOT the other way around. Stay sharp and enjoy the airplane. It's a ton of fun to fly.
Best of luck to you.
Dudley Henriques

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Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship

If you can get 5 to 6 hours in a P-51 and then you will be ready for the T-6!

It has been about 25 years since I had my checkout in a T-6, yet I still remember it fondly. Just get the pilot manual, if you can get the specific one for your model, if not try to come close. Learn how things work, it ain't no Cessna aimed at the lowest common denominator pilot. Know the speeds, power settings, and for sure how the gear works. There are lot's of very fine instructor pilots in 6s, getting the best you can is really worthwhile. First you get some time taxiing and getting the feel on the ground, then you go up, (way up and with a parachute) and do slow flight and stalls. The T-6 is once again, no basic Cessna, it is an ADVANCED trainer, and when you do a power on, uncoordinated, accelerated stall, it will real quick give you some Advanced training, and if you are like me, the idea will occur to you pretty quickly and pretty strongly that you don't want to overdo this turning base to final. This slow flight and near stall behavior as well as recovery could save your life one day if you ever get to fly a fighter and need to do a go around down low.

I think it helps to have really good tailwheel time before the 6, something like a J3 or Tiger Moth, then a Stearman, but there were guys in the war who even started in a 6. It handles fairly well around the pattern, just get the speeds right. I use 80 mph turning final and 70 mph over the runway end with full flaps. It lands just fine, power off and 3 point, but if you can it may be good to learn both wheel and 3 point landings. As Dudley says, keep the nose straight. I guess I was luckily doing it right as I rarley used brake to steer on rollout, ( just like a Spitfire) and I have found that about 1/3 to 1/2 rudder travel will make most corrections. The nose does not seem to move to the side really suddenly or sharply, ( at least in my limited experience) but if it gets past a certain point you may not regain control. With full flaps you can see over the nose pretty well until just before the flare. It sits pretty high up on the gear but once settled down it seems to roll true enough.

One last and VERY important thing. If you have some tailwheel time, and a real good checkpilot, I would ask, even beg to start in the rear seat of the Harvard.I was lucky enough to do it this way. Do it right from the first , you will get used to not having a view over the nose and you won't be afraid to flare the plane. Before I flew a 6 solo for the first time, I could land it 3 point from the rear seat wihtout flaps, not pretty but ok. If you start in the front,you may have a harder time with this feeling and be a bit like a jet pilot out of his element without his nosewheel. And my thanks to John Hess once again for teaching me this way, as well as letting me solo his plane.

I only have one solo in an actual Harvard, the Russell one, and I was real keyed up not to move that backwards mixture control into idle cutoff by mistake.

Whether 6 or SnJ or Harvard, what a great classic airplane and a fine trainer.

P S, Guess what Dudley and I both forgot to add: wear a good helmet or headset, the beast is louder than heck.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

Like Dudley and Bill said, keep it straight. Don't let a swerve get started. The Harvard C of G is located so that once a swerve gets well-established, it takes a very powerful, immediate push to stop it, or even a bit of brake. Better not to ever let it start down that curved path.

Spend time in the cockpit when parked, memorizing things, especially ground height and 3-point attitude ("on 3 points, the horizon strikes the side of the nose right... there..." ).

If you wheel it, don't hold the tail up forever like you might in a Champ or Cub. Full forward stick unlocks the tailwheel in a MK IV -- much better to maintain tailwheel steering. Let the tail down in a controlled fashion.

And for gosh sakes remember the control lock when shut down. Otherwise you'll break that steering mechanism when you tow it. (The quick check when outside the aircraft is to grab an aileron and wiggle it. If it moves freely, stop and go inside and engage the control lock.)

Are you checking out at CHAA? They're a good bunch.

Dave

Great point , Dave, Whenever you go to fly a new plane, a tailwheel one ( hey there are 2 or 3 nosewheel ones worth flying) sitting inside and visualizing what you will see out the front as you touchdown. It seems to me that more landings are messed up by either coming in too fast or not really making a flare.

The RAF, who used to know a thing or two about building AND FLYING real airplanes, have a booklet of pilot procedures for the average service pilot. It is general practices, not specific to one type plane.
It talks of a normal landing as "a fully held off landing" unless the pilot is unsure. I can't recall all the part about "uncertain or unsure", maybe that is if the wind is gusty or turbulent. But normally, the fully held off landing uses up the airspeed in the air and the plane is done flying when it touches down. It can be landed pretty short if handled right.

The Harvard has a lot of operating mechanical parts that are more involved than most basic
planes, like the fuel reserve, power lever, control lock, tail unlock (vital not to take off with it in free castor) so an hour or two in the cockpit with a manual is a basic.

When you get to the point of doing some acro you want a good instructor, a good chute and lot's of height. The 6 can do good acro , but if you stall it upside down at 1000 AGL it's not fun anymore.

I have heard others say 6 is harder than the P-51. I don't agree, but perhaps they mean that the 51 is more stable than the 6 on rollout after landing. But the 51 is so much faster, things simply happen fast, that you need to be focused and efficient. If you come into the pattern at say 150, you are going faster than the 6 may indicate in cruise, so you can cover a lot of ground just while you are putting the gear down. There are things to do in the pattern in the 6, but a little more time to do them. AND ABOVE ALL, IF THINGS ARE NOT RIGHT, GO AROUND AND DO IT AGAIIN.

Good luck and let's us know of your progress. What have you been flying so far?

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

Thanks for all the great advice,

My experience is pretty limited when it comes to taildraggers. I only have 15 hours in a Chipmunk which was last summer and I havn't touched a taildragger since. I'm hoping to do the groundschool and checkout this spring at CHAA and depending on where I'm working hopefully do some volunteering over the summer.

The Chippie is a neat and fun plane. Said to handle like a Spitfire, less 1500 hp, and is even a bit hard slow down like a Spit.. Get good at it, then go to the Harvard. If you can see if you can get some Stearman time in between . I am sort of envious of you , you have some fun and intersting times ahead.

And practice taxiing the planes a lot before you try to land them,. The landing rolllout is then like a fast taxi.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK