5eRVeODeT 019 ^ YYY.sCƃ[eT.EQO

RIZZLED older

pilots often decry

that tricycle landing

gear is for children

and incompetents,

while only real men Ày

taildraggers. There are even those who

insist that the term ‘taildragger’ refers to

aircraft with a tail skid rather than a little

wheel at the back.

The opposite viewpoint, in favour of

nosewheels, was heavily inÀuenced by

Cessna’s marketing when it introduced its

ubiquitous 172 in 1956. Cessna was pushing

the idea that the new 172 was just as easy to

drive as your car – and went so far as to call

their simple spring steel landing gear ‘Land-

O-Matic’. Their marketing campaign implied

that the nosewheel arrangement was much

easier to manage than the tailwheel setup

of the 170 model that preceded it. Cessna

persisted with the idea that the 172 handled

much like a car a few years later when the

172 was redesigned with a largely-useless

back window.

The debate generated by Cessna largely

revolved around the fact that the tailwheel,

or ‘conventional’, landing gear arrangement

is inherently unstable, since the aircraft’s

centre of gravity is behind the main wheels.

If the pilot does not take care to avoid any

sideways forces on the mains, the mass of

the aircraft tends to try overtake the wheels,

with the result that the aircraft turns. The

turning rate increases more and more if it

is not immediately caught by the pilot using

opposite rudder inputs. If it is not caught in

time results in the unfortunate ‘ground loop’.

Ground loop accidents, though seldom

fatal, often result in bent landing gear and

even digging in a wingtip. Ground loops

are generally regarded as something that

does not happen on tricycle-gear aircraft,

although that is also not really true.

CENTRELINE ON CENTRELINE

It is true that landing a taildragger

requires greater focus and concentration

than aircraft that have a training wheel in

front. But it is not particularly dif¿cult. A

technique that works well for many pilots is

to develop a habit of using one’s feet on the

rudder pedals to always keep the centreline

of the aircraft parallel to the centreline of

the runway, regardless of any other control

inputs.

Once the pilot has developed this simple

little independent control system, aileron is

used to move from side to side to position the

aircraft over the runway. Power and elevator

then are the controls required to properly

Àare and get the aircraft on the ground.

Of course, teaching oneself to

automatically keep aircraft and runway

centrelines parallel precludes using a

crabbed approach in a crosswind and

then kicking the aircraft straight just

before touchdown. A ‘wing-low’ approach

comes naturally when always keeping the

centrelines parallel – and this is a far more

appropriate crosswind landing technique in

a taildragger. Crabbing is fraught with risk,

since a little turbulence or misjudgement

can result in touching down sideways with

the resultant spectre of losing control as the

centre of gravity tries to swing around the

main gear.

Keeping the aircraft rolled towards the

AOPA BRIEFING

CHRIS MARTINUS - PRESIDENT OF AOPA SOUTH AFRICA

TAILDRAGGER

Since the early days

of aviation, the

debate about whether

nosewheels are better

than tailwheels has

continued unabated.

taming

This Carbon Cub is tail-up and wheels pinned

to the ground with a little down elevator.

YYY.sCƃ[eT.EQO ^ 5eRVeODeT 019

COLUMNS

wind and touching down on the upwind main

wheel is therefore usually the best medicine

for dealing with crosswinds.

THE GOOD STUFF

Once the pilot has developed a ‘foot-

and-rudder centreline autopilot’ system,

the advantages of the taildragger can really

be enjoyed. Although rear-wheel steering

is a bit unstable, it allows for much greater

manoeuvrability on the ground. This is why

forklifts steer with their back wheels.

A taildragger can turn around in little

more than its own length by simply braking

on one wheel. The aircraft will pivot around

the locked wheel, making its turning circle

vastly smaller than the wide turning circle of

trigear aircraft. It is for this reason that most

STOL aircraft have tailwheels so they can

operate in con¿ned spaces and unimproved

airstrips.

The greater propeller clearance the

nose-up stance that a taildragger has helps

keep obstacles and vegetation out of that

expensive prop.

When landing, the downward motion of

the centre of gravity behind the main gear

will tend to pitch the nose of aircraft upwards

on touchdown, thus avoiding any tendency

to nose-over in rough or soft terrain. By

contrast, a tricycle-gear aircraft with tend

to pitch nose-down when the mains touch,

planting the nosewheel into soft sand or

muddy terrain, with the aircraft quickly

Àipping over onto its back.

Taildragger pilots do, however, need to

be aware of the pitfalls of exuberant use

of the brakes when landing and taxiing,

which can result in embarrassingly planting

the spinner in the ground. Brakes are a

luxury on a taildragger, and should be used

sparingly until the pilot is thoroughly familiar

with their effects.

Quite obviously, because the centre

of gravity is behind the main wheels, a

taildragger sits on its tail on the ground.

This nose-up stance is normally designed to

place the wing at an optimal angle of attack

for takeoff and landing. Again, this is ideal

for STOL aircraft. Trying to land a tricycle

gear aircraft when pitched fully nose-up

risks dragging the tail on the ground, thus

damaging it.

LANDING STYLES

There is often debate whether ‘wheel

landings’ or ‘three-point landings’ are

best, but each are appropriate under the

appropriate circumstances.

The traditional three-pointer is where

the aircraft is landed at a full stall with the

nose pitched up at the best possible angle

of attack. All three wheels ideally touch

down simultaneously. A three-pointer

will therefore be at the slowest possible

speed and will usually result in the shortest

possible landing.

The downside of the three-pointer is that

at such low speed, all the control surfaces

are at their least effective. This means that

the pilot basically becomes a passenger and

is only really along for the ride. Tailwheel

steering is usually marginal on most light

taildraggers and differential braking to keep

the aircraft straight on the rollout can be

tricky at best. Basically, in the case of an

upset and the pilot not being quick enough

to correct for it, the result could be an

embarrassing low-speed ground loop.

Three-pointers are generally inadvisable

in a crosswind. Skilled pilots sometimes

try to polish their ‘two-pointer’ skills. This

is where the pilot lands on the upwind

main wheel and tailwheel. The aircraft is

rolled into the wind, yet landed at minimum

airspeed. This technique is something that

is fun to try when the pilot has mastered the

standard landings.

Wheel landings, or ‘wheelies’, are

normally the right recipe for crosswinds

and turbulent conditions. Here the pilot

comes into land several knots faster than

stall speed and plants the main gear on the

runway and the tail only comes down as the

aircraft slows down. Essentially, the aircraft

is still Àying and the controls are still very

effective when the wheels touch down using

this technique.

The downside of wheelies is that when

the mains touch the runway, the centre

of gravity keeps moving downwards, thus

pitching the nose up. Since airspeed is

high, the aircraft will happily bounce back up

into the sky. The wheel landing technique

requires the pilot to learn how to check

forward slightly on the elevators the moment

the tyres touch the tarmac, thus ‘pinning’ the

wheels to the runway.

The other downside is that since landing

speed is higher, the landing roll will be

longer.

On the other hand, wheelies are a lot

safer because the aircraft is under greater

control. The other bene¿t is that it is more

stable. With the aircraft pitched forward, the

wheels are further back and closer to the

centre of gravity, thus reducing the ground-

loop tendencies.

This also applies to raising the tail on

takeoffs. With the yoke or stick pushed

fully forward at the beginning of the takeoff

roll, the tail quickly comes up and the main

wheels effectively move back and the

aircraft tracks down the runway a bit more

like a tricycle gear does.

It is interesting that some nosewheel

designs such as the Zenith CH-701 and

Savannah take advantage of a reversed

application of this effect. Because the

leading-edge slats on the wings of these

aircraft allow for extremely high angles of

attack, the nose can be pitched up very

Note that the

Savannah's wheels

are forward of the

25 chord line - i.e.

forward of the CofG

due to the high

pitch-up angle. It is

almost a taildragger

in this case.

5eRVeODeT 019 ^ YYY.sCƃ [eT.EQO

steeply. This causes the main wheels to

move forward to such an extent during

takeoff and landing that these aircraft

effectively become taildraggers during those

phases of À ight.

CAVEATS

There is no doubt that taildraggers are

mostly terri¿ c fun to À y and allow the pilot

to develop skills and capabilities that the

‘nosedraggers’ can only dream about. This

encourages the pilot to push the envelope a

little to take advantage of the bene¿ ts, but

may fall victim of loss of control if that ol’

centre of gravity tries to overtake him or her.

Taildragger pilots should therefore

always be ready to go around if things don’t

go well. Indeed, it is a good idea to consider

every landing to be a go-around unless the

aircraft settles into a ¿ nal stable landing roll.

This is why it is also a great idea to

practice and become pro¿ cient in wheel

landings. Doing a wheelie, airspeed is high,

so the aircraft can be immediately picked up

off the runway, throttle opened and another

attempt made in the case of a botched

landing.

Have fun and keep it safe!

AOPA BRIEFING

CHRIS MARTINUS - PRESIDENT OF AOPA SOUTH AFRICA

Cessna advertised their nosewheel gear

as making ƃ ying 'as easy as driving'.

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