Raa certificate

[BrendAn]

Can anyone tell me if there is anywhere that i can do my training in an ultralight taildragger in vic or nsw. Tia.

[Thruster88]

Dan Compton, Wings out west is just south of Dubbo NSW. He is a very well regarded instructor with beautiful cub aircraft.

 

https://www.wingsoutwest.com/

[BrendAn]

Thanks thruster 88 will look him up.

[skippydiesel]

Try your local GA establishments. I recently did my tail wheel endorsement with Curtis Aviation, Camden, NSW.

 

Down side might be you need to have done a PPL or similar

[BrendAn]

I was after someone to train me in my thruster . I think i have found him. Hopefully early in the new year i will be able to do it. Just need the covid restrictions to lift.

[Flightrite]

A lot of plane drivers are scared of conventional U/C machines which is a shame as they teach proper handling skills which is sadly lacking in so many plane drivers these days:-(

[BrendAn]

3 minutes ago, Flightrite said:

A lot of plane drivers are scared of conventional U/C machines which is a shame as they teach proper handling skills which is sadly lacking in so many plane drivers these days:-(

I have been told it is easier for me to learn in a taildragger from scratch rather than convert later.  

[skippydiesel]

1 hour ago, BrendAn said:

I have been told it is easier for me to learn in a taildragger from scratch rather than convert later.  

No comment on the "easier" but it will certainly give you excellent ground handling skills and I dont think you will require a tricycle undercarriage endorsement if you want to fly a nose pusher.

[jackc]

I am going to finish my training in my newly acquired Thruster T300 🙂.  Can’t wait!

[BrendAn]

1 hour ago, skippydiesel said:

No comment on the "easier" but it will certainly give you excellent ground handling skills and I dont think you will require a tricycle undercarriage endorsement if you want to fly a nose pusher.

The man who gave me that advice also told me the thruster ground handling is harder to learn but once you master it you can fly anything.

[BrendAn]

33 minutes ago, jackc said:

I am going to finish my training in my newly acquired Thruster T300 🙂.  Can’t wait!

So glad i found this forum. I was worried thrusters might be a thing of the past.  

[jackc]

Ferry pilot delivering mine last week 🙂

[Flightrite]

Look  at all that lovely open sky there, I can almost smell the 'freedom'😉

[jackc]

20 minutes ago, Flightrite said:

Look  at all that lovely open sky there, I can almost smell the 'freedom'😉

Sure will be in ‘NO lockdown’ Queensland 🙂 

[skippydiesel]

Is a RAA 25 the same as a 24 (factory built)??

[Thruster88]

25 are early two seat training aircraft that were factory built. Thruster, Drifter, lightwing.

[F10]

Just looking at the Thruster engine position and pilot position, seems there will not be much distance between the main gear wheels and the CofG. So handling shouldn’t be too challenging? When you have a bit of distance, a swing on take off or landing throws the CofG out, causing the weight to try “overtake” the main wheels, aggravating the swing. Tricycles have the opposite effect, the CofG ahead of the mains, tends to have a tendency to straighten or pull the aircraft straight. The little Luscombe (spelling?) was a tricky taildragger, those gear legs were very far forward….To me also one of the reasons you should hold off the nose wheel on landing, and get it off early on takeoff. Helps keep her straight. When I land the Gazelle, I hold the nose wheel off as long as possible. On take off, I get it off as soon as the elevator has enough control authority, to allow pitch control, BUT…make sure you hold the climb attitude, allowing the aircraft to accelerate and lift off when it’s good and ready to fly. What can happen is if you over-rotate, get the attitude too high, this can again cause more drag and reduce take off acceleration. Or worse, get airborne very close to the wing critical angle or stalling angle, not good!
Holding the nose wheel off on landing, also allows a bit of aerodynamic braking immediately after touch down, Aerodynamic braking drag in other words, quickly dissipates as speed reduces, but is good for killing of that initial speed immediately after touch down. Watch U tube clips of the fighters touching down at Oshkosh, you will see what I mean. The air brakes pop open and the pilots old the nose up, for max form drag. Of course increasing nose wheel contact time is required when it comes to a cross wind. I read an interesting comment in “Kitplanes”, when some old and bold salt said “What’s a nose wheel for? Something to attach a tow boom  to!” I agree. Don’t you just love aerodynamics!

[farri]

On 26/09/2021 at 6:24 PM, BrendAn said:

I have been told it is easier for me to learn in a taildragger from scratch rather than convert later.  

Hi BrendAn, Don`t look at it as easier or harder, rather, just as a skill you need to learn, if you want to be endorsed on both tail dragger and tricycle (nose wheel)! I`m endorsed on both.

[jackc]

For me I have done 18 hours nose wheel, the rest of my training will be taildragger so when/if I get my RPC I am good to go with both my aircraft.

 

[facthunter]

I started in Chipmunks as did many others at the time. There weren't any tricycles to speak of. You should land on the back of the wheels with them too, in small planes. Short runways make you a better pilot initially as you need a more controlled approach to do a predictable touchdown point  at the right speed, which is what must be achieved if you are doing it right.. Depending on the tailwheel type you may need quite a few hours in varying conditions to nail it. Even when you think you have you'll always pay  a bit more attention to the arrival in a dragger. They are ALL directionally unstable on the ground. They CAN catch a smart@rse with thousands of hours who is overconfident as well as a beginner. They just don't track straight without attention to the rudder. Many TYPE POH's don't recommend using brakes to keep it straight as it's too coarse a control. Many Instructors may HAVE to because of the situation he got into because of the student, but it's useless after a certain angle is reached as the C of G is outside the wheels line of force.. The further forward the wheels are placed the more difficult the plane is to keep straight. It's done that way to stop the plane tipping on it's nose when brake is applied..  Nev 

Edited October 12, 2021 by facthunter

[spacesailor]

Is that the reason they put the Tail wheel under the nose !.

spacesailor

[facthunter]

That's so you can disembark/enter. it retracts. Otherwise it sits on it's tail when YOU don't balance the engines mass. Nev

[F10]

I read a very good statement, by a guy writing about his SF260, one of the sexiest single engine aircraft out there. He said the nose wheel is there for one reason, to attach a tow bar to! What he meant was, often pilots will raise the nose off only on rotation, at times almost wheelbarrowing and on landing, will dump the nose down almost immediately after touch down. Nose gears are sometimes not that strong and are already having to carry the engine weight.
Personally, I like to treat my nose wheel gently. On take off, as soon as the speed is alive, I come back on the stick, and you need a lot of rearward stick, because elevator not very effective at this stage. I select and hold, the climb attitude. This allows for a very smooth lift off and the aircraft also lifts off when it’s ready to fly. Can be tricky because you need to co-ordinate reducing back stick, as the speed increase, to hold the climb attitude constant. You don’t want to over-rotate.

On landing, same thing, After touch down, I hold the nose wheel off as long as elevator authority make it possible. Yes, don’t let it slam down. This allows good aerodynamic braking and reduces stress on the nose gear. Of course, this is NOT done in a X-wind landing, get that nose gear down ASAP in a X-wind. Anyhow, this works well in my Gazelle and let’s the stronger main gear do most of the heavy lift work. 

[Methusala]

On 12/10/2021 at 11:19 AM, facthunter said:

You should land on the back of the wheels with them too

I Iike that,Nev. Landing is about holding off, letting the airspeed dwindle as you maintain a slightly nose high attitude. A good landing in the Kitfox and VP always had the rear wheel touch slightly before the mains. Thrusters are a little different because the wing is still in flying attitude when the tail wheel touches. Hence the need for a positive back stick just as it settles. (Precludes an unwelcome bounce back into the air at V/s.)

[facthunter]

No NOSEWHEEL is overly strong. Be gentle with all of them.. Don't brake till they are on the ground. Nev