Virginia Taylorcraft Instructors

[swift1b]

I have offered my Taylorcraft to a private pilot that was one of my Young Eagles participants. I am looking for an "old school" instructor with Taylorcraft experience. My son began instruction in it several years ago and his first instructor kept him in the right seat for a duration. He found another instructor and on the first flight he got in on the right side as required by his previous instructor. His new instructor "Old Ed asked him what he was doing at which he replied that the brakes were on the left. Old Ed replied: Son, if I can"t get control from what ever you do I should not be instructor! Unfortunately, Old Ed has retired.
With that being said, I am looking for an old school instructor in the Winchester, Virginia area Winchester Regional KOKV.

[Hank Jarrett]

Wow, does THAT sound familiar! I finally gave up trying to find an instructor who had time and was willing to teach me in my Taylorcraft. I found one GREAT instructor, but he was also an IA who had a roaring business and we just couldn't get in the hours with his schedule. I ended up having to take my lessons from a school in a CessPool 172 (what a TRUCK!) and finally finished up my hours in a C-150 (huge improvement compared to the 172, but STILL a truck, just smaller). I got the same reaction about brakes from most other tail wheel instructors (and there were few of them). My opinion.....if you NEED the brakes in a "T", you aren't ready for solo yet. I NEVER had an instructor who would only fly on the brake side.
I am currently talking to an instructor in SE Virginia who does tail wheel endorsements only and want to convince him he should use other planes than his Super Cub. Just wish my 45 with the dual brakes was finished.
Winchester is a long way from Suffolk VA, but if he has his certificate in a nose gear this guy would probably be able to get him his tail wheel endorsement. We really need some instructors who fly Taylorcrafts.

Hank

[RyanShort1]

Y'all are making me miss my bird. And there are SOME situations you CANNOT get out of from the right seat. Been there, done that, have the experience and don't want to ever repeat it.

[swift1b]

My first airplane was a BC12D. I bought it and began instruction with a great CFI.. He let me taxi out a told me to take off.. I began the takeoff roll and very shortly the TCraft was 45 degrees to the left and missed the runway lights.. My instructor yelled "he had it" and took off in the direction it was heading. I agree with Hank...Brakes should not be depnded on... Throttle and Rudder quick enough to get control.. My instructor was in he right seat.. the year...1956

[astjp2]

Dual hydraulic toe brakes, worth every pound of weight

[Robert Lees]

37 pilots including myself have cut their taildragger teeth at my home airfield in a Taylorcraft that I have owned...neither have right-hand brakes. And they have all learned on hard runways. And there have been no mishaps.

I'm not one of those instructors...but we have had (over the years) about seven Club Instructors who have not been frightened by lack or brakes on the right. Three still do it, the rest are long retired or passed away.

It strikes me that the US, so-called tailwheel-competent instructing fraternity needs to get off their pram wheels and do what they're supposed to be competent at.

[3Dreaming]

I have instructed in both Taylorcraft and Luscombe in the right seat with no righthand brakes. Not a big deal most of the time. Most of the Taylorcraft instruction I have provided has been in one with brakes on both sides.

[3Dreaming]

Dual hydraulic toe brakes, worth every pound of weight

Until I am flying a Taylorcraft with oversized tires I'll stick with the mechanical heel brakes. When and if I go to wet brakes it will still be heel brakes.

[RyanShort1]

37 pilots including myself have cut their taildragger teeth at my home airfield in a Taylorcraft that I have owned...neither have right-hand brakes. And they have all learned on hard runways. And there have been no mishaps.

I'm not one of those instructors...but we have had (over the years) about seven Club Instructors who have not been frightened by lack or brakes on the right. Three still do it, the rest are long retired or passed away.

It strikes me that the US, so-called tailwheel-competent instructing fraternity needs to get off their pram wheels and do what they're supposed to be competent at.

All it takes is one moment of dyslexia where an older student on his fifth flight forgets everything previous and reverts to using his left foot for the car brake and simultaneously shoves in full throttle next to a hangar. I really don't blame him because I thought we were ready, but that was what totalled my last BC-12 and the only thing I was able to do was shut the mags off. No brakes didn't help, I could have saved the plane if I'd had brakes.

Also, I'm not that frightened by it (any more), but I would take even bigger precautions and be a lot more wary. It CAN bite you.

[otrcman]

I think we need to have a more detailed understanding of why some people might not agree to fly in an airplane without brakes for the instructor. Some instructors, I suppose, have a rigid policy of not flying if they don't have brakes. That's their policy, and I will not demean them for being extra careful. But for most others, myself included, the decision is more nuanced. It depends on specifically what type airplane, runway conditions, student experience and aptitude, and a host of other factors. At some point, I would expect any instructor to change seats with the student based on his comfort level with the student, the airplane, and his own abilities.

Type of airplane: If I am not familiar with the airplane make/model, I will be much more cautious. Giving instruction in an airplane type that you don't have much time in requires a lot more caution than one that's an old friend. Even if I am quite familiar with the type, I will be extra careful if the airplane is skiddish or unforgiving. How good is my visibility in the right (or rear) seat ? If I have great visibility, I can see trouble coming a little sooner and stay ahead of the game.

Runway conditions: Short, narrow runways or runways with hazards along the sides demand more caution. If the runway is wide and long with few obstructions, I might be a little more brave.

Student experience and aptitude: If the potential student is someone familiar, with whom you have flown before, then you can trust him/her not to do something really stupid. When I say, "My Airplane !", I want full confidence that the student will get off the controls immediately. Unfortunately, some folks become so stimulated that their ears (or maybe even their brains) stop working. If I don't know the student well, I might be reluctant to give him the brakes when I have none.

All that said, I probably only required the student to begin in the right or rear seat a couple of times in my career. As a for-instance, I was asked to do an insurance checkout for a fellow (PP, with TW endorsement) who had just purchased a Stinson L-5. Having never been in an L-5, I played it on the safe side. My first flight was in the rear seat with the prior owner of the airplane in the front. I watched him do a takeoff and landing just so I could get the sight picture and explore the visibility from the rear. Then on my first flight with the new owner, I put him in the back while I flew 30 minutes or so from the front. I wanted to get some idea of what my student's challenges would be. On that flight, the student flew around from the rear seat and then taxiied around on the ground. After landing we compared notes on his challenges as well as my own. It turned out that the J-5 was a gentle old lamb, so from that flight on the student took the front seat and I took the rear with confidence that I could manage the airplane well and that the student was trustworthy.

But there were a couple other instances where I regretted NOT putting the student in the passenger seat for a flight or two. An example was a PA-12 with extensive Alaska mods. Big engine, Borer prop, VG's, big wheels; you get the picture.

I flew once in the rear seat with the prior owner. Apart from the amazing runway acceleration, there didn't seem to be any problem The new owner was a PP with (according to him) 3000 hours of 182 time. He had already gotten a quick TW endorsement from an instructor at his home airport. So all I really had to do was give him a minimum of 10 hours for insurance purposes and make a note in his logbook. What could go wrong ?

I had never met the new owner, and of course had never flown with him. It turned out that he was not especially skilled and tended to "lock up" when things weren't going his way. One of his ongoing problems was not adding right rudder on takeoff. On our last flight together, I admonished him before taking the runway to think really hard about anticipating the left swing and be aggressive about getting on the right rudder. Well, maybe I over primed him, because on the next takeoff he added full throttle and immediately stuffed in full right rudder. We headed for the lights on the right side, I got on the left pedal and hollered at him to get off the controls. I couldn't overpower his right leg and you can bet I was giving it all I had. He finally relinquished his input as we were at about 45 degrees to runway heading and fast approaching the drainage ditch along the edge. I gave a quick prayer of thanks for the massive acceleration and hauled the airplane in to the air. I couldn't see the control tower because it was directly ahead; fortunately the powerful motor and climb prop took us out at a steep angle. None the less, I think the tower guys all hit the floor.

In defense of the new owner, we discovered after the flight that there was an anomaly in the rudder pedal rigging. When the front pilot applied full pedal in one direction, the rear opposite pedal tilted back to a nearly flat angle, so the rear pilot was pushing nearly on the top of the pedal with very little actual force input to the cable.

The new owner was still anxious to beat a weather front and get the plane home. I found him a ferry pilot to fly him and the plane home and admonished the new owner to find a competent A/P to re-rig the rudder cables before taking any more dual in the airplane.

[PA1195]

I had the picture and owned a PA-12-18 with Crosswinds STC, constant speed prop, 6" extended gear, tires, floats, skis and so on. It's not at all a handful of issues if the tires are aligned properly and the pilot has a reasonable ability to fly. If not, then like Fleetwood Mac said "You can go your own way". Nothing like a C-185 but then obviously some should not.

Here's the fix for no brakes and tailwheels from Taylorcraft:

"Standard planes without brakes are equipped with a spring leaf tail skid. When brakes
are installed, a special spring with a full swivel tail wheel is used in place of the spring
and skid. A steerable tail wheel is also available."

Gary

[KewFlyer]

Swift1b. There are a few TW instructors at the Warrenton Airport [HWY] VA, SE of your Winchester airport. Send me a PM for info. Instruction on grass fields only for the first hours. Instruction is in BYOP [= bring your own plane ]. One of the CFIs has a Taylorcraft that is used for instruction, for either TW endorsement or a Float rating [not at the same time, though :-) ]
Ralph