Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

[Joel Severinghaus]

Last Friday at Oshkosh, Pitts instructor and magazine writer Budd Davisson (www.airbum.com) gave his annual standing-room-only forum about taildragger flying. Always informative and entertaining.

During the Q&A, new BC12-D owner Blake Carlson of Crookston, MN asked, "Any advice specific to Taylorcrafts?"

Davisson answered, "To land a Taylorcraft, keep telling yourself on final, 'I'm flying a maple seed. I'm flying a maple seed.' And remember that with a Taylorcraft, the throttle is mostly just a volume control."

Davisson then explained for the rest of the audience that Taylorcrafts have lower wing loading than some sailplanes, and take some skill to fly well.

He continued, "People see some guy wheel-land a P-51 at a fly-in and think he's a hot pilot. But the guy coming in behind him, three-pointing a Taylorcraft in a 15-knot, 30-degree crosswind, he's the hot pilot."

[Taylor Maid]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

Since no one else will comment....THIS IS GREAT!!!!

Thanks for the post, Joel!

[Len Petterson]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

I learned to fly in a Fleet 80 Canuck 18 years before I got the Taylorcraft.
The old fellows at the airport told " the Taylorcraft it's flotter".
Meaning it will never land if the speed is to high. How high is too high 75 mph and 4200 feet was not enuogh runway, 70mph I got down with hard braking, At 60 I even managed som odd 3 pointers.
I hade to get in on 1800 ft with trees and wires at the ends,
sidesliping practic and slowflight 58 on the clock nose high in slip No speed gain alowed, and you stop easy in 500 ft.
Fun stuff
Too High speed for me, is anything over 60 on the clock in the flair!(;f
My friend flyes a Thorp T 18, he gets scared then then clock goes below 80!
At 80 mph I am cruising right along nose slightly below horizen thinking I am doing good ground speed, but not landing!
The old Canuck was a brezze to land compared to the Taylorcraft.
On the other hand the long wing can save your Butt one day as well.
The only thing 2 thing the Thorp and Taylorcraft has in common is The T in the name and being aircrafts! For the rest they are as far apart as black and white. And he wants me to speed up in a cross wind landing, but not much I say! Ok he say: The Taylorcraft is a brezze to land, but he has 1000 hr aginst my 200.
Cross wind I dont land in it! If I can get out of it.
or: Wing down into the wind,down on one main and tail let her slow down and stay on the rudder!
Any taildragger pilot can do what Ahh
Len

[jim cooper]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

Gentlemen....please stop... 20 years ago there were many articles about Mooneys not wanting to land. Mooneys DO have a tendency to float if they reach the runway going too fast. So does the T-Craft. If one manages the final leg speed on the mooney...(70) it will land just right even with ground effect thrown in. Spoilers were even added on some Mooneys to "Correct" the problem, which was really pilots not being familar with the airplane. The T-Craft is very docile and should chug over the end of the runway at 55. If so and trim is correct, it should land using half the 2000 foot runway (or less) in a three point. T-craft responds very well to a SLIP and will slow right down on final if one crosses the controls stop to stop, then pop it straight 10 feet up and plop it on the runway. ( I'm great on grass, on asphalt I may do well or really look bad according to cross wind conditions.) The T-Craft WANTS to fly well if treated fairly. JC

[Len Petterson]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

Yes it is good aircraft no douth but as many other machines built by man it is good but not perfect, just like the Money!
Len

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

Reminds me of a great quote.
"Socialism is the perfect form of government, too bad there are no perfect people to live under it."

For us it's,

"The Taylorcraft is the perfect airplane, lucky for us there are a few perfect pilots around to fly them."

Wish I was one of them. All of my landings would all be perfect. It's not the plane, it's the pilot.
Hank

[ClipWing_T]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

You know if Mr. Taylor had been 6' 4" it really would have been
the greatest light plane ever. They are cramped and have poor
visiblity but I love them anyways !! Just think
when the early Taylorcrafts were built they where 20 mph faster
than the competion (same hp of course) . And there were no
Interstates ,many narrow two lane highways and even gravel roads,
and the T-craft was truly an effecient and fast small business man's plane.
I had a good friend that was a T-Craft dealer and delivered them
around the U.S. , He flew for hire people to various locations in
small towns in Texas and OK. when many people where still driving
model A's to get places on dirt roads. He would of times land in an
open field and just let them out at the old farm place. The T-craft
was helpful in bringing in the modern age of aviation and doesn't get
the credit it deserves IMO.....and in fairness too.....ever try to get
your 6' 1" fat ass into the front seat of the J-3 Cub ? Or even the
back seat for that matter ! HA!

[flylo]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

I can always tell when I do a perfect landing no one is in sight. When I don't do a good landing the whole crowds watching. Every single time!

[jim cooper]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

I totally agree with Budd Davisson! Sometimes everyone is watching when I make a big blunder. 1985, Ocean City Maryland, wind from 2 oclock at about 12. ASPHALT. Stearman is looking good! flare and go for 3 point landing, bounce, catch it with the throttle, but....bounce again, and again...finally get the wing low enough and Stearman settles down. At gas pump, flight instructor standing there says "give me your log book I'll sign it for six landings!" 6-8 people watching. Later at New Garden Pa., I watched an airline captain hop rides on a windy day in a Stearman. He wheel landed it PERFECTLY each time (at least 10 times) A real pro.JC

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

I AM 6'3" and about 213# (as of this morning). I have pretty much got the entry and exit down pat and can slink into the 41 T as smooth as butter. Of course I drive a Mazda Miata as my daily car, have a 71 Triumph GT-6 in the garage and have never been claustrophobic.
Wouldn't trade the Taylorcraft for a brand new Mooney. Where the heck do I need to go that fast?
It would have been nice if Mr. T had been over 6'. The top of the side window would have been at eye level and I wouldn't have to fly with my arm around the passenger. It's GREAT when it's my wife, not so good when it's one of the Ramp Rats up for a ride. Glad when it's MY arm up on a hot day! If the passenger is small and nice, the right hand falls to some nice places.
Hank

[n6346m]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

You know if Mr. Taylor had been 6' 4" it really would have been
the greatest light plane ever. They are cramped and have poor
visiblity but I love them anyways !! Just think
when the early Taylorcrafts were built they where 20 mph faster
than the competion (same hp of course) . And there were no
Interstates ,many narrow two lane highways and even gravel roads,
and the T-craft was truly an effecient and fast small business man's plane.
I had a good friend that was a T-Craft dealer and delivered them
around the U.S. , He flew for hire people to various locations in
small towns in Texas and OK. when many people where still driving
model A's to get places on dirt roads. He would of times land in an
open field and just let them out at the old farm place. The T-craft
was helpful in bringing in the modern age of aviation and doesn't get
the credit it deserves IMO.....and in fairness too.....ever try to get
your 6' 1" fat ass into the front seat of the J-3 Cub ? Or even the
back seat for that matter ! HA!

That's what I like about my L2-B. It flies like a a T-craft, has great visibility, I don't share my seat with anyone and, as a plus, it has " STICKS".

[Forrest Barber]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

I found out that the Model A is easier to enter than my "B" too bad they "improved" the entry door to the BC12D.

[blakecarl]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

Trying to get caught up after trips to Oshkosh and the Boundary Waters during the last three weeks. Lots of fun but also lots of catching up to do.

Joel, thank you for introducing yourself after the Davisson forum and for taking the time to answer all of my questions. Just to keep the facts straight, it's actually a BC12-65 we are proud new owners of.

I wasn't sure how to take Budd's "flying a maple seed" comment. It's probably just his way of illustrating the fact the a T-craft has a low wing loading and because of this can be susceptible to floating down the runway unless handled properly.

What I had hoped for was more specific information about rudder and or brake control on a T-craft. During his presentation he stated that rudders on some aircraft have a "dead zone". I was curious if this was the case on a T-craft.

What about his comment regarding the throttle being mostly a volume control? I'm by no means an experienced pilot--I just did my first solo last Thursday, three 3-point landings with no bounces!--but the two CFI's I've worked with have both commented how our 65 hp T-craft takes off better than the 100 hp Champ based at the field.

[flyguy]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

Yeah, I wondered about the volume control comment. Maybe he was thinking of a cub, HO HO.
My 12D-85 gets off about as fast as I can keep up with it, and will do 850 ft/min without even trying very hard.
Don't know what he meant by that part of his comments.
Darryl

[VictorBravo]

Re: Budd Davisson quip about Taylorcrafts at Oshkosh

I fully understand the "volume control" comment. On a hot day and a heavy airplane, the volume changes and the airplane doesn't climb any faster. The key is speeding up and getting on the correct side of the drag curve. A T-craft will climb at 70 mph a lot better than it will at 60 under some circumstances. Under others, 60 will give you a rocket and 70 will simply be 3/4 of a rocket.