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Old 04-23-2014, 07:34 PM
  #10  
JamesNoBrakes
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Joined APC: Nov 2011
Position: Volleyball Player
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Originally Posted by evamodel00 View Post
ah ok thanks for the clarification. I did a lot of reading on it today and i believe I just need many more days practicing in the pattern. I'm also going to try and see if an instructor will teach me on his tailwheel plane. I'm assuming jumping to something less forgiving will whip me into shape to stay on that centerline.
Maybe, but you have to mess up at least a little and correct to learn IMO. Tailwheel airplanes are inherently unstable on the ground, which *can* be good for learning. Tricycle airplanes are much more stable, yet they are nothing like a car with wheels at all the edges. Despite this, you'll see people taxiing both kinds of airplanes at speeds that blow your mind, and those people are just tempting fate for the one time something happens before they can react or their reaction causes the airplane to tip over due to the excessive speed. As speed increases (or the wind increases) the airplane starts "flying" more and more. At those speeds your directional control is the rudder, but your lateral control becomes the ailerons. Directional control just means where the nose is pointing, NOT where the aircraft is going (path). You can have all the directional control in the world and still slide into a parked airplane or object. At the higher speeds on the ground the aileron doesn't necessarily "skid" the aircraft the direction you want to go, but it does counter the centrifugal force in the turn, that would otherwise cause the aircraft to start skidding sideways or topple the aircraft as the turn is attempted. You'll learn or have learned about x-wind corrections on the runway during takeoff and landing. Apply this to any time you are moving at a high speed on the runway and not on centerline. Control and vigilance will usually be the result
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