ufgatorpilot

Yes, he is excellent. I would know since he is the guy who finished me up and signed me off for my PPL about a year ago! I would love to fly more with him, but I just can't afford their prices these days.

aviatorisu

Yeah, I know realistically it is, but both serve to make you a better pilot and give you something you didn't have beforehand. Perhaps if they both cost the same it would be different. Like I said, not a jab at anyone, just trying to draw a parallel. It's all good!

Z

FlynPoPo

Crystal Aero Group in Tiny Crystal River, FL is great! The instructor, Tom Davis, flew the Corsair in the Navy and is very good! Prices are reasonable! Check it out!

Burrito Bandit

It's a little south of Orlando, Jim Alsip is a fantastic instructor at Indiantown, FL with a Super Decathalon. The 6300' turf runway gives you alot of room for bouncing down the runway looking for a three point. Jim is a Master-CFI for aerobatics. His company is called Dylan Aviation.

I earned my tailwheel with him, it was alot of fun.

His company is called Dylan Aviation.

www.DylanAviation.com

Cubdriver

Getting the tailwheel signoff makes you aware that there is a tail back there that needs to be actively flown as much as the wing does. Aircraft design improved a lot when they went to tricycles in the 1950's but pilots became less proficient and I know from my own development that I was very weak on rudder awareness well past two hundred hours of flight. I thought the rudder was for stepping on the ball, and I had no idea what it really does or the control it gives if you. You need to feel it as actively as you feel the ailerons or elevators.

I see a real need for tailwheel training among new pilots and an improved understanding of the use of flight controls one obtains from flying them. Modern airplanes are too forgiving; it is too easy to pass a checkride with them. I really could see the case for requiring tailwheel signoffs for new pilots.

Maybe for this reason I actively seek out tailwheel airplanes in the area and ask if I can fly them- my current favorite is a Cessna C185 I use to tow gliders. This airplane is a joy to fly, it climbs like a bat out of crap and has very nice responses to control inputs. Not quite as nice as the Decathlon mind you, I have flown those a couple of times too, but very nice for a slightly heavier airplane and if you are not feeling the tail you will ground loop it on landing. It has a lot of flaps, a lot of power, and a lot of tail-end capability. You do not ride in it you fly it, even on the ground.

flyin'gator

joel weaner in jacksonville at kcrg. i did my tailwheel with him last fall.
great guy, thousands of hours in tailwheels. Real world instruction, not b.s.

I would reccomend him to anyone. 904-504-4436

aviatorisu

I completely agree with everything Cubdriver has to say there, and it's true! I had my first flight lessons on a Cessna 170A, so I have a real soft spot in my heart for that bird. I keep track to this day where that plane is and who owns it in the hopes of purchasing it somewhere down the road.

Z

TwoStar

There's a place at Sanford Airport that flies nothing but tailwheel aircraft. Mostly Extra 300's and Pitts from what I've seen. The owner is the guy who flies airshows over 9R and the one who did the airshow for DCA's grand opening of the new facility a few years back.
I don't know if they do tailwheel endorsements or what, but they'd be worth looking into. You'd have to ask around for the name. I think it was The Airplane Company. Same people who leased the yellow Extra to us at DCA.
They'd have to know something about getting it done.

ufgatorpilot

Just did the tailwheel endorsement in a Champ over the weekend at Tailwheels Etc. in Winter Haven. I would definitely recommend Tailwheels. It might have been the most fun I've ever had flying, and they really are great people out there.

Bug Smasher

UF,

Agreed. I did my multi-commercial (initial both) with them in August '07. Had a blast, and they made me feel like family. Got some great real-world experience and training.