Airline Pilots in Old Taildraggers
 

I'm starting this topic by request after seriously threadjacking the MD88 flying & lifestyle thread. Let's talk old airplanes and the various shenanigans one can get into when away from the Part 121 fishbowl :-) I'll start it off with a fun video of a Stinson 108 flying into the Dewey Moore airstrip in the Idaho backcountry. Only 700 feet long at 4500' elevation!



...and then there's Mile-Hi....

I fly a C-47 for the Yankee Air Force out of KYIP, she's a 1945 build C-47D ,part of the last batch squeezed out of Oke City before the line stopped. After years of flying freight together the Douglas and I are old friends, and I am blessed to still fly her. Tailwheels,and round engines, are still what it's all about.

My husband and I just bought a 1946 Luscombe 8a. 65 horse, rag wing, no electrical. 90 kts on 4gph. Can't wait to go pick it up!

Been there, done that many times in a SuperCub. Still do! I'm sure that most of these guys have no idea what a taildragger is!:) The same thing with "round dials".

I only wish I had some video of my early exploits when I flew for the 65 Horse Air Force.

All the low levels, all the cow bombing runs, all the low strafing passes of my girlfriends dorm, the beach landings, all the toilet paper cutting and the flower sack bombings.

Nothing like flying a tail wheel off a grass strip with nobody around to turn you in!

Here's a vid I made in our club's old Cub while out on medical leave a couple years ago (yay LSA rule):



1 gopro, several flights. Friend's first time landing a taildragger made for some fun bounces :-)

Very cool! Got any pics?

If I could make a living flying my Clip-Wing Cub I'd quit tomorrow!

- HH

The same here, real honest flying.:(

Attachment 1833Here she is !!!

Nice! A real airplane!

Amen brother. I once had one of my really young students bring his paintball gun to a primary lesson. Short country strip + paintball gun + C152 + two immature asshats + cattle that had zero chance of outrunning said 152 = a $hi)load of fun & great memories!

I learned how to fly in the DC-3 , I was a 520 hour TT pilot when I first flew the 3, I ended up making captain on her 1200 hours later, ATP and type on the same ride, I earned my tay in her for several years, fighting weather, the clock, and circadian rhythms all in the pursuit of aerial commerce. She has taken me across oceans, everywhere from JFK, to Hono, to Bangkok , to grass strips,the world at our feet, at 5000 feet, and 150 knots, lulled by a Pratt Whitney serenade, and the whisper of the slipstream . A blessing to fly her.

Some really bad tail wheel landings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNYg2i9Jgvs

Looks like an everyday experience in the landing of a tail wheel (conventional gear) aircraft! Hang on baby.

I'll bet! Took a couple weeks for schedule and weather to come together to get my Pacer from Kalispell to Minneapolis. Long flights in the winter in VFR-only airplanes can be tough. I lucked out but had a good stretch of rather marginal VFR in eastern Montana...good thing there's lots of Class G out there! :o Where are you picking up the Luscombe and where will it be based?

Attachment 1834

N3323A on the ramp at Helena MT.

What a beut! Does the Yankee Air Museum do rides with the C47 like they do the B17 & B25? They had the -17 at my home airport (KFCM) last year I think.

The beast in Idaho.

My first 1500 or so hours was all tail wheel and good portion of that was radial engine. I sold my 1956, C-180 back in 2005. kind of wish I still had it but the expense was killing me so she had to go.

Very nice! Hoping to get the Pacer out there this summer...set up camp at Johnson Creek & check out some of the not-so-crazy backcountry strips. Probably gonna pass on Dewey Moore, Cabin Creek, & Mile-Hi this time around ;).

Ever flown a 180hp Carbon Cub? OMG... absolutely bonkers performance... got a chance to demo one at OSH this year.

We do member trips to places like Mackinac , and Oshkosh, and a slew of airshows , there is talk of a ride program like the B-25 ( my wife's baby), and the B-17, but no joy yet : )

Here's a taildragger for you Super DC3
 

I got typed in this bad boy and flew cargo to mostly bahamas. Lots of fun.

Here's my little Beast!

Does that have a 985? Don't see many of those around if it does!

Yeah. I think there are 8 of them.

I have owned 6 airplanes, all taildraggers. Current ride is a Cessna 170. Previous ride was a Cessna 195.

Flint...

I love the 195! I learned to fly in a 195 with a 275 Jacobs on it.

Oh man, 195 is my ultimate dream ride. Usually end up camping in fairly close proximity to the 190/195 row at OSH and spend an inordinate amount of time drooling over them. Someday....

Here's my first flight in the Pacer after getting it back to FCM. Little brother and then-3 month old pooch. Dog's first time flying, thus the concerned expression! He's an experienced backseat flyer now....

It's hard to beat a stock SuperCub. I flew a friends HP SuperCub, light weight, 230 horse motor, Pawnee prop. It was fun, the motor really barked while it idled, near vertical takeoff. I mostly found that it drank a lot more fuel. The SuperCub is like a brick, you can only put so much horsepower on it, it will only perform so well. A stock SuperCub (150hp, with flaps and Borer prop)can fly into any of the Idaho backstrips. Just slow:p I've flown Huskys, Scouts, they are just ok. The Cessna 180/185, 206, and the Islander (all great aircraft)seem to be the choice of local operators in Idaho. It is still the best flying there is.:)

I vote that this is the thread of the year. Wow, amazing, talking about just flying and that's it, great idea. I loved flying taildraggers 20 years ago. Had the pleasure of flying a Champ, Citabria, and a Super Decathlon. Maybe one day I'll fly one again and maybe it will be a SuperCub. (I feel like I've missed one of the pleasures in life by not flying one)

Nice looking C-47!!! For the past couple of years I've been involved with the Flagship Detroit Foundation flying the oldest DC-3 still flying. She is number 45 off the line and was delivered to AA in 1937. The Detroit has Wright 1820s which is what was fitted on the first DC-3s. We attend various airshows and sell memberships to the foundation. The memberships allow foundation members to fly with us for a year and we do membership flights at the airshows we attend. Members are also able to fly with us as we move about the country.

Welcome to Flagship Detroit WebQuarters !

The key is getting the pay to afford to actually fly in your free time. Sadly that's not the case for most airline pilots.

Mickey D's had one, to take pictures of traffic jams. Shoulda bought the stock then.

What a great airplane to fly, you are a lucky person:D

http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/6938819.jpg

Delta's Ship 41 looks like she really wants to get out of that hangar and go flying.

Nose pressed against the glass. Didn't one of the mighty ones ding both props?

yeah, had some sort of mechanical ... and my response ... WHO CARES!

Be careful. Buy insurance. It is old. Things will break. Just fix it.

JungleBus, 727C47, YakFlyer; have my appreciation, admiration and respect. Thanks for keeping these airplanes flying for those of us who really enjoy them.

You must be one of the risk management guys.......:D

This is awesome! Makes me want to buy my Pacer back. Unfortunately, the guy I sold it to promptly ground looped it and it hasn't flown since...

Insure this bucking bar!!! :D

Oh I dunno bout that - I've occasionally flown in my spare time as a CFI, freight dog, regional FO, regional CA, and now newhire at a major on year 1 pay. For the last several years we budgeted $200/mo for flying, which was enough for 3 hrs of Cub time (usually flew less in the winter, more in the summer). As a new Pacer owner my flying budget is now $1200/mo but would be considerably less if I had a partner or two, or if I was flying a Champ, Luscombe, or C140. I don't think the money is the obstacle for most airline pilots. Most of the guys I fly with that don't fly GA don't lack the money, they lack the interest. They say "why the heck would I want to even touch an airplane when I'm off work?" I kinda understand the sentiment, I don't have any particular desire to fly IFR X/C in a Mooney or Bonanza. I enjoy flying old taildraggers exactly because it's so unlike what we do at work. The last several guys I've flown with who do fly GA have floatplanes, LSAs, and even a weight-shift trike.