Colorado Melons

I went up for my first tailwheel session on 26 January 2002 in a restored 1947 USAF L-16 with
Tony Markl,
a remarkable educator and pilot. Before I took the 1st lesson,
someone made a comment to me about how the only time tailwheel planes are different is on the ground…
That may very well be true if you’re flying something like a converted 172, but this was an entirely
new experience for me.

As a matter of fact, my piloting experience had thus far been limited to traditional, side-by-side Pipers and
Cessna 150’s & 172’s. I’ve read that the tandem seating arrangement of the Aeroncas doesn’t leave you with that
“man trapped in an airplane” feeling but at 6′1″ & 220 lbs I really didn’t expect to have all the elbow & leg room
that I did.

The whole of the experience is definitely “grass-roots aviation”. It’s difficult for me to articulate,
but you’re mentally sharper and there’s more of a feel for what’s going on:
i.e. You pay attention to the wing & horizon for bank and pitch.
It’s not like you’re going for a ride in and airplane. Its more like the craft becomes part of you.
After a couple of seconds, you won’t be thinking about controlling the plane – you’re thinking in terms of
what “I” am doing.

I won’t attempt a written description of the actual instruction at this time since I wouldn’t
do it proper justice. I had originally planned to take tailwheel training to get the
endorsement, but I’ve learned to realize that people like Tony Markl only come around once in a
lifetime. If you’re planning on getting your tailwheel endorsement, this is the man to see. I plan
on returning as often as he’ll allow… I’m becoming a better pilot & my head is in a better
place for having spent time with this man.

You may read about and/or contact Tony at his website:
Tailwheel-and-Fabric-Spoken-Here.com.

N80RM is a Cessna 152 Aerobat that I’m flying out of Crosskeys, NJ (17N)
under the instruction of Bob McGuigan. Although I’m having a blast
doing this stuff, I can’t believe how practical Bob makes it. This
should really be mandatory training for any aspiring pilot. It only
makes sense to learn how to get out of a bad situation before you get
into one.

Bob systematically exposes you to the different unusual attitudes so
your senses won’t get overloaded during any one session. As a matter of
fact, by incrementally building up your resistance to the various
forces, the lessons actually get easier as you progress though the
maneuvers. When he sees that you’ve stopped learning for that day, the
lesson’s over… very low pressure.

The first session was introductory:

• some accelerated stalls; demonstrating how your wings really can stall at any airspeed & at any attitude,
• trim tab stalls; simulating what can go wrong in the all-to-familiar go’round once you’ve setup for final approach,
• and finally some simple one turn spins to the left and to the
  right; nothing violent or drastic. If you’ve never done spins before,
  you’ll be surprised at how slowly the plane actually rotates on the
  entry.

The second session involved a review of the first
lesson, progressing into more “fully-developed” spins with “recovery on
a heading”. Although there’s more to this lesson, it is actually easier
on your system. You just build up a natural tolerance and the next
thing you know, its no big deal.

The third session is the most fun. I learned how to
deal with wind-shear and wake turbulence. The worse part is learning
how your natural reactions to these daily occurring forces are a very
bad thing. If you do what comes instinctively, you’d aggravate the
situation right into the ground. By going through this type of
training, you train your brain to react properly, recovering with
minimal altitude loss.

I have to admit that I find the whole aerobatic thing quite fun.
Although I never realized the maneuvers had such practical
applications. Lets face it, even if you’re apprehensive about getting
this type of training, the smart thing to do is to get with a qualified
instructor who
will teach you to react properly to unusual situations… the type of
situations that you won’t learn about during “straight & level”.

Why would you wait until you’re pilot-in-charge (alone, or worse
with passengers) to try figure out how to get out of trouble? Chances
are, you won’t. You’ll be a safer pilot for learning this and that’s
what it’s all about.

Update 1 December 2001

Since I had sooo much fun during the 3 “Unusual Attitude Recovery”
sessions, I asked Bob how I could further my education. It turns out he
gives Basic and Advanced Aerobatic Instruction. His schedule is pretty packed but I manage to get in 1 hr/wk and I’m having the time of my life!