Conventional Gear ─ Flying a Taildragger

?Conventional gear” refers to the traditional configuration of an airplane’s landing gear with a wheel mounted on the very tail of the craft. Focusing on teaching pilots to overcome some of the difficulties of taildragger aircraft, this guide teaches critical skills for controlling the plane on takeoff, landing without bouncing the aircraft, and handling the craft on the ground. In addition to the theory and dynamics and the piloting techniques for tailwheel planes, information is also supplied on the specific handling characteristics of many popular tailwheel aircraft such as the Cessna 185 Skywagon, the Piper Pawnee, and the De Havilland D.H.82 Tiger Moth.

David Robson is the author of Skydancing: Aerobatic Flight Techniques, Sunrise to Sunset: Night Flight Techniques, and Transition to Twins: Your First Multi-Engine Rating.