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Over the holiday weekend I managed to pick up lesson 2 and 3 on my quest for the tailwheel endorsement.
Sunday we had a 5 kt crosswind that was about 60 degree's off the nose. It was a rough lesson in that I was so far behind on my rudder inputs. I managed to put us in the grass off the side of the runway the first time after letting out the low wing crosswind correction. My cfi wasn't stressed about it because she knew we weren't going to damage anything. She said she knew where the runway lights were and we would miss them. Then she had me take off from the grass. A landing or two later she was calling out corrections to my feet from the back and she found out how quickly I respond when we put ourselves back in the grass again. She said that usually it takes her students a second or two in order to process what she is saying, "left, yeah, she said left, why left, guess I should put in left".. so she tried to preload the command so that I'd catch the nose just after it started coming back. She said left, but I'm heck of a voice control pilot and put in left immediatly, so off to the grass we went. :) I did manage to turn in a pair of really nice landings sunday at the end. It felt like I was starting to get it. She ended up being quite happy with me.
Monday I was back for another lesson and the first two landings weren't pretty on the rollout but I kept it on the runway by myself. She started to get on the rudders to help on the 3rd landing but I'd already beat her to them so she let me fight with it. Somewhere around landing 4 it clicked. She said she could see it in my posture, and in my foot work. Small, fast corrections. She stopped giving left/right commands and started with anticpate, anticpate commands. Letting me figure out what was about to happen. Monday we started with 2 wheel takeoffs so that I'd get use to the sight picture for 2 wheel landings to come soon. They are getting better.
By the end of the lesson I'd turned in a pair of really nice, impossibly nose high full stall 3 point landings for her in a row while containing the centerline with my feet. She said next lesson more 3 point landings until I can turn in 3 in a row like these last 2 then we'll move to wheel landings.
So it's starting to come together. 3 hours, some 14 landings later and there's hope for me with a taildragger.
She's a redhead this plane.
A temper for sure, but I think we're learning to converse.
All she really wants is a partner that will dance.
Next flight, tomorrow afternoon.
Should be fun. I expect 2 wheel landings to be skitterling fun to learn, but first I've got to show Carol a trio of nice 3 point landings.
Sunday we had a 5 kt crosswind that was about 60 degree's off the nose. It was a rough lesson in that I was so far behind on my rudder inputs. I managed to put us in the grass off the side of the runway the first time after letting out the low wing crosswind correction. My cfi wasn't stressed about it because she knew we weren't going to damage anything. She said she knew where the runway lights were and we would miss them. Then she had me take off from the grass. A landing or two later she was calling out corrections to my feet from the back and she found out how quickly I respond when we put ourselves back in the grass again. She said that usually it takes her students a second or two in order to process what she is saying, "left, yeah, she said left, why left, guess I should put in left".. so she tried to preload the command so that I'd catch the nose just after it started coming back. She said left, but I'm heck of a voice control pilot and put in left immediatly, so off to the grass we went. :) I did manage to turn in a pair of really nice landings sunday at the end. It felt like I was starting to get it. She ended up being quite happy with me.
Monday I was back for another lesson and the first two landings weren't pretty on the rollout but I kept it on the runway by myself. She started to get on the rudders to help on the 3rd landing but I'd already beat her to them so she let me fight with it. Somewhere around landing 4 it clicked. She said she could see it in my posture, and in my foot work. Small, fast corrections. She stopped giving left/right commands and started with anticpate, anticpate commands. Letting me figure out what was about to happen. Monday we started with 2 wheel takeoffs so that I'd get use to the sight picture for 2 wheel landings to come soon. They are getting better.
By the end of the lesson I'd turned in a pair of really nice, impossibly nose high full stall 3 point landings for her in a row while containing the centerline with my feet. She said next lesson more 3 point landings until I can turn in 3 in a row like these last 2 then we'll move to wheel landings.
So it's starting to come together. 3 hours, some 14 landings later and there's hope for me with a taildragger.
She's a redhead this plane.
A temper for sure, but I think we're learning to converse.
All she really wants is a partner that will dance.
Next flight, tomorrow afternoon.
Should be fun. I expect 2 wheel landings to be skitterling fun to learn, but first I've got to show Carol a trio of nice 3 point landings.