Pilot Life: My First Flight in a Taildragger!

Today, I got to experience another first. I got my first taste of what it's like to fly an aircraft with a conventional landing gear (otherwise known as a tail-dragger), courtesy of my uncle! And better yet, since this aircraft had fixed landing gears, I got to log the flight time with my flight instructor uncle filling out my logbook! Tail-dragger aircraft undercarriage consists of two main wheels forward of the center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail, hence the term "tail-dragger," although some claim such a term should apply only to those aircraft with a tail skid rather than a tail wheel. And compared to tricycle configured landing gear systems, taildraggers do have their own advantages as well as disadvantages.

The taildragger my uncle took me up flying in was the Piel CP-30 Emeraude, a French 1950s design that was widely built both by factories and homebuilders. It's construction is primarily wood and canvas, a first for me! The Emeraude is a brainchild of Claude Piel, a notable French aircraft designer. The Emeraude my uncle and I went flying in was classified as "Experimental" because it was actually home-built, by Antoni "Tony" Bingelis, a renowned experimental aircraft builder, otherwise known as master of the homebuilt. As a matter of fact, the very first home-built airplane Bingelis built and flew was an Emeraude (which is now on display at the EAA Aviation Museum). Bingelis became the leading authority in experimental aircraft construction as well as the "go-to" man for other amateur builders. Antoni Bingelis was also a big-time advocate and supporter of the Experimental Aircraft Association and home-built aircraft. To think I got to fly in one of the airplanes built by a well-known figure in the general aviation community, it was truly a privilege!

Piel CP-301 Emeraude (N5TX), the aircraft I got to log some tail-dragger time in.

I met my uncle at the Saint Anthony Airport after he got off work and he took me to the hangar where the Emeraude was kept. As a flight instructor, my uncle has given instruction to several people he knows and has access to their airplanes; he's even taken the time to learn about some of these airplanes and learned how to fly them, the Emeraude being one of them. We opened up the hangar and my uncle began the pre-flight check and showed me around the aircraft. My uncle added some fuel to the tank and we pulled the airplane out of the hangar. My uncle then showed me how to get in the aircraft and I followed suit and carefully hopped in, keeping in my mind what the airplane was primarily constructed out of. But before we did all that, my uncle had to take a selfie!

Me and my uncle Sam with the Emeraude, which apparently is nicknamed "Emmy" or "Eme."

After we hopped in the plane and closed up the doors, my uncle went through the checklists prior to starting up the engine. Once he got the engine started, we took our time to allow the engine to warm-up, but we were able to start taxiing. It was here my uncle handed me the controls as we taxied and right away, I had to treat the airplane very differently compared one in a tricycle landing gear configuration; I had to perform gentle S-turns during the taxi! That was done by alternating between the left and right rudder pedals to turn in the opposite direction. In many taildraggers, you can't see straight ahead while taxiing because of the nose-high obstruction, hence the need to taxi while executing gentle S-turns. But the Emeraude is different from most taildraggers because it sits so low to the ground that you can still see fairly well ahead of the nose. But it was standard practice to treat all taildraggers the same. We took our time taxiing as we back-taxied on Runway 4 to the run-up area; my uncle handled all radio communications this flight (we went by the callsign "Experimental 5-Tango-X-ray.").

Once we got to the run-up area just off to the side of the displaced threshold, my uncle showed me the run-ups procedure for the CP-30. Again, we took our time to allow the engine to warm up. My uncle had me check the flight controls and instruments. Once run-ups were complete, my uncle made the CTAF radio calls, released the brakes and walked me through taxiing and lining up on the runway. He then pushed the throttle forward and we began takeoff roll. At the same time, he walked me through manipulating the rudder to keep us straight on center line. Once we picked up enough speed, the tail wheel lifted off the ground (that sounds so weird saying that!) and that's when we gently pulled back on the stick to get airborne. Once off the ground, we utilized the ground effect to pick up speed before ascending away from the runway.

Wing view looking out towards Saint Anthony; the Emeraude's wings are pretty short and stubby!

Once past the runway and away from the airport, we turned west towards the Saint Anthony Sand Dunes like we did yesterday and my uncle gave me full control of the Emeraude. At this point, it didn't matter that the plane was a taildragger; I flew it like would any airplane I've flown before. And compared to the Mooney we flew yesterday, the Emeraude was much easier to handle in the air! It's only when it's on the ground that it's a completely different beast! I flew us around the sparsely-populated area of the sand dunes and got to practice some basic maneuvers that I've done previously in my flight training at UVU. I performed some S-turns as well as some steep turns, just so I could get a feel for the airplane and how it handles. After I got a decent feel for the Emeraude, I briefly handed back control to my uncle so I could take a few pictures, including one of the town.

The city of Saint Anthony, Idaho.

After we were done flying around, we headed back to the airport to do some pattern work and some touch-and-goes. My uncle took us in and showed me how the procedure and landing is done in the Emeraude; it's a little different compared to the DA-20s I've been training in. One new thing that my uncle showed me was operating an aircraft equipped with carburetor heat ('carb heat' for short); for light aircraft engines, it is a system used to prevent or clear carburetor icing (which in aviation, it's a bad thing!!!). It consists of a movable flap which draws hot air into the engine intake. The air is drawn from the heat stove, which is a metal plate around the (very hot) exhaust manifold. My uncle configured the airplane for a landing and he took the first touch-and-go. And to make things even more interesting, he did in the dirt! The Saint Anthony Airport has a much shorter dirt strip on the grounds in addition to the paved runway pilots can use. This was my first time landing in an aircraft on a surface other than asphalt and my uncle demonstrating all his years of experience made this flight a lot more fun too!

Once we touched down on the dirt runway, my uncle throttled forward and got us back up in the air. Once back at pattern altitude, it was my turn. I was about experience a major learning curve and find out first hand just how different of an animal taildragger airplanes really are! I took the controls and began flying the pattern, with my uncle talking me through the process. I turned on the carb heat, pulled back the throttle, and lowered the flaps. I flew us on the downwind and eventually on the base turn to final approach. Once lined up with the runway, I continued to make the approach. Once I knew the runway was made, I pulled the engine power all the way back. Once we touched down on the main gear, this was where the similarities ended! Once the tail wheel touched the pavement, the squirrelly nature of a taildragger became obvious. To describe it simply, it felt like the plane was fishtailing as if driving a car at moderately high speeds on an icy highway! To counter this, I had to use the rudder pedals; if the plane started veering off to one side, I had to apply the opposite rudder back to center line and then straighten it out quickly. It's a lot to take in and honestly, it took me back to the beginning of my flight training; I honestly felt like I was learning how to takeoff and land again with no prior experience.

After a squirrelly landing and with the help of my uncle, I applied power and got us airborne again after getting up to speed. And we would repeat the routine of flying the pattern several times. And thanks to the lack of wind, we made things interesting by doing touch-and-goes on both runways 4 and 22. My uncle continued to give me useful advice, even though my landings weren't that great! He taught me that you can become a better pilot if you master flying in a taildragger. He also told me that he used not believe that because he's been so used to flying planes with tricycle landing gears. But when he set foot and experienced flying the Emeraude for the first time, he was humbled and experienced a learning curve similar to what I experienced today flying with him. And even though the plane I was flying in was different from what I've been used to, my uncle assured me that eventually, the planes will feel like they all fly the same. For now, I tried to apply everything I've learned down at UVU into today's flight.

Once again, I configured the airplane for a landing and made the turns to line up with the runway. And again, my landing was not so great; and it would be like that for the whole flight. If I bounced the landing, I would go full power and commence a go-around. On one landing, I did fairly well, but I still needed to master working the rudder as the taildragger airplane fishtailed. I did a lot things as shown but it really was difficult to master, not that was expecting master anything on my first flight in a taildragger! But I tried to learn from my mistakes and I really learned a lot from this flight. I logged a total of six landings during this flight.

I handed the controls back to my uncle and we concluded the flight, by landing on the dirt runway! It was convenient too because the north end of the dirt runway is close to the Emeraude's hangar. We touched down and rolled out and taxied back to the hangar. My uncle also decided to show off by showing me how to properly park a taildragger! By applying the brakes on one main wheel, the momentum of the other wheel turned the airplane. My uncle lined up the airplane with the hangar in a way so that all we had to do was push it straight back into the hangar. Again, convenient! We shut down the engine, carefully hopped out, and pushed the plane back into the hangar.

My flight instructor uncle filled out my logbook, recording my very first flight in a taildragger airplane. And for me, it was truly a personal highlight and honor of having my uncle make an entry into my logbook! And given that this was my first logbook entry in almost two months, it was a welcome addition for me. And it was a welcome tangent to my flight training (or lack thereof!). The aviation community is a tight-knit one, but it's even more special when you have family members who are a part of it and you get to do things with them! This was a fun and memorable flight, as I got to log the time with my uncle!