Wheel Langing Question, Please

[Bill Greenwood]

SSmdive, As for as teaching over the phone, sure I'd love to be flying and teaching my friend with my J3, but it is in the shop and I am not a CFI and he needs the sign off. So we are doing the best we can. I was not at the other airport to see his landings when he had problems or thought he had problems. He may in fact have done well enough, He is a very intense and dedicated young man and wants to and working hard to an airline career. Already has muti rating. He may be putting too much pressure on himself.

He has switched airports and CFIs now, he was trying to take advantage of bargain pricing at the first one. I haven't talked to him since he has flown with the second CFI.

We are working with what we have, don't have any great grass runways or a Cub. He'll get it,I think.

Interestingly when you talk to people about learnig in a tailwheel plane, there is much emphasis on rudders and keeping the nose straingt. But he hasn't mentioned any problem with that, it is pitch and elevator that is the harder part.
This is just like my flying. I have about 1500 hours of tailwheel time, in 9 different planes, and rarely is rudder pedal and yaw control my problem. In 34 years of flying, I have only put a wheel off the runway edge about 3 times and 2 of those had a mechanical part to the problem. I am not sure how many bad tailwheel landings I've made, certainly more than 3, and it is virtually always the flare and touchdown part that is the hardest.
That is one reason that I prefer 3 point as the plane is done flying at that point and you are not trying for such a delicate balance of factors.
I did have some really good training when I stated out in tailwheels and it has served me well. I might even go take a lesson wheel landings just to review soon.