TW.1
Why Tailwheels Are Different
Understand the one fact that drives everything else — the center of gravity sits behind the main gear — and what that does to directional stability on the ground.
References: FAA-H-8083-3 (AFH ch. 14); FAA-H-8083-25
Quick Review
Conversational Q&A — quiz yourself before the oral.
The two main gear struts attach slightly ahead of the center of gravity, so the airplane rests nose-high on a triangle formed by the mains and the tailwheel, with the CG behind the main wheels (AFH ch 14).
That one geometric fact produces the three handling differences you'll spend your checkout learning: directional instability, a built-in angle of attack on the ground, and exaggerated crosswind weathervaning (AFH ch 14).
With the CG aft of the pivot point — the main wheel the airplane turns around once a taxi turn starts — the airplane's forward momentum acts to continue and even tighten the turn with no further steering input (AFH ch 14).
A nose-wheel airplane does the opposite — CG ahead of the pivot damps the turn out. That reversal is the whole ballgame.
No. Removing rudder pressure ordinarily does not stop a turn that's been started — you must apply an opposite input to bring the airplane back to straight-line travel (AFH ch 14).
The taxi rhythm is therefore three-part: rudder to start the turn, neutralize as it continues, opposite rudder to stop it.
The turn continues to tighten — an unexpected result for a pilot used to a nose-wheel. This is why transitioning pilots have trouble on their first taxi attempts (AFH ch 14).
As long as taxi speeds stay low, no serious problem results. Which leads to the AFH's own headline: the most important lesson taught in tailwheel airplanes is to taxi and make turns at slow speeds (AFH ch 14).
Centering spring: a device many tailwheel airplanes have that returns the tailwheel to center when you relax a rudder pedal input.
What it doesn't do: reliably return the airplane to a straight line of travel from a tight turn (AFH ch 14). Don't let its existence talk you out of an active opposite-rudder correction.
Because of the built-in nose-high attitude, a tailwheel airplane makes lift on the ground anytime there is a relative headwind. The amount depends on wind speed, but even at slow taxi speeds the wings and ailerons are "doing their best to aid in liftoff" (AFH ch 14).
That's why control positioning matters more here than in a trainer, and why the takeoff and landing rolls need active management.
A tailwheel airplane has more side area behind the main gear than in front of it. The mains act as the pivot, and the crosswind pushes on the larger area aft of that pivot — turning the nose into the wind, more so than in nose-wheel designs (AFH ch 14).
It's greatest with a direct crosswind, and sometimes requires brakes when tailwheel steering alone can't hold it (AFH ch 14).
In the normal nose-high attitude, the engine cowling may be high enough to block your view of the area directly ahead. Objects straight in front are difficult or impossible to see (AFH ch 14).
In airplanes that are completely blind ahead, start every taxi movement with a small turn to confirm no aircraft or ground vehicle has parked itself under your nose, then zigzag or S-turn to clear the path (AFH ch 14).
No — that's the intuitive but incorrect conclusion. The tailwheel design sometimes requires vigorous rudder inputs to maintain or retain directional control (AFH ch 14).
The correct mental model: tailwheel airplanes are not damaged from too much rudder, but from rudder inputs held too long (AFH ch 14). Big and brief beats timid and sustained.
Yes. A few airplanes — primarily antique and experimental — have a tailskid rather than a tailwheel, and the same principles usually apply (AFH ch 14).
Heels on the floor, balls of the feet on the bottom of the rudder pedals. Slide up onto the brake pedals only when you actually need brakes (AFH ch 14).
The reason is mechanical: this position permits simultaneous application of rudder and brake whenever needed. Some tailwheel airplanes use heel brakes instead of toe brakes (AFH ch 14).
Tailwheel designs came first, so they're still termed conventional-gear airplanes — but today they're most likely to be flown by pilots who first learned in nose-wheels. The AFH deliberately presents tailwheel operations as they appear to a pilot transitioning from tricycle gear (AFH ch 14).
Deep Dive
The three differences, in one frame
Everything in this guide descends from gear geometry. Hold these three in your head and each technique later on will feel derived rather than memorized.
The main landing gear forms the principal support of the airplane on the ground. The tailwheel also supports the airplane, but steering and directional control are its primary functions (AFH ch 14).
That division explains a lot of tailwheel technique — anything that unloads the tailwheel (a raised tail, a lifting stabilizer, a bounce) costs you steering authority at exactly the moment you want it.
Steering with the pedals may work through any of three paths (AFH ch 14):
- Airflow or propeller slipstream acting on the rudder surface
- A direct mechanical linkage to the tailwheel
- A mechanical linkage acting through springs to turn the tailwheel
Proper use of the rudder pedals is crucial for directional control while taxiing — and knowing which mechanism your airplane uses tells you how much authority to expect at low speed with low power.
Why "too long" is the failure mode
The AFH's rudder maxim is worth unpacking, because it inverts what most transitioning pilots assume. A large rudder input applied and then promptly removed simply arrests a divergence. The same input held after the correction takes effect starts a new divergence in the opposite direction — and now you're behind the airplane, chasing it with alternating inputs that each arrive a beat late.
That is the anatomy of a pilot-induced oscillation on the ground, and it's how swerves become ground loops. The cure isn't smaller inputs; it's earlier removal of the inputs you make.
A tailwheel airplane continues to "fly" in the three-point attitude after touchdown, requiring careful attention to heading, roll, and pitch for an extended period. That's because reducing AOA and transferring weight to the tires — normal after a nose-wheel touchdown — is not practical here, and it's rare to find a tailwheel design whose wings are beyond critical AOA in the three-point attitude (AFH ch 14).
By contrast, in a nose-wheel airplane, touchdown is naturally followed by lowering the nose, which reduces AOA, removes almost all wing lift, and rapidly transfers weight to the tires.