To Wheel Land it or NOT to Wheel Land it...

[DonMc]

HERE! HERE! Bottoms UP!

DonMc
N260BD

[RT]

Theres no chicks around where I land. ________Probably a good thing

[maules.com]

The goal is not to operate the plane with reaction, but to operate it with pro-action.
To do this one must know all the plane is capable of and make the plane do what one wants it to, rather than react to what the plane did .
Learn to land with all 5 flap positions, demonstrating to oneself the differences between 3 point, wheel landing, soft field, short field, while using each flap setting.
That is 20 different landing configurations.
Now add wind and learn to perform each of the 20 with a headwind, a left crosswind, a right crosswind, and a tailwind.
That is now 80 configurations, enough to get one started to be in control.

In a tri-gear a person can land reactively, safely, because the cg position ahead of the mains automatically aligns the aircraft, and prevents it from flying again, however in a tail-dragger there is no time or place for reactive takeoffs or landings.
The tri-gear can be aimed/operated like a shotgun, whereas a tail-dragger pilot must decide on a specific target and then precisely align that target with a tiny front-sight visualized on the cowling, a rear-sight on the top of the panel, and the eye, akin to rifle operation.
If all four a maintained in line then only speed control remains.

just an idea.

[goracke]

Let me through this at you guys. You are at a remote strip (no car access) and you get ready to leave and you see that your tail wheel is completely flat and you have no way to fix it. What do you do? What I did is fly it home and I never let the tail touch the ground until I was in front of my hanger door. That is taxi, take off, and landing. Being able to do this saved my tire and rim and my camping trip. You have got to be able to fly your plane in all configurations because there is more than just wind to worry about.

Chad

[flyer]

Chad

Once again. What you probably meant to say was that a friend of yours did this not you. I completely agree with what your friend did.

I guess that I really am a little paranoid. I think we should always protect our 6 o clock position.

flyer

[AndrewK]

I had taken a video of recent practice that included wheel landings. Nothing special here, but it is a video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvZsaX6ayzY

Paragould was where I made my first landing in my M5 on the trip home with it. Very nice grass strip you guys have there! Lots of restaurants nearby as well, it was a good stop.

...of course the most important reason to wheel land is that "chicks dig it".

This is very true... When I first got the Maule my wife saw a Cessna do a wheel landing and asked how come I never landed like that. Needless to say I've been practicing my wheel landings.

[YELLOWMAULE]

There are many reasons one can argue to wheel it or not. Besides the Chick factor, I like to see where I'm heading on rough & short strips. The biggest issue is killing the lift and angle of attack. Directional stability is another factor. On rough strips and large rocks, the punishment through the tail is far worse than through the mains. Winds: There are too numerous reasons and possible scenarios to possibly argue this. Like Utah, UP and others have mentioned, know how to do them all.
Tail weight is an asset when wheel landing. A huge asset (Pun intended) as it allows much more aggressive braking and considerable stability. It is far more difficult to brake a light Cub or such heavily without the nose trying to come over. As far as all that weight being a detrement, ever pick up the tail of a 185? Ever see a C guy three point it? Not often. They seem commited to wheel landing.
When I first got the Peril and was getting a BFR, the instructor who had a great deal of experience in many types of AC had difficulty pulling a wheel landing off. Not that he couldn't do it, just it takes a lot of hands on practice. Every AC is different. I frequently come in slow and nose high, let the mains touch in a very tail low attitude and roll it into a wheel landing with heavy braking. Nose high with full flaps allows me to take advantage of working behind the power curve and getting the plane as slow as possible while in ground effect and as I dump the flaps, kill the angle of attack to get the maximum amount of wheel weight on the mains and stop. You'd be surprised how well it works and in how many scenarios.
And I live where the winds originate.
Practice, practice, practice.

[goracke]

You just gave away my landing technique. It makes for some short and smooth landings.
Chad