Tailwheel Flying vs. Tricycle Gear
Mastering Tailwheels? Is it hard? Can I do it?
Once you leave the ground, both types are the same. The biggest difference is ground handling. Think of tricycle gear airplanes as being “self-correcting” while tailwheel airplanes require a “pilot to be a pilot” and the master of her airplane.
Remember that most every pilot up until about 50 years ago was a tailwheel pilot. They were not super pilots. They ranged from barnstormers to kids on a farm, to 20-year-old cadets, to Amelia Earhart, to Charles Lindberg, to Pancho Barnes, to Jimmy Doolittle. They all began as student pilots, and they all began on tailwheels! Is it hard? No. Have many pilots missed out on learning the basic skills? Yes. Can you do it? Yes
