Believe it or not we have to get to the runway before we can go. But I’m here to tell you, the taxi can be the hardest part. Winds play a huge part in airplanes, especially on the ground. Just remember, Climb Into and Dive Away. That paired with anticipating the turn, using left turning tendacies to your advantage, and some little taps of brakes, you’ll get there.

Ready to go? Checklists and all? Stick all the way forward, look all the way down the runway, smoothly add the power followed by enough rudder to keep the nose straight and the tail should start coming up. Catch it! A little back pressure on the stick should be all it takes to maintain a slightly nose up attitude. Hold her there and you should start feeling her fly away.

Ok, coming back to land? This should be fairly self-explanatory but you never know. We have heel brakes in this Citabria but every plane is different. Be absolutely sure you’re not landing with your feet on the brakes and check them every final.

It seems easy enough but the doing it can sometimes be harder. Here you’ll use a blend of pitch and power and energy mangement to touch down to the point you barely know you’re sinking. Your best landings will be the ones you try not to land.

If you want to fly nosewheel you can stop reading now. Tailwheel airplanes have a natural tendency to try and swap ends and you need to control that with your feet. You’ll hear it a thousand times, use your ailerons for centerline and keep your nose straight with your feet!!

Hearing it vs doing it??…ahh…now you’re a tailwheel pilot

Of course there’s more than just these few things. How do we slip? How do you land in a cross wind? How much right rudder is enough? Don’t worry , we cover it all. Having a frame work of these few things gives you a good starting point before you show up.