ORIGINAL: AstroDad
my buddy converted his trainer to a tail dragger once he had to repair the nose wheel about 10-times he wanted a simpler more reliable set-up.
to keep it really simple his tail wheel was in a fixed position so he really could not taxi, but it works just fine for takeoff and landing.
Really shouldnt do this. Why not take the plane off like in a pylon race and forego taking off altogether? The reason your friend repaired the front wheel is because hes landing too hard and probably should be practicing more than just making a switch. You can crack your fuselage with hard landings on tail draggers.