I've been flying a highwing trainer with steerable nose gear for a few months and have no trouble taking off or landing. For my next plane I'm thinking about a Sig 4 Star 60 which is a low wing taildragger.

My question is... How much difference will the take offs and landings be with this plane? The trainer pretty muchs floats down and all I have to do is give a little up elevator about a few inches from the ground. On take offs, I also give a little up to get it off the ground.

takeoffs then taxiing are going to be the biggest diffrences with a tail dragger
first while taxing you will need to hold up elevator to keep the tail on the ground or you may end up "nosing over".(see my avatar )

for taking off you are going to hold up elevator until you get a bit of speed (not much) then you are going to relax the elevator to let the tail come off the ground... you will then wait for a bit more speed then a touch of elevator to lift the plane off.

also taildraggers are a bit more sensative to engine torque so a bit more rudder may be need to keep it straight.

its not hard at all (i learned on tail draggers) it just may take a little getting used to.

I went to the 4* after a trainer and had no problems taxing, taking off and landing. I did have my instructor "spot" me on the maiden flight just to be on the safe side. The points unstable made are right on the money.

Thanks for replying. I really appreciate the help. This site has been the greatest for us newbies.

I'm not sure if this goes to all low wing, tail draggers. But my Tiger 2, Tai Ji and Chipmunk, they all handle exactly the same way when coming down. When you flare and prepare to touch down, they stick to the ground like glue. I remember the days of bunny hopping with the trainer, jajaja.

good luck....

Rfarias.

I have to agree with rfarias. The big difference in landing; the low wing will seem to stick to the ground instead of trying to bounce like hi-wing.

When I learned to take off with the tail-dragger it helped me to get the plane rolling in the right direction before advancing the throttle too much. As mentioned above, the tail dragger will use a little more rudder but you'll get use to it quickly.

Good luck

It seems as though tail draggers in general don't "bunny hop" as much. Neither my stick (high wing) or profile (mid wing) bounce unless set down hard with way too much speed. I find the only real difference is a little right rudder is needed on takeoff. A few weeks ago I watched a fellow take his first flights with a tail dragger (GP super sporter ARF) and he said it was way easier than what the hype had him believing.

Once I switched to tail-draggers there is no turning back. Unless the plane should have trike gear for scale appearances I would even convert a trainer to be a taildragger. I think they are so much easier to land and take off than a trike. Just my opinion though.

I must agree with unstable .

AFter u hitthe Tail Dragger , the fun starts . U enjoy it ,ore .

The tail draggers are a bit of beign weary while Landing , as the aircraft has to be bought in level wign , unlike the Nose wheel aircrafts , where the aircraft is bought in Nose up a bit .

Regards.

Arjun

I flew my 4*60 with a Saito FA91 for the first time Sunday. It takes off & lands easier than my trainer.
For takeoff I hold a little up elevator & nail the throttle. It's off the ground in 6 feet. It lands as slow & gentle as my trainer but doesn't seem as sluggish.
You'll love it.

Not all taildraggers are the same or require the same inputs.
Some are quite tame, others quite a bear.

My Tigermoth is very well behaved and only requires a little rudder 'dancing'.

My Dr1 OTOH requires;
- full up with half right rudder to start
- slack off elevator and rudder slowly as speed builds
- zero rudder rapidly as the tail comes up and rapid inputs on elevator to prevent noseing over or premature takeoff.

And that's just takeoff, landing is much more involved including occasional throttle 'burps' to make the tail surfaces effective enough.

I also agree that Unstable hit the mark. I would just like to add one thing about take offs, and that is: as soon as the tail lifts, you no longer have solid contact with the ground. So you are essentially "Flying the tail" until the airplane is airborne. You will find that some right rudder is needed to counteract the props torque, and you will need to hold that rudder even after the plane has lifted and then gradually decrease it. Many times I have seen a taildragger lift off the runway, and then make a nasty little "wiggle" to the left because the pilot released his rudder abruptly after lift off.

And I must disagree with arjunchopra, a taildragger does not need to be wings level. In fact, one of the most fun times you can have is going out on a nice calm evening, and just practice landings by flairing, and then not letting the airplane touch down. From about 6" off the ground, keep feeding elevator to maintain 6" until you are full back on the sticks. At that point, she will settle in on all 3 wheels for the picture perfect "3-point" landing.

Thanks again for the help. I will be ordering the Sig 4 * soon.

Hi Hoppy,
the 4* is a tame tail dragger, you're not going to notice much difference on the grass,on a hard surface a little rudder management is needed. On take off,don,t firewall the throttle or the plane will torque to the left,set the tailwheel so it turns less than the rudder, that helps to keep from over controlling on the ground,nice flying plane,have fun.
Have a goodun,John.