Whats the proper way to land a tail dragger,on its mainwheels first or the tail wheel first or land on all three wheels at once?

You've heard the term "perfect three-point landing"? In an ideal setup, the pitch attitude that puts all three wheels on the ground at the same instant will be just a smidgin above stall speed, and the plane will settle on all three.
It's a great theory!

That all depends on the plane in question. I had a Midwest AT-6 and it was definitly not a good practice to do 3 pointers. Landing on the mains was best as most large warbirds are. I have a WM Clipped wing cub that I do 3 pointers with every time. If the plane does not have bad stall characteristics then 3 pointers are fun and sometimes challenging to do. If she has a bad tip stall or any other bad stall tendency then main gear landings are probably the best.

Any of them can be considered "proper" and you should probably learn them all.

If you touch the mains first and then let the tail settle, it's called a "wheel landing". If, as TailDraggin said, you touch all at once, it's called a "three point landing".

Personally, I consider landing the tailwheel first to be just a variation of the three point landing. Depending on the plane, it can be difficult to do smoothly (I think of it as 'bonus points').

Note that you should probably aspire to avoid three point landings with a tricycle gear

-Wade

Most tail draggers are higher performance planes. The wing type on these requires a faster flying speed to maintain lift. Some taildraggers can be landed with a nose high attitude and still maintain good forward speed which will result in a 3 point landing. Others will slow down too much and stall if you raise the nose that much on landing. These planes therefore need to be landed on the main wheels first. Most warbirds are in this category. Therefore it will depend on the plane.

As opposed to a trike-gear plane, you have an option, eh? Do whatever floats your boat! Just getting it on the ground is good. Then try for the 3-pointers...then try for the rolling-on-mains-finally-dropping-the-tailwheel type..... Personally, I always found it easier to do a 3-pointer...

'Course for fun, it's cool to drop the tailwheel to the ground first...

The easiest to learn is a full stall (three pointer) landing.

Because the wheels are forward of the CG on a taildragger, touching down on the mains first ("wheel landing") will tend to increase the angle of attack and put you back in the air, if you have flying speed. Landing on the mains takes a little more finesse, I think. Once you learn it, wheel landings are better in cross winds.

Tricycle gear is a little easier, as the main wheels are rear of the CG and you will tend to "stick" to the ground.

Never given it much thought, in my book any landing that you can taxi away from is a good landing.

The way I land my tail-dragger is by touching one of the main wheels down first, which will force the other main wheel down a split second later then depending on the speed apply some down elevator. It's rare to have my plane bounce back into the air when landing this way. It is a very graceful landing and you can stick it to the ground pretty much every time.

As a rule your main landing gear are stronger than the tail-wheel and can absorb more impact. For this reason I think putting your main gear on the ground first is more prudent.

Sure - I agree about mains being stronger. But it's so much fun to practice and get the nose so high that the tail touches.......

I think it depends totally on the airplane. I try to land my Dazzler on the tail wheel first every time, 'cause it's fun to do with a plane like this. However, I only ever do 'mains first' or '3-pointers' with my Super Sports Senior. My Sport One Design pylon racer is strictly a 'mains first' affair.....comes in too hot for a 3 pointer. Same with my Ultimate Bipe......99% 'mains first' landings, with a *very* rare 3-pointer thrown in if it's windy enough. The stall characteristics don't cater well to a tail first landing