Tailspin Tom has a video up that may help to explain the travails of those unused to “conventional” landing gear.
Sensitive souls may want to turn the volume down.
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22 comments to Military Taildraggers |
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I understand the U2 is a handful to fly. I read Kelly Johnson’s book and recall him describing how at altitude in a turn the outboard wing could be nearing supersonic while the inboard wing was nearing a stall.
Flying has a couple of articles this month about flying the U-2.
But that video certainly doesn’t make it look “easy.”
ahem….
Many years ago while working at a radio install shop in Bakersfield, CA, we had a job with the USAF installing military radios in a Beaver based at Edwards AFB.
When I asked the Air Force liaison why they were having us do this, I was told that the aircraft was to be used to train pilots how to fly taildraggers because non of them knew how.
Never quite knew if that was true…
Oh, my! I laughed so hard, I cried!
That song is priceless in that context–loved the timing with the video on the first chorus! Oh my goodness… I probably enjoyed that more than I should’ve. Too funny!
*Still LMAO…*
That was awesome. The pat down at the end was too cool. Up until then every time they’d show the vehicles following on the runway with lights on I kept thinking, “This is what it would have been like if O.J. had a black jet instead of a white suv.”
FbL, Sweet Jesus…get a grip on yourself…not literally of course…agree the video is mildly amusing and sympathies certainly go out to the poor gomers trying to land those ungainley Gooney Birds…but really are you …” *Still LMAO…* alas… you haven’t been dipping into the Maderia…again my Dear…have you ? Best
They landed fine aboard ship back in the 60’s. Maybe the Navy should take over the program.
I call pure schadenfreude on that video. Shame on you Lex! heh. Now one will know why some military jets are so expensive…because of all the ones sacrificed to train the pilots.
Hey, Snakey:
Pbbbbttthhh!
It hit my funny bone just right, on a day that I needed to laugh.
Hey FbL, Many thanks for the kind…”Pbbbbttthhh! “…you are indeed a special person. Best
You’re a riot, Snake. LOL
They used to base ‘em at Laughlin in Del Rio, Tx in early 60s–the more to keep them away from prying eyes because, as anyone knows who’s even passed thru Del Rio, let alone been stationed there, Del Rio is smack dab in the middle of God’s nowhere.
(They were all gone by the time I arrived in 66 for plt tng, btw–along with Wolfman Jack [God I used to love to listen to that man late at night in HS] over across the border in Cuidad Acuna with his mega-watt pirate Mexican radio station–and probably a good thing for other reasons besides security. The sight of those landings would not have been one to inspire confidence in young aspiring fledgling pilot trainees.)
Not what I was expecting but surely one of the best combinations of music and flying. This goes on my personal favorites list!
Not just a tail dragger…
A wing dragger.
She ain’t called the Dragon Lady for nuthin’
Along time ago at a place far, far awy, I wasw on my first solo, cleared to land following the U2, caution, the Learjet is number 3 behind you.
I think my respoonse was “roger, how about I make a left 360 here and let the Lear sort it out”.
I don’t remember the numbers anymore but it seems like the U2 crossed the fence at a brisk walk that I wanted no part of trying to match, and the Lear had a final approach speed right around the PA28’s Vne.
“Coldstream”? something like that.
Taking off behind one is fun–they spray parts all over the place and you have to wait wile the yellow truck finds and fetches them all.
VX,
Actually I spent a fair bit of time working out of Del Rio. Enjoyed it actually.
Hey, they got a Walmart and Ciudad Acuna has Ma Crosby’s! What more’s a fella need?
Blackeagle603,
Only problem is Ma Crosby’s was ONLY thing there in ‘66–no Walmart, no expensive retirement homes around the reservior for San Antonio expats, nada., zilch. NOTHING except to go to Ma’s on Sat’s, eat and drink, get drunk, and go to the small training bull ring they had out back for teenage would-be bullfighters (still there I wonder? Had 3 rows of bleachers circling round, IIRC) and loudly cheer drunkenly for the bull. That and Church on Sunday if you wanted to meet the local gals badly enough. Although if you liked to hunt and fish and were married it could be paradise even then. But for a single guy??
Hell, even Wolfman Jack and the entire station (XERF–the clear channel mega-watt blaster you could here up in Canada–I used to listen to it and Wolfman at night as a kid growing up in Illinois) across the border were gone by the time I got there.
Judge Roy Bean IS buried there though, btw. Just for kicks I checked Wiki after I read your post. Looks like they’ve shot A LOT of movies around there in the years since, but no hache
when I was there…
What fell off the wing around 2:45? (I thought the pogos were dropped on takeoff, at least the U-2s we watched launch from Moffett Field used to drop them then.)
I didn’t know that they use a yoke, rather than a stick, either. (Unless the in-cockpit was from something else and I’m slower than usual tonight.)
Finally, I don’t feel *quite* so bad about the Cessna 140 dual I took a couple months ago.
Saw one of the Blackcats prang one in Osan years ago. Did the same thing – numerous approaches chased by black Camaros as I recall. Last touchdown looked normal until crosswind gust and swapped ends she did. Bent a wing pretty good. The thing has an attitude gyro the size of a basketball. I talked to their CO about flying (LTC) and he said in a good year they’d get 100 or so hrs. Yikes. I think you’d need 100 hrs of pattern work just to be proficient. Dragon Lady indeed. Good vid.
In the immortal words from Caddie Shack: “That’s a PEACH dear!”
Steve-H – I think that was the pogo falling off at 2:45 – probably the failure of it to fall when it should was why he was in the landing mode.
U-2 was a cross between F-104 and sailplane. I think they tried to get people to take off and alight as if it were a B-47, but that broke some of them.
It may have been Tony LeVier who noticed that it was a tail-dragger, and that one should operate it as such.