The Compleat Taildragger Pilot [Paperback]

Harvey S. Plourde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1991

Techniques that will help make you a skilled taildragger pilot. Includes new material on torque, crosswind landing gear, P-factor, crabbed crosswind landing and a section for flight instructors

Product Details

• Paperback: 263 pages
• Publisher: Muguette B Plourde (November 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963913700
• ISBN-13: 978-0963913708
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #128,899 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #77 in Books > Professional & Technical > Transportation > Aviation > Piloting & Flight Instruction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A first-class guide to flying "conventional" a/c, August 13, 2000

By 

Daniel Ford (at danford dot net) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Compleat Taildragger Pilot (Paperback)

I learned to fly in a Piper Cub, and my instructor suggested this book. It's a homespun gem, with lots of simple line drawings and advice to keep you and your plane from "heading for the bushes." Yes! It's tough to tame the taildragger. (On my first takeoff, from a private field, I went off into the high grass beside the mowed runway and came home with hay festooned from the flying wires. Not too subtle!) With special attention to the quirks of various taildraggers and the most complete discussion of "P-factor" you're ever likely to find. Highly recommended for the student pilot who finds himself in a taildragger, or to any licensed pilot who wants to complete his education by transitioning to a "conventional" landing-gear craft.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Compleat Taildragger Pilot, January 16, 2000

By 

Doug Barr (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Compleat Taildragger Pilot (Paperback)

Although the book is not long in length, it covers the basics as well as a chapter on "crosswind gear" and some words on specific model idiocyncrasies.

The book is written for a pilot who has a private pilot license in a nosewheel airplane. It has a typical syllabus for learning and covers basic three point landings, wheel landings and crosswind techniques. It also has a chapter on tailwheel center of gravity, moments and dynamics (for the nontechnical).

I am in the process of transitioning to a tailwheel and I found it helpful. My instructor thinks it is the best book out there.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, December 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Compleat Taildragger Pilot (Paperback)

This book is a classic in it's field. The subject of handling and flying taildragger aircraft is very much neglected mainly because these aircraft are very much in the minority these days in favour of conventional tricycle gear aircraft. I certainly believe that reading the book is equivalent to several hours of practical instruction (although by no means a substitute for it) and even conventional nose-wheel pilots will benefit by understanding the principles of handling these aircraft and applying them to nosewheel types. The book is very readable and contains a wealth of very useful information. Harvey Plourde, in addition to being a very experienced pilot has created a text that conveys that experience and knowledge easily to the reader on this very interesting and much neglected subject.