The last two weeks at Tailwheel Town
I was sorry to see my pal Keith Newnham head home to Australia, but he'll be back!
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Keith Newnham.
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The first weekend started with a trip to "Three-Fingered Jack" for Angela's intro to mountain flying. The conditions couldn't have been better, because the turbulence was right where it should have been, indicating that she needed to do a steep turn away from the turbulent downwind area and get out of it.
(right) Angela on the lee side of
Three Fingered Jack right before she beat feet to the right!
David Ives and I took his lovely Maule (even if it DOES have a nosewheel) up to the local mountain strips to get Dave more familiar with mountain flying. Now Dave is off to the Middle Fork of the Salmon to fish with a competitor of son Hooper's. He won't catch as many fish, but he'll have a great time!
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Dave blasts out of Sisters on his way to the mountains.
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Ann Beeghly took advantage of a reunion to stop by
Tailwheel Town for a Tailwheel Endorsement. We watched some rust flakes go careening off as this experienced pilot showed that she was still a capable stick!
(left) Ann Beeghly gets comfortable in "Fred", the PA12.
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Rod Richeson and his Cessna 180.
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I had a fun flight to help Rod Richeson in his 180. Rod and I flew up to Madras and beat up the pattern while we laughed, scratched and generally improved. It was a lot of fun. Maybe we'll do it again!
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The gang from Flight Science, a couple of our planes and one very large dawg!
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The guys at Outlaw Aviation came up with a really fun idea for their high school students: We all took several flights to get them all to McKenzie Bridge state airport and had a fun campout there. The kids got to fly into a relatively small mountain strip, they had some fun in the river which runs along side of it AND they enjoyed the cooking of Walt Lasecki! I had a great time. Here's a story that ran in the local paper...
(https://nuggetnews.com/main.asp?SectionID=8&SubSectionID=8&ArticleID=27438)
Monday, the 6th of August was a busy time, but the good kind of busy. My pal, Norm, arrived from Boise and we had a good time, and then ol' Charles Lewis, along with his wife, Judy, arrived in my hangar from their digs in North Carolina. We had a nice
visit. This guy is a great teacher of tailwheel flying and I think we could visit for hours, but he was just traveling through. If you are on that side of the country and are looking for some dedicated teaching of tailwheel flying, Charles is the guy to see!
The two-week period ended with a wonderful course for Dan Ballin. A very experienced pilot and builder, Dan was a joy to fly with and is one of the best examples of why such a pilot should seek out a course such as those offered at Tailwheel Town.
We certainly don't offer the only way to improve, but we do offer a way to review your own techniques and occasionally we give you a chance to improve. Flying with Dan has been a real treat.
This Week's Article
"An Old Rule" is a little review of a rule I learned a long time ago, but which modern flight instruction so often ignores. The rule states that when you are in the pattern, you MUST be able to return for a landing on the airport should the engine quit. I've watched many an "Acme-trained" pilots venture beyond that "point of no return" on either the upwind leg or the downwind. I think that the question, "Can you get back?" needs to be asked a bit more often.
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August 10, 2018
Remember, every pilot who completes a Tailwheel Endorsement or Stick and Rudder Master Class at Tailwheel Town will receive a complimentary Gift Certificate from Oregon Aero.
