Taildragger Sim?

[Blakey]

With all the talk of taildraggers being harder to operate than tricycle gear aircraft, I'm wondering if there is a taildragger Sim? I don't mean a taildragger that is emulated in a Flight Sim game, I am wondering if there is a Red Bird or similar simulator that can simulate a taildragger taxiing? I've never seen one.

[7ECA]

I'd imagine it would be a hell of a lot harder to taxi a taildragger in a sim, because you won't have the feel, like in the aircraft. And nothing beats the hands on learning experience either.

[SuperchargedRS]

You know the redbird runs Miscrosoft Flight Simulator right?

Always thought flight sims were poor products for VFR/stick and rudder stuff, great for IFR training, wouldn't think it would help much for tailwheel.

[FAF]

Any sim I've used has been great for procedure training, as far as feel, even with a high end force feedback yolk it doesn't compare at all to the real thing.

[iflyforpie]

I sure have my fingers full when trying to fly the Piper Cub or the SeeBee on the iPhone. Helicopters are even worse.

[RamAirTurbine]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVnlfra7gk0

Redbird built a J-3 Cub Sim for Air Venture 2012.

[Blakey]

Thanks. I wonder how well it emulated the experience.

I did NOT know that the Redbird used MS Flight Sim but my reason for not wanting a "Game" Simulator is the scale. It's almost impossible to get any kind of decent simulation for VFR handling without full motion but trying to use a single small screen is just not worth the effort. Our operation uses a lot of taildraggers and the supply of pilots with taildragger experience is becoming quite short. A decent simulator might be the answer if one existed.

[cgzro]

Some Monday morning ideas for improving tw skils in a trike...


Actually you can practice the proper landing technique for a tw with a lite trike like a 150 by keeping the nose wheel off the ground as long as possible and trying to land perfectly aligned with the runway in a strong cross wind. Instead of lnding crabbed and letting the gear sort it out, drop a wing into the wind, counter with opposite rudder and keep adjusting both to maintain perfect runway alignment. Perhaps even block the forward visibility (with a safety pilot) or just look out the side window to try to stay aligned with one runway edge. Do this down to the flair, keep aileron into wind, opposite rudde r and try to land tail low on the upwind main. Keep the stick back without touching the tail skid and stay straight while looking out one side. Its not 100% accurate but if you dont allow any misalignment or drift you are off to a good start without using a real td, this would cut hours off the time requird to handle a tw in a cross wind (which is the only hard landing issue really).

For takeoff, again you could with a safety pilot block the forward vis, apply brakes apply power and lots of back stick to get the nose off the ground asap so that you have to trundle along on tha mains for a bit with a stiff cross wind before getting airborne in a nose high and draggy aoa.

[awitzke]

......

[PilotDAR]

I very much support the wise words of CGZRO. If you can track a 150/152/172 PERFECTLY down the centerline, and in slight crosswinds, with the nosewheel not on the runway, you're well on your way to tailwheel flying.

Experimenting with this is great, banging the tail tiedown ring is really bad. Practice on grass first if you can, in case you bump the tail. Using 15 degrees of flaps will really help the nosewheel to lift off with power, at low speed (or none if a headwind).

As for a sim, I doubt it, there's just too much "seat of your pants" involved to try to simulate - you have to feel it!

[Pop n Fresh]

I tried the RedBird Cub simulator. The most noticeable difference between it and the regular ones was it was painted yellow.

There was a contraption at AirVenture that year that would be much better. It was basically a cart with conventional gear under it. You could tow it and had to steer it with foot pedals controlling a wheel at the back. So you had to taxi it as a tail wheel unit. I don't recall if it had a rudder or no but if you built one it would be pretty easy to do.

[PilotDAR]

A free simulator (for the ground loop effect), is a grocery store shopping cart! Push it backwards down the aisle, again, keeping it absolutely straight. The instability of the arrangement will become quite obvious...

[photofly]

Take a 150, turn the seats around and put the prop on backwards*. Presto-hey.


* Yes, I know this won't work.

[Adam Oke]

I've done some training in an Air Tractor sim when insurance wanted me to do some turbine transition training. As far as handling goes, there is zero comparison to real life. Sim's have a time and a place -- mainly drills, procedures, and instrument work. As for hands and feet .... go fly a taildragger.

[CpnCrunch]

There is a Cub in microsoft flight sim. However it is virtually impossible to land the damn thing without ground looping it. I'm not sure if it's the CH rudder pedals, or the simulator itself, but either way it is nothing like a real taildragger (which is very easy in comparison!)

[iflyforpie]

I still haven't landed the Dragon Lady on X-Plane without ground looping it...

[cgzro]

I very much support the wise words of CGZRO. If you can track a 150/152/172 PERFECTLY down the centerline, and in slight crosswinds, with the nosewheel not on the runway, you're well on your way to tailwheel flying.

Experimenting with this is great, banging the tail tiedown ring is really bad. Practice on grass first if you can, in case you bump the tail. Using 15 degrees of flaps will really help the nosewheel to lift off with power, at low speed (or none if a headwind).

Thanks and I suspect the added risk of banging the tail skid adds a slight touch of risk thereby making the excercise even more like a flying tail dragger