Warbird Information Exchange

There is an excellent article in the current July issue of NATA Skylines, the magazine for T-6, 51, 28s etc.
It's by Paul Redlich who I know only by reputation, but he is widely considered to be a top T-6 restoration and maintenance expert.
It's a long article, but is about types of landings, wheel or 3 point for T-6s. I started a topic about this a few weeks back.
Paul comes out very strongly in favor of 3 pt landings. I am sort of surprised, as so many of the guys like wheel landings. Everyone should read the article, but a brief summary is that the plane is more stable with the tailwheel on the ground. Also the transition phase from wheel landing, tail up to tail down can cause a swing. A key point was that full flaps make a wheel landing less stable as they block some of the rudder effect.
Some types of planes seem to call more for one type of landing. That is you see P-40s make wheel landings, and others like Spitfires are usually landed 3 point. I have always thought a T-6 could do either type about as well, but this article is informative.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

Sounds interesting. Is the article online?

I have seen too many tailwheel accidents caused by not flying the tail out in a cross wind. I was on the ramp when georgia mae set the tail down too fast it hit the nose, the right wing tip, the left wing tip and then the tail. At first I wasnt sure I saw it correctly it happened so fast!

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P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.

S: Took hammer away from midget.

I don't know if it is online. It's www.NorthAmericanTrainer.org. Membership dues are $50 US and Canuck. The mag comes with the membership. Stoney is on WIX at times also.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

Sounds like a good org to join....thanks!

Wheelies vs 3 point will be argued forever and ever amen. As was discussed in the earlier thread, wheelies were not taught in WW2, at least not to my Dad, and that included P-40's and B-17's. But my Dad taught me how to wheel land when I was a teenager. He used to fly WIXer Sagebrush's PT-23 and loved to wheel it on. I personally want to be proficient in every possible way to put my airplane on the ground. I've been in situations where I had to wheel land to prevent damage to tailwheel parts. There will always be those who swear there is never any reason to wheelie. I disagree but respect their opinion. I can name several pilots, including my Dad, whose aviating experience covers literally thousands of hours and almost 70 years of personal flying, who have yet to scratch an airplane, even while performing the deadly wheel landing.

Steve G

Bipe, I don't think I have ever seen anyone make anything other than a wheel landing in a P-40. I got a ride once with Tiger Destefani and he is a fine pilot and he definitley made it on the mains. A few years later at the Spitfire reunion he flew a Spit and made very good 3 pt. landings.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

Paul's article is very correct.
The T-6 can handle a higher crosswind with a 3 point landing than with a wheel landing.
Good writings.
VL

After watching the video of me flying Crazy Horse, Elmer Ward said let me show you how I think the P-51 should be landed. Not one to argue, we got in Man O' War and Elmer showed me how he 3-pointed his landings. His theory was that if you treated every landing as a short field landing, then it was no problem when you had a short field.

Les

I preferred putting the 51 on the mains tail low . Ours was stock and didn't have the cg changes some of the civvies have.
The T6 you can plant 3 point or tail low and I agree with Vlado it handles crosswind a bit better with the tailwheel planted.

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Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship

After watching the video of my first landing in Crazy Horse at Bartow, when I was trying to do a wheel landing without having practiced one for years; I suggested to Lee that he rename the plane Crazy Hops.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

Bill
Thanks for the plug, and no we don't put articles online.

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One good thing about the Mustang; if you fly the tail down after mains contact it will track like a Mac truck with those wide feet.
The T6 on the other hand, can get a bit "interesting" )

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Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship