Tailwheel Aircraft

They might not apply to all but certainly will be legitimate to some.

There are things pilots can do to keep themselves and their aircraft prepared during extended periods of gray.

Most pilots are introduced to tailwheel flying in small, two-place types such as the Piper Cub, Aeronca Champ and Cessna 140—airplanes that are perfectly suited to initial training and short pleasure flights. But as they build experience, more than a few pilots begin to recognize the limitations of these bantamweights and begin searching for an […]

Van’s Aircraft dropped a bomb at EAA’s AirVenture last week, announcing a—wait for it—high wing backcountry airplane. The company didn’t make a big deal of the major news and there was no official announcement. But Van’s vice president and COO Greg Hughes confirmed that the company is in the process of building an all-metal, high-wing […]

Based in Kenai, Alaska, a coastal city southwest of Anchorage on the mouth of the Kenai River, Robert Taylor, owner/operator/builder of a four-place kit-built Bearhawk has access to shorelines, waterways, and often-frozen tundra throughout the year. To make full use of his “triphibious” Bearhawk, Taylor has demonstrated his airplane’s performance operating from turf, water, and snow in […]

On the spectrum of popularity, various aircraft types ebb and flow from decade to decade, and the most sought-after models become easy to spot. Cessna 170s and Carbon Cubs are currently among the most desirable types, and while their popularity and reputation are not necessarily undeserved, the resulting prices often stretch out of reach for […]

In May 2020, Bearhawk Aircraft launched the latest addition to its line of kit-built backcountry-ready airplanes with the Model 5—a six-place tailwheel aircraft “designed to fly fast and land slow,” according to a company release on March 1. That news shared that the first four of the Model 5 kits had gone out to customers, […]

Whether in tricycle or tailwheel configuration, this economical cruiser shows its value.

Pride is hurt, though not the airplane…this time.

A Champion 7ECA Citabria was my first taildragger as well as my first airplane. The first few hours of tailwheel instruction chronicled in my logbook made the score pretty clear—Citabria: 2, me: 0. My instructor always managed to add colorful comments to my logbook to illustrate the at-times-agonizing progress—”Crash and Dash,” he called many of […]