Tailwheel Endorsement — Mastering Conventional Gear

About this course

Flying a **conventional-gear (tailwheel) airplane** is one of the most satisfying skills a pilot can earn — and one of the most demanding. The center of gravity sits *behind* the main wheels, which makes a taildragger directionally unstable on the ground and unforgiving of sloppy feet. This course gives you the deep aerodynamic and procedural knowledge that separates pilots who merely survive the transition from those who truly fly the airplane. We start from first principles: how the rearward CG changes ground handling, why P-factor, gyroscopic precession, torque, and spiraling slipstream all conspire to pull the nose left on takeoff, and exactly what a **ground loop** is and how to stop one before it starts. From there we build the two core landing techniques — the **three-point landing** and the **wheel landing** — covering sight picture, energy management, and the critical 'fly it until it's tied down' discipline. A full section is devoted to crosswind operations, where taildraggers separate the careful from the casual. The course closes with the regulatory picture: the exact wording and requirements of **14 CFR 61.31(i)**, the pre-1981 grandfather provision, logbook endorsement language, and how insurance and rental checkouts work in the real world. Every lesson is grounded in the FAA *Airplane Flying Handbook* (FAA-H-8083-3), the AIM, and decades of accumulated taildragger wisdom. Knowledge-test-style questions throughout prepare you to walk into your first lesson — and your endorsement flight — ready to perform.

What you'll learn

Summary