Randy said: I am studying my ground school(King private pilot knowledge test) and this
spring im going to do my 40 hours and become a pilot!!! My personal opinion Randy is since you have lots of time, find a tailwheel airplane to do all your primary instruction in. By the time you pass your check ride, you will be so competent at tailwheel operation, that you will have no trouble at all with your KR2 or S. As a CFI with nearly 1000 hrs dual given to students, I can tell you that initially it will be a bigger challenge, but overall it will be no different from training in a spam can C150 or C172. All the air work will be the same, all based on the speed ranges of the plane, but procedures are identical. Remember that MANY young pilots took their first lessons in a J3 Cub, or Jenny bi-plane before the Cessna clan became popular. Just find a CFI who gives tailwheel transition training, and sign up with him to do all of your private pilot training. The key to being a good tailwheel pilot is always fly the plane on the ground or in the air (same for tri-gear), and give yourself enough time to become comfortable with the aircraft, and then just alittle bit more. I had just over 1250 hrs when I got my tailwheel endorsement, and was signed off after 2 flights in a Citabria, at grand total of 2.1 hrs. But I also had 10 other models of aircraft to my credit at that point, and over 800 hrs dual given, to add to the experience book. You have read of many different totals from alittle to alot required. It is an individual thing and should only be used as a reference, not a guarantee of time required. The book says a minimum of 40 hrs training, 20 dual, 10 solo, and 10 either, but few do it in that amount of time. National average a few years ago was running about 80 hrs, and most of my students were not ready to pass a check ride until at least 50 to 60 hrs. The key there is to fly regularly, and at least 3 times weekly. Weekends only makes Saturday review day and Sunday progress day. Better if you can fly daily or every other day. The same when getting used to your KR. Taxi daily or at least every other day for the first 5 to 10 hrs to get so familiar that you are almost bored. When the reactions are somewhat automatic instead of thought about, you are ready to high speed taxi. I had the benefit of a 10,000 foot long runway for taxi testing, so I could lift off for short "hops" and then land the plane. After 3 trips of this, I took off and began climb out, when I noticed that my ASI promptly quit working, the unfortunate victim to an unseen dirt dauber nest in the PTO tube. By paying close attention to the sounds of flight, and the control feel, I was able to lap the pattern, and land without incident. Built correctly, a KR2 or S is a great little plane. Keep that CG right and have fun.... Colin Rainey N96TA KR2 taildragger brokerpi...@bellsouth.net
