{"id":7320,"date":"2018-06-14T01:11:28","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T01:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=7320"},"modified":"2018-06-25T01:35:27","modified_gmt":"2018-06-25T01:35:27","slug":"my-first-time-in-a-tail-dragger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/?p=7320","title":{"rendered":"My first time in a “tail dragger…”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I just flew in a Piper Cub \u201cJ-3\u201d \u2013 like<\/strong> the one shown above \u2013 that helped win World War II<\/a><\/strong>\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

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Last Sunday evening \u2013 June 10 \u2013 I rode in my first-ever \u201ctaildragger<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0(You know, the airplane kind.)\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0The place I contacted was\u00a0Peachtree City Biplanes<\/a>, at Falcon Field in\u00a0Peachtree City<\/a>.\u00a0 But rather than the biplane \u2013 at left \u2013 I chose to fly in the company\u2019s\u00a0other\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>plane.\u00a0 That other plane was a classic 1946\u00a0Piper J-3 Cub<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I did that for a couple reasons.\u00a0 First, the Cub flight was cheaper.\u00a0 For another, I remember the 1965 movie\u00a0Battle of the Bulge<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0(About the\u00a0Ardennes Counteroffensive<\/a>, in\u00a0WW II<\/a>.)\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0The film started with\u00a0Henry Fonda<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 “Lt. Col. Dan Kiley” \u2013 in the back seat of a Piper Cub.\u00a0 He and the pilot were \u201cflying a reconnaissance mission over the\u00a0Ardennes<\/a>\u00a0forest.\u201d\u00a0 Later still, the pair flew another daring mission:<\/p>\n

Facing the dangers of a foggy night, Col. Kiley conducts an aerial reconnaissance in an attempt to locate the main German spearhead.\u00a0 He orders the pilot to shut off the engine and glide<\/strong>\u00a0in an attempt to listen for enemy tanks.\u00a0 Suddenly, through a gap in the fog, he spots [a German] tank column heading toward American lines.\u00a0 Kiley radios in the coordinates, but his plane is hit by German fire and crashes near an American fuel depot.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019ve wanted to fly a Piper Cub ever since.\u00a0\u00a0(BTW:\u00a0Fonda survived and helped\u00a0save the day<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

And another aside:\u00a0 In researching\u00a0for this post I learned that \u2013 to some\u00a0Army Air Corps<\/a>\u00a0veterans anyway \u2013\u00a0The Piper Cub helped beat\u00a0the Germans in World War II<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Piper Cub, used as an artillery spotter plane, did more to defeat the German Army in World War II then any other American airplane, according to Capt. John Johnson.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The article added that what made the Cub “perfect for artillery spotting was its versatility.”\u00a0 They could fly “low and slow with ease,” and could also land and take off in very little space.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cGiven the wind conditions, I could land and take off in 19 inches,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, back to\u00a0my<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>flight, last Sunday evening.<\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t flown since 2002 or thereabouts.\u00a0 (When\u00a0I got my Private Pilot\u2019s license, but then found out flying was an expensive hobby.)\u00a0<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span>Owner-operator Jay Herrin<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em>wrote later that\u00a0<\/span>we had a great flight over Lake McIntosh, Pinewood Studios \u2013 where they shoot \u201cThe Walking Dead,\u201d etc. \u2013 and also Starr\u2019s Mill and the surrounding area.\u00a0 He added that I \u201cdid most of the flying and did a great job!\u201d\u00a0 But that was a bit of hyperbole.<\/span><\/p>\n

I did<\/em> <\/strong>take take over the controls for a bit,\u00a0which was kind of strange.<\/p>\n

I trained in a Cessna 172, with a steering wheel and foot-rudders that were pretty wide.\u00a0 But the Cub a had a classic \u201cstick\u201d to steer with, and the rudders were small metal bars.\u00a0 Also, the Cessna had a\u00a0tricycle\u00a0landing gear<\/a>, while the Cub – as noted – was a\u00a0taildragger<\/a><\/em><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the\u00a0center of gravity<\/a>.\u00a0 T ricycle gear aircraft are the easiest to take-off, land and taxi, and consequently the configuration is the most widely used on aircraft.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the other hand, while a\u00a0taildragger is generally\u00a0less expensive to manufacture and maintain, it has some disadvantages:\u00a0 1) It has a “nose-high attitude on the ground,”\u00a0 2) It’s “susceptible to\u00a0ground looping<\/a>,” and 3) it’s “more subject to ‘nose-over’ accidents due to injudicious application of brakes by the pilot.”\u00a0 (Like the one seen at left.)<\/em><\/p>\n

But after a while I got the hang of the stick and rudders, and was able to stay pretty much on course.\u00a0 And did I mention that you have to pretty acrobatic just to get in<\/em> <\/strong>the dang thing?<\/p>\n

On the plus side the view was great, from such a “low and slow” altitude.\u00a0 And I was able to take some pretty good pictures, from the always-open right window, with camera and cell phone.<\/p>\n

Like the picture below, of\u00a0Starr\u2019s Mill<\/a>, a “tiny village a few miles south of Peachtree City<\/a>.”\u00a0 It’s next to Starr’s Mill Pond, and near the junction of\u00a0Highways 74 and 85.\u00a0 “The area is extremely picturesque and makes for a nice drive.”\u00a0 (But it’s even better<\/strong> seen from about 800 feet up…)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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All of which just goes to show that while other people my age are being Grumpy Old Geezers \u2013 whining and complaining \u2013 I plan to have some fun in the time I have left.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

Starr\u2019s Mill<\/a>, southeast of\u00a0Peachtree City<\/a>, seen from about 800 feet up…<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The upper image is courtesy of\u00a0Battle Of The Bulge Movie Piper Cub\u00a0\u2013 Image Results<\/a>.\u00a0 The “nose over” image is courtesy of\u00a0Nose Over Accidents Airplane\u00a0– Image Results<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

* \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

Re: \u00a0The\u00a0Israelite<\/a>. \u00a0Harry Golden<\/a>\u00a0grew up in the Jewish ghetto of New York City, but eventually moved to Charlotte, North Carolina.\u00a0 Thus the “Carolina Israelite.”\u00a0 I on the other hand am a “classic 67-<\/strong>year-old \u201cWASP” –\u00a0White Anglo-Saxon Protestant<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a0and live in north Georgia.\u00a0 Thus the “Georgia Wasp.”\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Anyway, in<\/strong> North Carolina Harry\u00a0<\/em>wrote and published the “israelite” from the 1940s through the 1960s. \u00a0He was a \u201ccigar-smoking, bourbon-loving\u00a0raconteur<\/a>.\u201d \u00a0(He told good stories.) That also means if he was around today, the \u201cIsraelite\u00a0<\/strong>would be done as a blog.\u201d \u00a0But what made Harry special was his\u00a0positive outlook on life<\/a>. \u00a0As he got older but didn\u2019t\u00a0turn sour<\/a>, like many do today.\u00a0 He\u00a0still got a kick out of life<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 For more on the blog-name connection, see \u201cWasp<\/a>\u201d and\/or\u00a0The blog<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I just flew in a Piper Cub \u201cJ-3\u201d \u2013 like the one shown above \u2013 that helped win World War II\u2026 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * \u00a0 * Last Sunday evening \u2013 June 10 \u2013 I rode in my first-ever \u201ctaildragger.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0(You know, the airplane kind.)\u00a0\u00a0The place I contacted was\u00a0Peachtree City Biplanes, at Falcon Field in\u00a0Peachtree […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7320"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7320"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7384,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7320\/revisions\/7384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/georgiawasp.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}