information about the endorsement and the airplane

In my opinion, one of the best regulations the FAA developed in the early 1990s was Part 61.31, which clarified information on type ratings, additional training, and authorization requirements. A friend of mine told me a story of the Globe Swift that he rebuilt. It was a beautiful airplane which he acquired as a wreck. He found it on the side of a runway where it had been abandoned near Atlanta, GA when an airline pilot crashed it on takeoff.

The ATP-rated pilot who was a captain with a major airline purchased the Swift prior to the FAA adopting the new 61.31 rules. When told he should get some sound instruction from a fully qualified Swift instructor, the captain indignantly replied he was a fully rated airline pilot and he could fly any airplane. 

The old guys who had given him the very sound advice slowly shook their heads and knew what was coming. 

The captain then climbed into his uninsured and brand new (to him) airplane. On the very first takeoff, the proficient turbojet captain, who had no clue about the left turning tendencies as they applied to a taildragger, groundlooped his airplane and tore off the right wing. 

After sitting dejectedly in the cockpit for a few minutes, he gathered up his gear and abandoned the airplane. It sat there for over two years before my friend discovered and saved it.

If you are not a humble aviator, flying taildraggers will teach you humility. It will also teach you all about flying! 

And you will have more fun than you can ever have imagined!

Per the FAA, there are no minimum flight time requirements for flight training in tailwheel airplanes to qualify to fly conventional gear airplanes. This is a proficiency-based endorsement, meaning that if you figure it out in two hours and the instructor is convinced you are capable, congrats, you’re done! 

However, in my experience, most pilots transitioning from nosewheel airplanes to taildraggers typically require eight, to as much as 15 or 20 hours, to get comfortable flying tailwheel airplanes.

Here are the regulatory requirements from Part 61:

§ 61.31 Type rating requirements, additional training, and authorization requirements.

(i) Additional training required for operating tailwheel airplanes. 

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (i)(2) of this section, no person may act as pilot in command of a tailwheel airplane unless that person has received and logged flight training from an authorized instructor in a tailwheel airplane and received an endorsement in the person's logbook from an authorized instructor who found the person proficient in the operation of a tailwheel airplane. The flight training must include at least the following maneuvers and procedures: 

(i) Normal and crosswind takeoffs and landings; 

(ii) Wheel landings (unless the manufacturer has recommended against such landings); and 

(iii) Go-around procedures. 

(2) The training and endorsement required by paragraph (i)(1) of this section is not required if the person logged pilot-in-command time in a tailwheel airplane before April 15, 1991. 

The Aeronca Champ first flew at the end of April in 1944, and more than 7000 of the 7AC model were produced by the end of 1948. The line continued by different manufacturers producing more than 10,000 variants before production ended. After looking all over the country, I found “Rocinante” right in my backyard. 

Why the name, Rocinante? Rocinante was the name of the knight’s horse in Miguel de Cervantes’ novel, Don Quixote. And like the knight, Don Quixote de La Mancha, I may be out and on my way to joust with windmills.

The Aeronca Champ is one of the most classic of airplanes from the 1940s. As with most of the old airplanes from that era, the Champ was able to fly based on a very fine balance between large wing area and “just enough” horsepower. Officially designated the 7AC, the airplane was the counterpart to the 11AC Chief, which was the side-by-side version of the Champ series.

A Continental C-85-12F engine of 85 horsepower powers this particular airplane. Consequently, Rocinante is a little peppier than your standard Champ and cruises at just over 80 mph. Vx is 50, Vy is 60, and stall speed is a mere 38 mph. Using the FAA formula of stall speed x 1.3 = approach speed, that number equates to 50 mph. 

With 13 gallons total fuel and a burn rate of 4.5 gph, the airplane has an endurance of 2.8 hours without reserves. Take out a 30 minute requirement for reserve fuel, no-wind range for the Champ is about 200 sm.

Rocinante weighs in at 695 pounds and with a full fuel tank, that allows another 447 pounds for two people.

Flying the airplane is a delight. She has very well-balanced controls and handles, well, like a Champ. Uhm… I wonder if that is where that saying comes from. She is a very honest-flying airplane, as are most of the airplanes of that era. With fairly large ailerons, a pilot must absolutely counter adverse yaw properly. If it is one thing this airplane will do, along with the other taildraggers of the time, it will teach neophyte pilots how to use rudders—in flight and on the ground.

Slow flight and stalls are very straightforward. The Champ, with its generous wing area, has no problems flying at very slow airspeeds. Stalls are gentle, and as long as the pilot keeps the ball centered, the airplane does not dip a wing or tend to fall off one way or the other.

Landings, of course, are easy, for a taildragger. With the big-screen windshield and the lower nose cowling, seeing where the airplane is going is easy. Beyond that, ease the nose up over the fence and let the airspeed bleed off with the wheels just above the ground. If you keep trying to hold the airplane in the air two inches above the ground and never let the stick go forward after you program it back, nine of ten times, you are going to have a near-perfect landing.

Just keep that stick back and use the rudders to keep her straight on the centerline.