WACO - cool!

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MolaKule

MolaKule

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I was doing some touch-n-goes at the airport the other day and announced we were ready for takeoff when a WACO pilot announced he was on final but far enough away we could go ahead.

I responded that "Cessna xxxxx will hold until after your exit," because I had never seen a WACO land and wanted to see this up close.

Needless to say, a very cool plane but even with my limited hours, I think I may have made a better landing?
grin2.gif



https://www.wacoaircraft.com/about
 
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I started to mention a WACO airplane when I saw a post from Waco, TX earlier. My dad has been into aviation as a hobby for 45 years. For some reason, I remember Murdoch on the A-Team mispronouncing the name of the city with a short "a" and being corrected only to be flying WACO plane later in the same episode. I might have to see if my dad wants to go to an airshow soon. Thanks for the post.
 
umm, the WACO aircraft had nothing at all to do with any town in Texas and the name is pronounced with a short "a".
WACO is an acronym of Weaver Aircraft Company of Ohio. These planes were built in Troy, OH.
To the OP, I'm sure that you could manage a better landing in a tricycle gear Cessna than you could in a conventional gear WACO.
Try a little dual in a taildragger and see just how easy it isn't.
 
Darn, fdcg.....,

You beat me to it!

‘Kule, thanks for posting.

How many hours do you have in a taildragger?

And did the WACO (Wahco) pilot make a two or three point landing?

Clear skies, ‘kule.
 
Originally Posted by fdcg27
umm, the WACO aircraft had nothing at all to do with any town in Texas and the name is pronounced with a short "a".
WACO is an acronym of Weaver Aircraft Company of Ohio. These planes were built in Troy, OH.
To the OP, I'm sure that you could manage a better landing in a tricycle gear Cessna than you could in a conventional gear WACO.
Try a little dual in a taildragger and see just how easy it isn't.


Was about to say the same thing...

Taildraggers are not easy!
 
Yep!

I do not have a tail-dragger endorsement, though I wish I did.

If I could have an aviation "do-over," it would be to begin my flying lessons in a tail dragger. Cub, Waco, Extra 300 ( ... ) it would all be more productive and beneficial.

There is no better way to learn to fly than to understand you have to be on the stick, rudder, and throttle from startup to shutdown.
 
It's a very cool airplane, by the way. Like a wooden Chris-craft, it's a throwback to a different era.

There's a local company that uses YMF-5 Waco biplanes for sightseeing rides.

I would love to go,

One of my most memorable flights was in the fall of 1990, in a Stearman owned by a guy from Simsbury, CT who was kind enough to give me a ride. We flew in a formation of Stearman biplanes over the New Hampshire countryside in the early morning.

It was wonderful.

I flew the airplane while in formation. Piece of cake.

But the owner said, "I'll take the landing"...

Wise man...
 
Originally Posted by dkryan
Yep!

I do not have a tail-dragger endorsement, though I wish I did.

If I could have an aviation "do-over," it would be to begin my flying lessons in a tail dragger. Cub, Waco, Extra 300 ( ... ) it would all be more productive and beneficial.

There is no better way to learn to fly than to understand you have to be on the stick, rudder, and throttle from startup to shutdown.



A couple of rides with an instructor in a C120 were enough to convince me that one of these very affordable to buy and operate little guys was not in my future.
There are good reasons that the C150 and C172 came along and that Piper made the Pacer into the Tri-Pacer.
Still, if all one knew were taildraggers from first dual through first solo, one would get pretty good at tap dancing the pedals to keep the tail in line although I'd imagine that groundloops were probably pretty common. Crosswind landings would have to have had some serious pucker factor. Another factor is that many of these aircraft lacked flaps, so a pilot would have to get pretty good at slips.
Imagine how cool something like a C195 would be to own and just how cool a hand its pilot would have to be.
 
There is a new production WACO based at F45, my home airport. Just a few hangars from me. It's stunning. Even came with LED landing lights.... An odd mix of old and new.

I asked for a ride and the owner balked more than a little, then differed to his wife, who was operating a business with the aircraft. I asked her and got the same runaround. Weird. Never did get a ride.

Subsequently, the owner and I have been out to lunch together many times, still no luck.
 
Originally Posted by dkryan
Darn, fdcg.....,

You beat me to it!

‘Kule, thanks for posting.

How many hours do you have in a taildragger?

And did the WACO (Wahco) pilot make a two or three point landing?

Clear skies, ‘kule.




I have zero hours in a tail dragger which is why I said, Needless to say, a very cool plane but even with my limited hours, I think I may have made a better landing? Note the "?".

I do not have a TD endorsement.

The pilot made kindaofuv a two point landing and finally got the tail down.

My flights so far have been in tricycle gear aircraft, a Cessna 172 with a fuel injected engine (which I love) and a Piper Warrior.

We have a fly-in tomorrow so maybe I'll get a flight with this guy and get to play with the schtick.
 
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Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers my friend and I apologize if I did.
FWIU, a proper landing in a taildragger is a three point full stall, so it sounds like your observation that the guy in the WACO didn't do all that well was on point.
Maybe just an off day for him, which we all have?
 
Originally Posted by fdcg27
Didn't mean to ruffle your feathers my friend and I apologize if I did.
FWIU, a proper landing in a taildragger is a three point full stall, so it sounds like your observation that the guy in the WACO didn't do all that well was on point.
Maybe just an off day for him, which we all have?


No ruffled feathers at all fdcg27 and no apology needed. I was joking about the ? since I didn't think anyone would take me serious anyway.
smile.gif


I know from talking to other pilots who have flown a taildragger that it is no mean feat, hence the endorsement. I'll stick with tricycle gears for now. Maybe next week I can take the training wheels off!
grin.gif
 
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Most of my time is in taildraggers... nose wheel aircraft don't even interest me unless you're offering something on the order of a P38 P39 B25 A26...

Stinson 108
North American AT6
North America P51C (Betty Jane)
Beechcraft Twin Model 18
Boeing PT17 Stearman
RV8 (Miss America)
Piper Cub
Champion Citabria
Naval Factory N3N
DeHaviland Chipmunk
Harmon Rocket
 
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Originally Posted by BusyLittleShop
Most of my time is in taildraggers... nose wheel aircraft don't even interest me unless you're offering something on the order of a P38 P39 B25 A26...

Stinson 108
North American AT6
North America P51C (Betty Jane)
Beechcraft Twin Model 18
Boeing PT17 Stearman
RV8 (Miss America)
Piper Cub
Champion Citabria
Naval Factory N3N
DeHaviland Chipmunk
Harmon Rocket



Great - what are your observations of the major differences in performance and handling between the two types of landing gears?
 
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Originally Posted by MolaKule



Great - what are your observations of the major differences in performance and handling between the two types of landing gears?


Tricycle landing gear aircraft I have flown were an emotional dribble compared to the taildraggers that were an emotional rush...

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by BusyLittleShop

Tricycle landing gear aircraft I have flown were an emotional dribble compared to the taildraggers that were an emotional rush...



Thanks, that tells me a lot.
 
Originally Posted by MolaKule
Originally Posted by BusyLittleShop

Tricycle landing gear aircraft I have flown were an emotional dribble compared to the taildraggers that were an emotional rush...



Thanks, that tells me a lot.


LOL
 
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