No… I’m not talking about your attitude.
I’m talking about your aircraft’s attitude.
One of the most common questions I get from tailwheel pilots is:
“Should the nose be high or should it be low during the takeoff and landing?”
The answer is surprisingly simple.
Your pitch attitude should match the windsock.
Light Wind = Higher Nose
When the windsock is hanging low, it’s perfectly acceptable to operate with a higher nose attitude.
In fact, this is exactly what we want for short field and soft field operations.
A higher nose attitude allows the aircraft to fly at a higher angle of attack and leave the ground at a lower airspeed.
That’s great when your goal is getting airborne in the shortest possible distance.
Personally, when I’m conducting a short field or soft field takeoff in a Super Cub, I don’t hold the three-point attitude.
Instead, I lower the nose by about one finger width.
Why?
Because it gives me a repeatable reference.
I know exactly what angle of attack I’m asking the wing to produce, regardless of the aircraft’s weight, temperature, or density altitude.
The aircraft simply flies when it’s ready.
Every takeoff is consistent.
You’ll often see STOL competition pilots aggressively raising and lowering the tail before snapping the aircraft into the air.
It’s impressive.
It’s also a competition technique.
If the timing is wrong, the aircraft can end up in a high-drag condition, refuse to accelerate, and actually use more runway than expected.
For everyday bush flying, consistency beats heroics.
Strong Wind = Lower Nose
As the wind increases, your pitch attitude should become flatter.
Why?
Because your priority is no longer getting airborne as quickly as possible.
Your priority is maintaining control.
A flatter attitude means a lower angle of attack.
The aircraft remains on the ground longer.
It accelerates to a higher airspeed.
And higher airspeed means greater control authority.
That gives you:
Ironically, one of the most common mistakes I see during windy takeoffs is pilots trying to pull the aircraft off the ground with a high nose attitude at the first sign of directional instability.
The Result?
That’s exactly the opposite of what we want.
Instead, adopt a flatter attitude and allow the aircraft to accelerate.
If the main wheels skip or bounce lightly before the aircraft flies, don’t worry.
It might not feel pretty, but you’ll appreciate the increasing control authority as the aircraft continues to accelerate.
Nothing changes.
In stronger winds, a flatter attitude and a slightly faster approach provide greater control authority.
That doesn’t mean carrying excessive speed.
Landing too fast creates a different set of problems, including:
Instead, fly the aircraft at an appropriate speed for the conditions.
As a general guide, your threshold speed should be around 1.3 times the stall speed for your landing configuration.
If you’re dealing with gusts, add only what you need.
Personally, I generally carry half the gust factor, not all of it.
Just enough extra speed to maintain good control.
No more.
One of the unique advantages of a tailwheel aircraft is the wheel landing.
A wheel landing allows the aircraft to touch down flatter and slightly faster than a three-point landing.
More importantly, once the main wheels touch, we can positively but smoothly push forward on the stick.
This:
In gusty conditions, that means better directional control while keeping the aircraft firmly planted on the runway.
It’s one of the reasons wheel landings are often the preferred technique in stronger winds.
If you’re ever unsure what pitch attitude to use…
Look at the windsock.
Light winds = Higher nose attitude.
Strong winds = Lower nose attitude.
Match the pitch attitude to the windsock and you’ll give yourself the best chance of maintaining control throughout both the takeoff and the landing.
Sometimes the simplest lessons are the ones that stick.
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