Learning to fly tailwheel

Bob Jones Delivered My Husky From Idaho

I had zero hours tailwheel time, and my last 300 flight hours had been spent flying my Baron with both feet flat on the floor. Gord Aust in Toronto had lots of Super Cub time, and he agreed to spend a day in the back seat of the Husky while I flew several hours of grass and asphalt landings. When I had three hours under my belt with Gord, I turned myself loose and brought the airplane back to Ottawa solo. I know that Gord and Bruce Musgrave were on the ramp at Buttonville shaking their heads as I departed on my first tailwheel solo. I landed back at Carp at dusk. My first solo landing had a couple of small bounces but there was no damage and no witnesses.

I told my friend Dave in Arizona about my new airplane. Dave and I met three years ago in Australia, when we each flew Cessna 172s on a GOANA Air Safari. Dave flew P3C Orions (aka Auroras) in the US Navy and now flies for South West airlines. Dave flies to Colorado and Idaho every year to camp in the backcountry. He suggested that I fly the Husky out to Idaho and join him and a few buddies for some camping at Johnson Creek.

The most experienced Husky instructor in the world is probably Bob Jones in Idaho Falls, so why not fly the new airplane back out there? It would give me a week or two of intensive flying in the plane to realy get acquainted with the aircraft. I had four weeks to study the charts, order the “Fly Idaho” book, and find as much as I could about the area on the internet.


First Flight - CPW3 Nobleton, on the grass