Life with a Luscombe: Pipers on the Coast

I arrived at Keesler Air Force Base on the last day of September, 2017. It was an unnerving experience. The gate guards were intimidating. I could see the flight line full of C-130s off in the distance and wanted a closer look, but I didn't dare be late for fear of getting in severe trouble for missing my report time. I learned that even my spare time away from work was strictly controlled. The Air Force placed limits on my radius of travel and extracurricular activities. My second day I put in a request for permission to shoot and fly. It took almost a month to get an audience with the commander and receive his personal blessing to participate in such "high risk" activities.

Thankfully, my shooting and flying qualifications set him at ease and he had no issue signing me off. I then got to work and contacted a local flight school about instructing for them. We connected and though I did get some part-time students, it was nowhere near the load I had when I was instructing full-time in Atlanta. Online, I also discovered Shade Tree Field, a local grass strip frequented by vintage and tailwheel aircraft. I gave them a call and they cordially invited me out for their weekly Wednesday night dinner. After I introduced myself and got something to eat, Mr. Danny, the owner, asked if I wanted to see what they had for flying machines on the field. I heartily agreed and hopped on his golf cart and we headed for the first of two large hangars. He pulled the door open revealing a T-6 Texan, a Vultee BT-13, and three Stearmans. I was in hog heaven! The other hangar had a mix of Cubs, Mooneys, Cessnas, and other great little airplanes. I promised to be out Saturday for their sunrise coffee gathering.

The Shade Tree BT-13

That Saturday dawned gloomy and overcast but I still made my way out to Shade Tree. All the regulars were already firmly entrenched in their rocker chairs on the porch overlooking the runway. After thirty minutes or so, the gathering disbanded and people went their own ways. I got to talking with Shade Tree regular Mr. Jerry and once the weather started to clear up, we ended up flying in his club's Piper Colt—a first for me! I hung around the rest of the day watching a few airplanes come and go. They fun started when the T-6's owner showed up to give some of his friends rides. Just as the sun was setting, he asked me if I wanted to go with him for one more short little flight. I couldn't say no so I climbed into the backseat and buckled in. The raw power and acceleration of the T-6 was impressive and I added another tailwheel to the list of airplanes I hope to master someday. 

High Wing on the Turning T-6

After a few weeks at Shade Tree, I finally finagled a flight in the Cub, which Mr. Danny and his wife, Mrs. Janet, make available for at-cost flight training to the local community. All anyone has to do to fly their Cub is pay for gas and the instructor--an almost unbeatable bargain. I flew with Mark Stevens, a fine gentleman who helped me connect with a flight school and the local pilot population, especially those hungry for CFIs. We climbed into Snoopy the Cub and departed runway 17 at Shade Tree for a little air work. Coming from the Luscombe, handling the Cub was a piece of cake. We did some stalls and steep turns and I immediately understood why so many pilots who learned in a Cub love the airplane. We then headed back in for some landings and Mark basically just sat in the back and told stories while I tried my hand at three points, wheel landings, and turning slips.

Snoopy - The Shade Tree Cub

Shortly after getting connected at Shade Tree, I contacted a glider club over in Elsanor, Alabama, not far from Foley, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida. I made the trip out there the following Saturday and started glider training towards earning my commercial and CFI-G. That training is a whole story in and of itself. However, the club's tow plane, a 265 hp Piper Pawnee, also piqued my interest. I started to inquire into what it would take to get checked out in the Pawnee. I was brushed off as just another eager beaver and I eventually got the message, "Show us your commitment to the club, get your glider certificate, and prove you can fly a tailwheel." In early 2018, I got the commercial glider and talked the club president, Emmett, into letting me check out on the Pawnee. After some pestering, we got my three simulated tows done in a Cessna 172 which I had flown in. Emmett talked me through the ordeal of flying the Pawnee with a glider in tow. At first, I was overwhelmed by the instructions but was soon able to build a mental picture of how it worked. He had me do some reading about the Pawnee to get as ready as I could for a single seat checkout—which is part of what makes the Pawnee so much fun!

The Mighty Pawnee

On a clear March day, I finally found a big enough break in the glider schedule to fly the Pawnee. John, one of the club tow pilots, talked me through the cockpit layout and the checklist. Emmett gave me his blessing to solo the Pawnee so I hopped in and followed the checklist to get it started. The Pawnee is kind of like the Stearman in that the controls are all huge and manly. It has just as much horsepower as the Stearman I had flown. However, the major difference between the two was that in the Pawnee, I could actually see in almost every direction thanks to sitting so high in the airplane's fuselage. The sight picture over the nose of the Pawnee is, at first, unnerving. The nose of the Pawnee actually slopes downward even in the three-point attitude. At first you feel like you are going to prop strike especially in a wheel landing. I did some taxiing and then decided that I might as well get on with it and go fly.

The View From My "Office"

I lined up on Elsanor's runway 09 and eased in the power. The Pawnee sprang forward and before I knew it, I was rocketing skyward, something we mere Skyhawk instructors are not exactly used to. Just as I cleared the trees, I thought to myself, “What are you doing by yourself in such a powerful contraption?” A sprig of fear crept into my mind just like on my first solo but I quickly put it out of my head. I had a big task at hand—to teach myself how to fly this airplane. I did some stalls and a few steep turns. The Pawnee is one of the most forgiving airplanes I have ever flown with stalls only having a mild buffet and drop of the nose. I was impressed with this gentle giant.

Heading back towards Elsanor, I set myself up for a landing and made my approach. It took a few laps in the pattern before I really came to terms with the Pawnee’s draggyness. It’s not as bad as in a Stearman but when you pull the power back in the Pawnee, you will go down and you will go down quickly. I also found just how important it was to keep my speed up as close to the runway as possible. As soon as you pull back on the stick to stop the sink, airspeed bleeds off very quickly. You must time the flare just right or else you will drop in fairly hard. But with the airplane’s big tires and Elsanor’s soft grass, what would be a hard landing in any other airplane is firm at the most in the Pawnee. After making three takeoffs and landings, I made my first tow with a Grob 103 hanging on the back. Despite the loss of a little acceleration and climb rate, the Pawnee still has stellar performance with a glider in tow. It felt immensely satisfying to log my first bit of solo PIC high performance tailwheel time that evening.

Jefferson - My Glider Buddy