Tailwheel vs Nosewheel

The other day, in my attempt to sell my beloved Fargo (ha!), I was asked a question by the potential buyer: "Why are you selling?"

Isn't that the obvious question of the day? All he needed to do was look at the thing...it's a Cessna 150. It's tiny and gutless and, I have to admit, he looked absolutely ridiculous when he sat in it. However, I was attempting to make a sale, so I couldn't tell him that. So I told him the other honest answer...I want to buy a tailwheel.

Now, I thought that would have satisfied him. But I don't think we hang out with the same type of pilots. Because the one I hang out with (and yes, one is the key word, although I have been broadening my horizons a little and have worked up the courage to talk to a few others when they're hanging about the hangar, but that is a whole different blog altogether) would have understood that response and would not have needed any further explanation. This guy, however, was not satisfied with my answer and pushed a little further, "But why do you want a tailwheel over a nosewheel?"

Oh. He didn't know. I guess not everyone knows. Especially when, for the most part, we all learn on the 150s (or some variation of them: 152s, 172s, etc). They're all little Cessna Nosewheels. And if I'd never been in a tailwheel, I guess I would not understand either. Then again, maybe not. Because I've been around the airport enough to watch many small aircraft come and go. I've scoured the various airplane classifieds. I've been to other airports, busier airports, and sat fascinated by all the little airplanes scattered all over by their various owners, and I have to say, nothing can turn my head like a tailwheel (and tailwheel they are, for they have small wheels in the back. A taildragger does not have a wheel but a type of skid plate or somesort that is drug along the ground, hence, taildragger). So this is where my question is: why do I want a tailwheel? Take away the fact that my first experience in a small airplane was in a Piper PA-22/20 (a tailwheel) and you're usually partial to your first cool experience. And then, the pilot who helped get me into flying is an avid tailwheel enthusiast so has gotten me rather biased to them, but this guy, this potential buyer, made me question my desires a little. I didn't want to be buying a tailwheel just because I idolize this other pilot and follow his every word. I wanted to be wanting one because I, as a pilot in my own right, wanted one. And was that the case?

I think my answer is yes. For one, they're just cool! I've never been into sleek, fancy sports cars. Actually, the more they're considered fast and expensive, the less I like them. Take the first Transformers movie, for example. I preferred Bumblebee when he was the older (can't remember the year), beat up camaro. He was cool. He was different than every other plastic vehicle crowding the roads these days. He was made of metal. He was old-school. Then, in their most likely very expensive marketing strategy, he became the new-style chevy camaro. And that is where my love affair with Bumblebee died. He became a new, plastic (I know they're not made of plastic, but really, crash a '70s Camaro into a new camaro and which one do you think will survive? Definitely not the new one that will crack and crumble due to it's cheaper, flimsier material), toy-looking car.

You're wondering where I am going with this? Yes, I digress a little, but I return to the tailwheel vs nosewheel question. A tailwheel is the old Bumblebee, rugged, rough around the edges, functional. A nosewheel is the new camaro. Yes, it's nice, probably more comfortable, faster, with more conveniences, but it's just not as cool. Not everyone can pull off an old muscle car without seeming out of place. You've got to have the style and personality to go with it. When is the last time you saw anyone climb out of their supercub in a suit and tie?

But I have gone off on quite a tangent and need to return to the original questino asked by this potential buyer; "Why do I want a tailwheel?"

Obviously, you cannot see where I live from this page on the computer. But there is not a great deal of civilisation around here. And along with that, comes a lack of airports around with good restaurants. It seems the usual theme of flying is going from airport to airport for a good breakfast, or the $100 hamburger. Well. This airport has the best food around. There's only two other ones close by that have any form of restaurants, and one is barely better than a McDonald's, and the other one gets boring quickly. So where am I to go? My only option is the bush, as in, the nearby fields, rivers, mountains and lakes. That's pretty much the only places I can get to on a day trip. A nosewheel, especially the horsepower-deprived 150 that I have, is not exactly ideal for those situations. I doubt it could handle floats, or if it could, it could hardly keep itself in the air as it lacks the power to carry myself and a passenger around most days. If I tried to land in a nearby field I'd most likely be fine, but I wouldn't get back out. Not to mention the fact that 6 months of the year those fields are covered with snow and the rivers and lakes are iced over. I'm sure the Fargo could handle skis, but the idea of landing nose first with that prop so close to a lump of ice is not exactly exciting to me.

So, really, I don't think the plane itself is in question, but the pilot. What kind of pilot are you? If you're happy to fly along at 4000-10,000 FT, going airport to airport for your hamburgers, that's great. The Fargo is for you (although, good luck getting to 10,000 FT, it tends to flatten out at 5000). However, it's not for me. If anything, I'm going to fly and land in my sister's canola field. For that, I need a tailwheel. And along the way, I might try to fly along the river and stop on a gravel bar to catch a fish for my lunch (obviously, this is assuming I have the skill to do that). And if I've got a weekend to kill, I'm going to spend it flying into a secluded lake in the middle of nowhere instead of trying to make my way into a busy airport with it's control towers and landing fees. And, on the off-chance that I do decide to head to a more densely populated area, I can still do that. I may look like country mouse coming to the city with my overly large tundra tires and mud stuck to the underbelly, but that's fine by me. I'll most likely have holes in my jeans too.