First solo in the C-140 today!

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Solo'd the C-140 today!

After 6-7 hours dual with my amazing tailwheel instructor John Peter Chmiel, about a month downtime while troubleshooting a magneto issue, and waiting for weather conditions to become favorable, I finally had a nice calm morning with winds straight down the runway. Today was the day I woke up knowing that it was the day to solo the 140!

Going through the checklist and V-speeds one last time, I lined her up just right of the centerline so I could see (great tip from John), smoothly applied full power, and I was rolling. Shortly afterward, the tail came up. I kept it straight and pinned to the runway until the airspeed came up, eased back a smidge, and it floated right off the runway. Wow, what a performer with only one person onboard!

I climbed to pattern altitude, and then got 'er set up for landing. Trying to remember all of the tips that were provided in past instruction... carb heat on, throttle back, wings level, trim for 73, let it come down... base, watch the jury struts and compare with the horizon, keep them parallel, airspeed, runway, airspeed, runway... final, airspeed, runway, airspeed, runway... Let it come down, let it come down, flare, easy, easy... Next thing you know, bark! Perfect 3-pointer!

A few things I need to practice:

• Watch the speed as I get closer to the ground. Don't let it get too slow.
• Don't be in a hurry to flare too early (always been a problem for me in every airplane). The plane will get too slow too high off the ground. I'll plop it on.
• Be a better judge of altitude. Force myself to look out the side window to see how high I actually am.
• Land slightly right of centerline. It'll have a better visual reference of the runway direction, especially in the flare.
• Do it again. And again. And again...

All in all, I'm very pleased with today's accomplishments! I had some time before work, so I did three TOs and landings to a full stop, all three-point. Practice makes perfect. I need to get out and do as much flying as possible now to get it down pat. And for heaven's sake, I need to find some grass to land on!

~Chris

[Mark Goldberg]

Congratulations Chris. Very exciting. You should be proud. Just think of how much fun you are going to have with your BH. You will be an ace tailwheel pilot by then. Mark

[Bcone1381]

Chris,

Congratulations. I enjoyed reading your account of soloing the C-140. It brought back fond memories for me. You help us all remember the anticipation, fear, excitement, and thrill of success.

Awesome!

Brooks Cone,
Scratch building Patrol #303

[Chris In Milwaukee]

I certainly had butterflies! A little bit of fear is probably healthy in a tail wheel airplane. Keeps you alert!


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[bway]

Chris, congratulations on successfully completing your tail wheel transition. I debated about whether or not to mention this, as your instructor may have already done so, but where you are looking during the flare becomes even more important in a tail wheel airplane. When I was instructing, I noticed that quite a few pilots had a tendency to look too close to the airplane, and look around too much when flaring, and that apparently interfered with their altitude perception. If you keep you focus well down the runway on the left side of the cowling, it might help. The Cessna 140 has better visibility over the cowling than many tail wheel airplanes so it is tempting to look over it, but altitude perception seemed to be better for most everyone I transitioned when looking to the left and further down the R/W. This technique also comes in handy when landing at night without a landing light. When the runway lights start to line up, you are close to touching down. Carrying just a touch of power through the flare helps in some really light & draggy airplanes like the J3 Cub as you don't have to flare as abruptly to keep from getting too slow before you are in the right 3 point attitude. Those of us who learned to fly in a J3 Cub had to learn to look where I described because we flew it from the back seat and the tach and airspeed were on the left side of the panel. I hope this is not too much advice. Bob

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Thanks so much for the advice. I'll certainly give that technique a go. I found that in the C-172 and Archer that if I looked down the runway things worked out for the better. I'm sure it'll work here, too!

[EricP]

Congrats!!

[Gary Wallace]

Hi Chris i know this is an older post but wondering if you still own and fly the cessna 140. Here is a pic of mine which i did an extensive rebuild on, finished it 5 years ago and put 800 hours on it since . Its a lot of fun to fly. Gary

[svyolo]

Nice;

For me I need a few hours in a non TW aircraft. Then tailwheel training. I also need to figure out what the FAA will require for my currency. 30 years of flying for a living, but all at the other end of the spectrum. I have a lot to re-learn.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Hi Chris i know this is an older post but wondering if you still own and fly the cessna 140. Here is a pic of mine which i did an extensive rebuild on, finished it 5 years ago and put 800 hours on it since . Its a lot of fun to fly. Gary

I was lucky enough to have a friend allow me the use of his C140 at no cost. It was a very generous offering! I moved away from there a couple summers ago and haven’t flown it since, but really enjoyed the time I did. It’s certainly a fun, economical airplane.