Ok - back into the fun airplane hunt. After a really fun aviation fly in in WY I got the tailwheel bug. I also want something to fly around SoCal every now and then for fun that can do over 115 knots (so Cub is out).

Been looking at American Champion Scouts as well as the A-1B Husky (earlier than the current model). I looked at the Maule, but they seem kind of lethargic to get up and out.

I don't have any grand schemes for going way off the reservation, but I could see myself taking it up into the Sierras and such. The difference in a 400 foot takeoff versus 200 foot probably doesn't matter much to me.

I will of course put the big tundra tires on the plane - kind of gotta do that for some credibility at the airport.. :-)

I could go hit the back country websites, but I am hoping to get some insight here.

-jason

Swifts are cool.

I'm very happy with my 7GCBC. It will do 115 kts but only with the small wheels, wheel pants and a cruise prop. Husky's are cool but I couldn't fit in it, the Citabria's are great for tall guys.

Why did you chose a citabria over a scout? The extra hp might be nice in the mountains. Of course I will need the big tires!

I hear you on the husky. I'm 6 feet and about 190, so I will enjoy the room.

You are right on the Maule, getting in one is a pain in the a$$. Also part of the fun of a small tail dragger is having a stick. Scouts, Citabrias, Huskys, Cub Crafters. Also a Decathalon is a great choice they can take off short and still do a Sportsman Acro sequence.

Rocky

Amen

Super Cub? Power, wheels, backwoods capability par excellence. Not fast though.

How about a Kitfox?

I'm going to guess that tundra tires and 115 knots will be a difficult combination to find. If you plan to always land on public or well-maintained private airports, standard tires will be fine even on grass or dirt runways. The Bo actually makes a very good back country machine, tho it's not a taildragger. If you're going for street cred with the big tires, don't bring them to Texas unless you plan to land on sandbars - the local wilderness flyers don't think much of tundra tires that have only seen airport grass.

+1 on the Citabria/Decathlon/Scout series. They are nice machines with good room. I'm 6'2" and fit in the back seat with room to spare. Which one you buy will depend on how much you want to spend and what other uses (e.g. aerobatics) you have for the airplane. I'm not aware of any high wing, two-place taildraggers that is particularly easy to enter and exit, especially for a tall guy. Mostly it's a matter of figuring out the sequence of hand and body moves to get in and out like you know what you're doing.

Good luck in your search and happy tailwheeling!

115 Knots with big tires is going to be tough. If that is a real requirement, then I would think you are going to need a big bore six cylinder airplane to pull that off like a 180, 185, or maybe one of the big engine Maules. I don't think any of the two place tandem airplanes are going to do it.

On the other hand, the tandem two place planes are the most fun, and easiest to fly, so if you can drop the big tire requirement, grab whatever flavor Champ variant you want and have at it. They are the easiest to fly and very fun to kick around in.

I can drop the big tire requirement, although having some good size tires will most likely be important up in the Sierras - maybe not the huge ones.

I've got a good A to B airplane, so speed isn't the most important part, but I do want to be going faster than a cub, and getting in and out of a husky was not the easiest (and I'm not too big). That being said, having the window/door half down was pretty cool.

Anyone have any really experience on the difference between the A-1B and A-1C Huskys?

-jason

Might not look so cool with tundra tires though.

The Scout is nice, in my case the Citabria was cherry, upgraded motor, STOL kit, and tundra tires, new metal spar wings from ACA, great fabric etc for half the price of a scout.

I have a Husky A-1. Has proven to be a great utility plane. Grass fields, pastures, sandbars...all with stock tires. Also fly it IFR (full panel), and it's quite utilitarian for shorter IFR flights (this am from PDK (Peachtree-Dekalb) to RMG (Rome, GA) at 0500).


I bought it when I thought I wanted a super Cub. I've found it's a really good plane for lots of uses. Gave 4 hours of dual instruction in it over the weekend, used it to do some serious X-C over the past month, have shot 4 or 5 ILS approaches to minima in it. Economical to fly.

I've flown a A-1C, it has a bit more power, and the baggage access is much nicer. However, the A-1 is also a great plane.


(I know that's not the comparison between the A-1B and A-1C you asked for)

Stan, how would you compare the Husky to a 180HP Supercub? I have only flown a Husky once, but my initial impression was that the Husky felt faster, but didn't have the really sweet control feel of the PA-18s. Specifically, the Husky left me wanting for more elevator authority but I didn't get to fly it enough to decide if that was due to a forward CG, or something to do with the bungee system.

Craig, I agree that the Super Cub has a better "feel" to it. Yes, I think it's the trim system. The Husky has springs (both up and down) that are positioned to hold the elevator in it's trimmed position. The Super cub moves the horizontal stabilizer up and down (on it's leading edge). You can overcome a lot of that with aft trim just as you come into the flare, but the Super Cub will always have that lighter touch.


The advantage to the Husky is a beefier structure (if you see a Supercub "naked" at the same time as a Husky), and the Husky is much faster. The one and only 180HP Super Cub I ever flew was only about 90 mph, the Husky will indicate at the top of the green (120 or so) with a lower power setting.

If you can afford it, and if you are just flying for fun, the Super Cub has the best feel of the two. I could buy a lot more plane for the same money in a Husky.

YMMV