Since the dawn of aviation, tailwheel airplanes have been essential to flight. Being a lighter and tougher design feature, they helped us take to the skies before paved runways.

Tailwheel is an excellent challenge and a huge increase in fun factor in aviation.

Taildraggers, as they are often called, are much better for off-airport operations. Watch some of the Youtubers and what they can do on logging roads and mountain ridges. Its almost always a tailwheel airplane that is doing it.

The FAA requires pilots to have training and an endorsement to fly tailwheel airplanes. This usually entails between 3-10 hours of flight time and a couple hours of ground instruction.

Excellent reading resources are “The Compleat Taildragger Pilot” by Harvey Plourde and “Stick and Rudder” by Wolfgang Langewiesche