Put it on amphibs and it’s a piece of cake!

Which technique do you use with skis?

vg's on the j-3 allow for a power on wheels landing slower then a power off 3 point

Mostly 3 point on skis as I try to do full stall landing to keep speed as low as possible so its easier on the airframe.

The C185 is probably the easiest taildragger to wheel land. 60 kts on short final with some power and slight push on the yoke to keep the tail up. Practice practice.

On amphibs its like a giant shopping cart with its 4 wheels, great in crosswinds, once its on the runway its not going anywere...

I'm glad that after tailwheel airplanes have been flying for about 110 or 115 years that some smart new guys have figured out the new right way to land them.



The missionary position can go to the doggy style and then to rodeo style in short order

The MAF trains pilots to land on very short, very rough strips. The short part requires landing at minimum speed with minimum flare, the rough part requires lowering the tailwheel to the surface as gently as possible. Their technique isn’t particularly new. When heavy taildraggers with locking tailwheels came along in the 30s, “tail low” landings were a common technique.

Apparently Charles, it is not that easy for a lot of pilots. I know pilots who have been flying tailwheel aircraft for years and still cannot competently wheel land anything.

And each tail wheel aircraft seems to have a certain "technique" that works better for it than others. On the 180/185, if you just cut power and try to "flare" to a wheel landing, you will fail more often than not and end up tail low or three point.

Jgreen

MAF has been flying since 1946; no reason this technique can't be both MAF and tried-and-true.

For the record, my wheel landings are terrible but my three-pointers aren't good either. I think I'm getting better, though.

Pilots know they are getting long in the tooth when they think a nose wheel endorsement is a necessity. When I mention "conventional gear" to the younger pilots I get long stares.
Here is the only instance where wheeling it on with full application of brakes and a deft touch on the controls is essential. Three-pointing is out of the question.

Tom

To get comfortable flying the 185, try flying down a long runway about 6” above the runway without touching down, this needs a little power and a lot of practice. Once you master this the wheel landings will be easier.
When landing if you are new to the 185 and find that you bounce more than 1/2 of the wing height then go around and try again. If you bounce and are less than 1/2 of the wing height then turn your landing into a 3 point by pulling all the way back on the yoke as the plane slows down. You’ll need to manage the height above the runway without gaining any altitude by pulling slowly on the yoke, it takes practice.

Andy

I just try to be reeeel careful. Slow it down. Kill the drift. Reeeel easy. Flare.

Then, when it hits, I take whatever I get from there on in.

Andy,

That is great advice for any taildragger or other small airplane. It teaches you to fly close to the ground instead of setting an attitude and "holding on". I would add taxiing the length of the runway at partial power with the tail up.

One gotcha that 185 drivers need to be careful of is the trim position in the event of a go around. There is substantial nose up trim for landing that can bite you on a go around unless you are prepared for serious forward pressure on the yoke.

Ed

Ed has it right. If full or 30 degrees of flaps are in use there will be lots of force needed for the GA. Best to reduce flaps as power introduced. This is a neat trick with manual flaps. I'll let the PIC determine which happens first and in what situations. Same is true for trim.

The above is no different than the 182 I learned in. Pour the coal on during a GA and if the nose is trimmed up and flaps hanging "low" it can become a handful quickly as air speed increases...

I do love how a lightly loaded 180/185 howls as she scrambles into the air.....