Recently Don Coburn had a thread about back up airplanes. No sooner did that thread appear than I had my first maintenance issue with my plane which caused me to miss a trip and it got me to thinking…

I sold my Waco a year and a half ago and have missed tail wheel flying ever since. I got to do some aerobatics and upset recovery training in a Citabria last fall which also really whetted my appetite for flying upside down. So, I've been looking casually for a tail wheel airplane with gentleman aerobatic capability for a while.

For some reason I hadn't given N723CL any thought. I originally bought this airplane a couple of years ago and put a little partnership together to own it. I sold my interest almost immediately never having flown the plane. So, the other day when Don had me thinking, and I had to cancel a 200 mile trip I called the guys and they let me back in. It's a 1999 model with about 1,000 hours in beautiful condition!

Today I did my check out and it's a very simple, easy airplane to fly. Not having flown a tail dragger for quite a while my feet were a little dead but that comes back. With the basics out of the way I'm ready to get back to spins, loops and rolls!

The Citabria is a great little plane. Dirt simple taildragger that is easy to fly. I had about 45 minutes of tailwheel training before flying a Citabria from Marco Island, FL back home to Indiana for a friend that had a heart attack in FL. It was like second nature as it just felt "right."

Not a very fast plane, but sure is a good one!

Todd,

I've got about 30 hours in various Citabria models and they are all fun to fly. This Super D just has more power. It's practically a helicopter with a little head wind! Landings are sooo easy! And unlike with a big biplane you can actually see taking off and landing! These things are so stable and easy to fly hands off that I can see where a long trip like the one you took would be fun…

My first airplane ride was in April 1958 in Aeronca 1703E with a 65 horse continental engine and no electrical system. Basically the same airplane (except the wing of course) with a third the horsepower. There were no weight concerns as my father and mother together probably weighed about 230 and I only weighed 7 pounds.

+1 on the Super D..........great plane!

+2. I had a Super D for 7 years, sold it last fall and wish I still had it. It helps keep your stick and rudder skills intact.

I love the Super D. I flew 3 years of Sportsman-level competition acro in one before moving into the Pitts. In fact, I remember N723CL - I used to compete against it!

Tony,

If it's just me traveling, it's a toss up which airplane I like to take. The A-36 gets me there faster & is the IFR platform, but with my iPad Mini & Stratus 2, the Decathlon with ForeFlight makes most trips possible and it is a blast to fly. I've taken One-Alpha-Charlie more than once because the Bonanza was either in annual or otherwise down. Flew to Chicago once because the A-36 was down. Did just fine.

Enjoy your Super "D" & welcome to the tailwheel club

Today I did some work on coordination. It's been a while since I flew an airplane with a lot of adverse yaw (not that the Decathlon holds a candle to my old Waco in that department) so I wanted to smooth out some things. Beginning with 10 degree banks back and forth with Dutch rolls I then did 30 then 45 degree bank turns through about 45 degrees of the horizon, then 90 then 360. Then I put the plane in constant, multiple 360's at 45 degrees and played with the stick and slight rudder pressures to keep the ball centered and the altitude solid.

It was really interesting to note that this airplane requires a little more judicious use of aileron than the other Citabrias I've been flying, and especially the Waco, because of the spades on the ailerons. Those things are amazing. The other interesting thing was the subtle difference in rudder pressure between turns to the right and left. Not much, just a little bit.

The SD is also a very stable airplane once you get it trimmed. It flies hands off very nicely.

Then I did turns with no reference to the ball at all. Just concentrating on the horizon and looking out of the airplane. That is a little tougher but pretty soon my butt started working again, a little.

I pulled the power out at 3000 feet AGL over the airport to maneuver for a power off landing. I was high on final so I put in a slip. Too much! As I was flying uphill to the runway my instructor said "I bet you'd like to have that slip back!". I would have landed in the grass about 100 feet short. Then followed an ugly landing. Humbling. But it shows why you have to learn each plane. They're all different. And practice the basics. I've seen plenty of photos of planes that came up short...

After makings some nice landings the other day the first two today were embarrassing. The last was a squeaker. Like the one perfect golf shot in 18 holes - it makes you want to come back!

Hopefully, sometime in the next couple of weeks I will find myself flying upside down again.