Today was not only a fun day but a bit of a milestone.

Don came out to hop some rides in his airplane while I got some photos. Afterwards Don and I went up so I could get a couple after demolition photos of the school.

I’ve been practicing taxiing pretty much every time I go flying with him. This time he allowed me to try a takeoff (from the right seat). He had to help me quite a lot with control inputs. It was not the prettiest takeoff by any stretch.

After cruising around and getting some photos, we came back and landed. He said let’s make one more circuit. So I taxied back for another takeoff. I lined up and added power. This time he didn’t have to add as much control input. The result was a cleaner takeoff.

I’d say this experience has erased much of my fear of taildraggers and replaced it with respect.