TAILWHEEL & SPIN TRAINING
Develop confidence through competence
TAILWHEEL & SPIN TRAINING
Develop confidence through competence
Why should you learn to fly Tailwheel
Stick & Rudder skills
Tailwheel flying improves stick-and-rudder fundamentals that transfer directly to all aircraft.
The Super Decathlon provides more direct aerodynamic feedback and less forgiving handling characteristics during takeoff and landing. NASA and FAA loss-of-control research repeatedly identifies poor energy management and inadequate rudder coordination as major contributors to general aviation accidents.
Tailwheel training exposes pilots to these fundamentals earlier and more aggressively, improving control precision, crosswind technique, and aircraft feel across all other aircraft.
Exposure to varied and realistic operating environments
Many aircraft used in bush flying, backcountry operations, agricultural aviation, glider towing, vintage aircraft operations, Aerobatic and STOL competitions use conventional landing gear because it performs better on rough, soft, or unimproved surfaces and offer less drag in flight.
Tailwheel configurations reduce propeller strike risk and often allow larger propeller diameters and shorter-field capability. Learning tailwheel expands operational understanding beyond long paved runways and standardized airport environments.
Improve attention, discipline, and workload management.
A tailwheel airplane cannot be “passively” flown during taxi, takeoff, or landing. Small deviations compound quickly. This forces continuous situational awareness and active control inputs through all phases of flight.
FAA accident analyses consistently show runway excursions and loss of directional control remain among the most common general aviation accident categories. Tailwheel training conditions pilots to stay mentally ahead of the airplane during the highest-risk phases of flight.
Spin Training
Learn what happens after the stall
Every spin begins with a stall, but not every stall becomes a spin.
The difference is yaw.
Understanding that relationship changes the way you fly. Quality spin training teaches you to recognize the aerodynamic conditions that produce a spin, understand what the airplane is doing during each phase, prevent an inadvertent spin from developing, and apply the correct recovery when prevention is no longer an option.
Spin training shouldn't be something you do once because the FAA requires an endorsement for your CFI certificate. It is some of the best stick-and-rudder training a pilot can receive.
Experience It Instead of Just Reading About It
There is a significant difference between discussing spins in a classroom and actually experiencing one.
You'll learn how angle of attack, yaw, rudder input, control effectiveness, loading, and energy interact as an airplane approaches and enters a spin.
Training progresses from recognition and prevention into actual spin entries and recoveries. You'll experience the incipient phase, developed spins, multiple-turn spins, and different entry scenarios while learning to recognize what the airplane is telling you throughout the maneuver.
The objective isn't simply to memorize a recovery procedure.
It's to understand why the airplane spun in the first place.
Prevention Comes First
The best spin recovery is the one you never need.
Many inadvertent spins occur close to the ground, where there may not be sufficient altitude for recovery. That makes recognition and prevention considerably more important than simply demonstrating that you can recover from a developed spin at altitude.
We focus heavily on the situations that can produce an inadvertent spin: poor coordination, excessive angle of attack, improper rudder inputs, distraction, aggressive maneuvering, overshooting the final approach course, botched go-arounds, and secondary stalls.
You'll learn to recognize the warning signs early and develop the control discipline necessary to stop the sequence before the spin develops.
More Than a CFI Endorsement
CFI candidates need spin training. Every pilot can benefit from it.
A basic CFI spin endorsement can satisfy a regulatory requirement. My spin course is designed to provide considerably more experience than simply completing the minimum required demonstration.
You'll work through incipient and developed spins, one-turn spins, multiple-turn spins, spins in both directions, and different entry and recovery scenarios while developing a much deeper understanding of the aerodynamics behind them.
For experienced instructors, recurrent spin training provides an opportunity to revisit skills that may not have been practiced since their initial CFI training and to become more comfortable recognizing and correcting developing loss-of-control situations from the instructor's seat.
Professionals don't train until they can do it once. They train until they understand it.
5x MASTER FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR
A five-time Master Certified Flight Instructor, multi-time AOPA award-winning instructor including 2023 Best Flight Instructor Eastern Region, and award-winning STOL competitor, Doug’s instruction philosophy is grounded in discipline, exposure, repetition, and accountability. He has logged over 9,000 hours of dual given across more than 100 makes and models, developing a reputation for producing highly capable, safety-focused pilots.
He is the owner of Air Ventures Flying School and Newport Aviation in Rhode Island, where his work centers on structured, performance-driven training designed to build competence rather than push volume-based certification. His approach emphasizes decision-making, consistency, and long-term pilot development in an industry with historically high attrition.
For two decades tailwheel flying his passion. Trained by tailwheel legend Capt. Paul Santopietro - He treats it as a foundational discipline that reinforces stick-and-rudder precision, energy management, and timely pilot judgment skills that transfer directly to all levels of operation and are increasingly absent from modern training environments.
Available Tailwheel Training
Introduction to Tailwheel Flying
Introduction to Tailwheel Flying
Introduction to Tailwheel Flying
Come get a taste of what flying a conventional-gear airplane is all about.
This introductory flight will put your feet back to work and give you hands-on experience with the fundamentals of tailwheel flying. You’ll be introduced to ground handling, adverse yaw, coordinated flight, Dutch rolls, stall characteristics, and three-point landings.
Tailwheel airplanes demand precision and coordination. This flight is designed to show you why—and give you a taste of the stick-and-rudder flying that makes conventional-gear airplanes so much fun to fly.
No tailwheel experience or endorsement required.
$549.00
Tailwheel Endorsement
Introduction to Tailwheel Flying
Introduction to Tailwheel Flying
Earn Your Tailwheel Endorsement in as Little as 2 Days!
Develop better stick-and-rudder skills and learn to confidently operate a tailwheel airplane.
This course typically includes approximately 10 hours of flight training and 5 hours of ground instruction, covering tailwheel aerodynamics, aircraft handling, takeoffs, landings, crosswind operations, wheel landings, three-point landings, and ground handling.
Tailwheel training is proficiency-based, not time-based. Every pilot progresses differently, and your endorsement is earned when you demonstrate the required proficiency—not simply after completing a certain number of hours.
I strongly recommend being proficient in coordinated flight, slow flight, and stalls before beginning this course.
(That means you shouldn't commonly enter a right bank as you rotate on takeoff.)
No minimum flight time guarantees completion.
Spin Training
Introduction to Tailwheel Flying
Tailwheel Immersion Package
Why go spin a basic trainer once just to check the box for an endorsement when you can gain meaningful spin experience for nearly the same price?
This course goes well beyond a basic spin endorsement. You’ll learn the aerodynamics of spins, the factors that contribute to inadvertent spin entry, the common mistakes pilots make that lead to spins, and how to recognize the warning signs before a spin develops.
You’ll gain hands-on experience with:
- Incipient spin recognition and recovery
- One-turn spins
- Four-turn spins
- Six-turn spins
- Direction-reversal spins
- Spin prevention and recovery techniques
The objective isn't simply to recover from a spin. It's to develop a practical
understanding of how spins develop, what they look and feel like, and how to prevent an inadvertent spin in the first place.
A tailwheel endorsement is not required to complete this course.
Course Price: $700
Tailwheel Immersion Package
Tailwheel Immersion Package
Tailwheel Immersion Package
Spend two days immersed in tailwheel flying while traveling throughout New England.
You’ll fly into five New England states, experiencing different airports, runways, terrain, and operating environments while building valuable cross-country and tailwheel time.
This isn't ten hours of flying around the same traffic pattern. You'll put a tailwheel airplane to work in the real world, developing aircraft control, takeoff and landing technique, crosswind skills, cross-country decision-making, and experience operating at unfamiliar airports.
The package includes 10 hours of cross-country flight time, 10 hours of ground instruction, and lunch both days.
This isn't ten hours of flying the same pattern. It's an opportunity to take a tailwheel airplane somewhere, encounter different conditions and airports, and build the experience that comes from actually using the airplane.
For the best experience, I recommend completing your Tailwheel Endorsement before beginning the Immersion Package. This allows you to arrive with the fundamentals already established and spend these two days building real-world experience and refining your skills. A tailwheel endorsement is not required to participate, but the Immersion Package is not designed specifically as endorsement training.
Tailwheel Mastery Package
Tailwheel Immersion Package
Tailwheel Mastery Package
A tailwheel endorsement means you’ve demonstrated proficiency. It doesn’t mean you’ve mastered the airplane.
Spend two days going beyond the endorsement and working on the finer points of flying a tailwheel aircraft with precision.
You’ll work on basic airmanship, advanced rudder control, spin training, wheel landings, three-point landings, crosswind landings, forward slips, turning slips, and the all-important go-around.
The focus is on understanding what the airplane is doing, why it is doing it, and developing the aircraft control necessary to stay ahead of it.
You’ll leave with a significantly deeper understanding of aerodynamics, energy management, coordination, and aircraft control—and a much better understanding of what it actually means to fly a tailwheel airplane well.
This is an advanced tailwheel course. You must already hold a tailwheel endorsement to participate.
Aircraft Acquisitions
Tailwheel Immersion Package
Tailwheel Mastery Package
After you finish your training, there’s only one logical next step: buy yourself a tailwheel airplane.
I’ve helped hundreds of pilots find and acquire aircraft that fit their experience, mission, and budget—and, just as importantly, helped them walk away from airplanes that could quickly become expensive mistakes.
I can assist with the entire acquisition process, including aircraft selection and search, ownership and operating-cost planning, storage and hangar considerations, logbook and maintenance review, prebuy inspections, purchase coordination, and aircraft pickup and delivery.
Whether you're looking for your first tailwheel airplane, a vintage classic, or something with a very specific mission, the goal is simple: find the right airplane and know exactly what you're buying before you own it.
Contact me for aircraft acquisition assistance and pricing.
Important Training Information
Important Training Information
Important Training Information
All tailwheel training is completed at KSFZ unless otherwise arranged.*
Tailwheel training in owner provided aircraft also available.
*Travel and lodging costs will be added to any arranged offsite training.
**Due to increasing fuel costs a fuel surcharge may be added to all training.
Required reading: (click links)
- The Compleat Taildragger Pilot by Harvey Plourde prior to any training.
- FAA Tailwheel Transition guide
There will be a test.
Rates
Important Training Information
Important Training Information
Training by the hour is available schedule permitting.
ACA Super Decathlon 8KCAB - $399.99/hr (wet)
Doug Auclair (Master Instructor) - $125.00/hr
- Prepaid cash discount available for courses.
- University professional pilot program discount available.
- 8KCAB not available for solo rental.
Book or contact Doug today
Training out of KSFZ
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Copyright © 2026 Doug Auclair - All Rights Reserved.
*Tailwheel endorsement training can run over the prepaid courses - any time after 10 hours is paid by the hour at current hourly rates.
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