![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Clint-Eastwood-in-Firefox.jpeg\" "\\"Clint")
<\/a>In \u201cMagnum Force\u201d, Detective Harry Callahan, played by Clint Eastwood, observed, \u201ca man\u2019s gotta know his limitations\u201d.\u00a0 That line has made an impression on many of us, probably because it is so true.\u00a0 In aviation, knowledge of a pilot\u2019s limitations may very well save his life.\u00a0 Look at all the guys who have killed themselves doing something as simple as a low pass.\u00a0 Even attempts at the basic maneuver of going around have proven fatal to some pilots who weren\u2019t aware of their limitations.\u00a0 We have to know our aircraft\u2019s limitations as well.\u00a0 Pilots have been killed because they didn\u2019t have enough \u201cg\u201d available to avoid the ground (\u2018\u201cG available\u201d?\u00a0 What\u2019s that?\u2019).<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s the good news:\u00a0 The level at which we find our limitations is not permanent.\u00a0 Remember the Peter Principle; that a person rises within a profession until they reach their \u201clevel of incompetence\u201d?\u00a0 It\u2019s the same thing.\u00a0 But we can eliminate many of our limitations.\u00a0 We do it through education and practice.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if Bob Hoover ever reads my articles, but if so, he must be tired of my using him as an example!\u00a0 Here I go again:\u00a0 What do you think happened the first time ol\u2019 Bob tried to pour a glass of iced tea while performing a slow roll in the Shrike?\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t there, but I can only imagine that some tea had to be spilled.\u00a0 I\u2019ll assume that before you can smoothly pour a glass of iced tea during a slow roll, you must practice performing the maneuver smoothly, then pouring the tea while doing that well-practiced slow roll.\u00a0 Many years ago I watched air show pilot Ted Anderson doing point rolls in his Christen Eagle.\u00a0 When the rolls stopped at their points it was as if the wingtips had impacted a brick wall.\u00a0 It was that positive.\u00a0 Impressed and expecting some epiphanous answer, I asked Ted what the secret was to his incredible point rolls.\u00a0 \u201cPractice\u201d, he answered.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons I enjoy doing tailwheel endorsements is that in a short six hours I can see someone progress from being unable to keep the airplane from rolling itself up into a ball to pretty competent performance of the maneuvers that make someone a tailwheel pilot.\u00a0 Perhaps no maneuver is more demonstrative of the value of practice than the Landing in a Turn.\u00a0 In much the same way as the first try at patting your head and rubbing your belly, the first-timer practicing this maneuver has a helluva time performing a one-wheel landing while following an arc across the runway.\u00a0 He\u2019s all over the place the first time.\u00a0 But eventually I\u2019m sitting there like a bump on a log, watching a pilot perform this fun and challenging maneuver dependably and with skill.<\/p>\n
Could the Clint Eastwood who played Rowdy Yates in \u201cRawhide\u201d or the monosyllabic hero in all those spaghetti westerns have directed and starred in \u201cThe Unforgiven\u201d or \u201cThe Bridges of Madison County\u201d?\u00a0 Not likely.\u00a0 His limitations wouldn\u2019t have let him.\u00a0 But he was learning his craft (Remember, Clint Eastwood probably didn\u2019t even write \u201ca man\u2019s gotta know his limitations.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s more likely that Harry Julian Fink wrote that unforgettable line).\u00a0 But as Mr. Eastwood gradually left more and more limitations behind, he created masterpieces like \u201cMillion Dollar Baby\u201d and \u201cGran Torino\u201d.<\/p>\n
I strongly suggest that every pilot, no matter his level of skill, formulate a plan to practice and perfect the maneuvers that may now exceed his limitations.\u00a0 Most of the time you can practice by yourself, proceeding slowly and conservatively and never putting yourself at risk.\u00a0 Some maneuvers may require the help of a teacher.\u00a0 Hopefully, you know your limitations, so you decide if you need help or not.\u00a0 Either way, the ongoing practice of more advanced maneuvers will make all of us better pilots.<\/p>\n
We can all eliminate some limitations and change for the better.\u00a0 Remember, \u201c<\/em><\/strong>sometimes if you want to see a change for the better, you have to take things into your own hands.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0Now, who do you suppose said that?<\/p>\n Happy Swooping,<\/p>\n Brian<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In \u201cMagnum Force\u201d, Detective Harry Callahan, played by Clint Eastwood, observed, \u201ca man\u2019s gotta know his limitations\u201d. That line has made an impression on many of us, probably because it is so true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":790,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tailwheelersjournal.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}