If you've ever admired a large, sturdy-looking, antique bi-plane with a tail wheel at an airshow, chances are it was a vintage Stearman. Built by the thousands as a military trainer by Boeing in the 1930's, hundreds fly today to entertain, as crop dusters, or in private hands for pleasure. Catch a ride in one, or, better yet, learn to fly this legendary plane. You'll experience the thrill of open-cockpit flying in a dependable aircraft with roomy, tandem cockpits for pilot and passenger. Landing a Stearman can be challenging; but as long as you control your airspeed, keep aligned with the runway, and control drift, you can set it down in a nice three-point landing -- and ignite what could be a life-long affair with this sweet, old "tail-dragger."
Once cleared by the tower for landing and settled on final approach heading straight toward the designated runway, wings level, throttle down to the Stearman's minimum approach speed, 60 to 65 knots on the airspeed indicator.
Maintain this speed. If you are too high on final, instead of lowering the nose to lose altitude (which will also cause the plane to gain speed), put the Stearman in a sideslip by putting the control stick to one side and kicking in opposite rudder. If you are too low, add enough power to get back up quickly to your descent path.
Keep the airspeed from dropping below minimum during the entire time on final approach. Airspeed will drop fast if you reduce power because of all the drag created by the bi-wings and all the struts and rigging. Even in a Stearman, a low-speed stall on final approach will result in a premature, hard landing short of the runway, or worse.
As you approach the runway threshold -- still maintaining minimum approach speed -- keep the plane straight, with nose and tail in line with your direction of travel. Don't let the Stearman's tendency to yaw (rotate horizontally about its center of gravity) take over. Use stick and rudder as necessary to correct it.
Keep the airplane heading down the runway's center line. Drifting to either side on short final almost guarantees you will start fishtailing (swerving back and forth) as soon you touch down on the runway. This could end in a ground loop (the plane rotates 360 degrees or more ) where you drag a wing tip on the ground and possibly damage an aileron.
Touch down at the minimum speed with main wheels and tail wheel touching ground simultaneously, in the classic three-point tail-dragger landing. If you've landed airplanes with tricycle gears (which have a nose wheel located in front of the main wheels instead of tail wheel), you'll be used to touching down with the main wheels only first.
Once you're down and rolling, use your brakes to slow the aircraft for taxiing. You may need to correct for the Stearman's tendency to weather vane, meaning if the wind is coming at an angle other than straight ahead, the plane will try to line up into the wind and possibly veer off the runway. Get it back on track with opposite rudder and the steerable tailwheel. Also, since the plane is nose high on the ground and the engine cowling blocks your view, to see what's in front of the airplane as you taxi in to the airport, do S-turns to gain visibility (swerve the airplane slightly right and left as it rolls along.)
