Could somebody please move this to the tutorials topic please
Taxiing : 12-13 knts Maximum when turning to avoid tipping the wings
Take off : Align with runway (no flaps or trim to be set), push throttle up to 90 – 100% pull back hard on the yoke to keep tail wheel firmly on the ground, once you reach 60-65knts slowly push yoke forward to raise tail wheel (be ready with the rudder at this point as any crosswinds will hit you now) keep her straight and once you reach 80knts pull back on the yoke and initial climb out at about 1000 ft ps raise gear and start to climb around 2000 ft ps and away you go.
Approach : you want to be at around 120 – 140 knts from 10 nm’s out, at around 4 nm’s you should be down to around 100 knts, she is very responsive so she’ll lose or gain speed very quickly so be prepared to adjust throttle, then drop gear and lower flaps. From here on in you want to be gradually slowing to around 80 knts just before the threshold (at normal weights / low winds she’ll stall at 63-64 knts).
Landing : Pick your aiming point and at about .5 NM before touchdown adjust heading with rudder then at just a few feet drop the throttle but maintain minimum speed of 65 knts but aiming for 70- 80 knts, flair and aim to have the tail wheel down a second or two after the main gear by pulling back on the yoke. Don’t worry too much about bouncing as it’s pretty common in a spit but to avoid / minimise it try to be as close to 70 knts as you can. Hit the brakes until your around 50 knts then pull back on yoke to again keep the tail wheel firmly on the ground (this is extremely important or you’ll tip forward and crash) you’ll hear the tail wheel hit the runway again if you’ve bounced and she should be safe and pretty stable now, continue to roll until down to around 30 knts break again and taxi off or stop.
Crosswinds : she really doesn’t like any kind of crosswind so practice is key here, according to the official Battle of Britain Memorial Flight SOP’s maximum operational crosswinds are 10 – 15 knts depending on hours on the aircraft so I think it’s safe to assume anything more than this is a terrible idea and any 90deg crosswinds over 5 knts are a bad one, if you don’t want to crash then avoid take off / landing or find another airport. To Aid in a smother take off, keep the tail wheel down for as long as possible as this helps keep her steady I try to keep it down until 70-75 knts.
For a crosswind landing same as normal, but use the “crabbing” method to straighten up as late as possible as over steering is very easy at this point. depending on wind diredtion try to touch down at around 65 knts. Once down hit the brakes and get tail wheel down ASAP and ease off the rudder!