Simviation Forums

Ok I know this is a real newbie question but how do I land the Piper Cub?  I pretty much mastered the Cessna 172 and went through all the flight lessons and can do touch and goes and fly the pattern all day long.  But when I fly the Piper Cub I always crash on landing as soon as my tailwheel hits the ground the plane starts to turn in one direction and flips over!  I have come in nice and straight and slow with no winds but it happens everytime.  Anyone have any suggestions??

are touching down first with the front 2 gears or the rear wheel?

If I remember right, the tail wheel could be locked/unlocked. Try switching it...

You can land a cup with or without tailwheels. Check your gyro a.o. aircraft settings. That might be real.

Are you breaking while you're touching down?

maybe differential brakes...

Just tried my Cub out, I landed it fine.

Don't brake direct after touchdown, and center the rudder, or if you use a joystick, select automatic rudder. It works than in combination whit the airilons.

succes!

No, for realistic I wouldn't set automatic rudders, just take care you don't brake during TD.

I too suggest that reading, you will almost certainly find it useful in flight simulation too.
Taildragger are an entirely different thing. I suggest you:
1) use a yoke/stick in combination with a set of rudder pedals
2) turn off autocoordination
3) turn realism settings to maximum; you might want to decrease the p-factor a bit but I suggest you don't... if you'll master this you'll master pretty much anything in FS
4) be prepared to use the rudder a lot during takeoff and landing; make rapid and subtle movements (the higher the speed the subtler the movements); try to anticipate where the plane will go and work the rudder in advance; during landings use a bit of differential braking if you start going on one side after the tailwheel has touched down. When the plane has slowed down enough, try to pull the stick a bit to lower the tail and make the tailwheel more effective.
On final (and when rolling on the runway), don't lower a wing; center the nose with the rudder only.
Personally I prefer landing the Cub on the front wheels rather than stalling it.

That real-life Cub tute is well wrth reading, but remember: in FS9, the "weathervaning" tendency of taildraggers is worse than in real life. It makes it much harder (although a real Cub can definitely get into trouble during a crosswind landing with an inexperienced pilot).

Do what I did: practice landing it with no wind whatsoever, until you think you have a good feel for it.

As for "wheel" landings (mains first) vs. "3-pointers" (stalling it on so that all 3 wheels touch down at once): generally, "wheel" landings are best for a Cub in high-wind or crosswind situations... the slightly higher airspeed keeps the rudder available for aligning the plane.
But a 3-pointer is good practice in a Cub whenever conditions allow it, because of the possibility of nosing over when braking or rolling on an uneven surface.

All good advice:

Also - don't land TOO fast, or it will be on the front of the wheels (Sproing!, tipover, other nasty stuff).  You can land on th wheels, but make sure you are slow enough that it is on the BACK side, then let the tail gradually settle to the ground (DC-3 style).

Thanks for the help all!  Nice website too for flying a piper cub.

This was definitely a weather thing as I took off all weather and am doing much better.  I guess as soon as the tailwheel hits the ground the cross winds are really having a bigger effect blowing the tail to one side or the other.