Notes on the Tailwheel Checkout and an Introduction to Ski Flying

In the northern latitudes, many pilots fly a tailwheel in the summer and then put the same airplane on skis in the winter…an initial tailwheel checkout is often followed up with a ski checkout. Author Burke Mees keeps to that sequence of events in this book, which covers the basics for both checkouts along with valuable commentary on the finer points.


Notes on the Tailwheel Checkout and an Introduction to Ski Flying is meant to be useful not only to the beginner first making this transition, but also to provide relevant observations to the pilot or instructor already flying these kinds of airplanes. The author’s clear explanations have proven effective with students and are distilled from two decades of experience in flying and flight instructing in tailwheel airplanes and skiplanes.


In addition to an orderly presentation of all the basic topics required to develop tailwheel/ski competence, Mees also covers advanced topics such as flying multi-engine tailwheel airplanes and ski-flying on glaciers. But rather than simply explain the list of topics, this book anticipates and preemptively addresses questions and difficulties experienced by the average student. Here readers will find insights about the learning process that will help prepare them for flight training in these airplanes.