Just to add another point that was made during dinner by a flight instructor who has thousands of hours, many of which are tailwheel instruction hours:
It isn?t the experienced tailwheel instructors that are at issue in this discussion. It?s the young instructor who goes through an accelerated program and is a CFI after say 350 hours in a Cessna 172 (not picking on any specific make/model here) who gets his buddy who owns a Taylorcraft to give him 3 hours of tailwheel instruction and an endorsement.
In the eyes of the FAA, and according to the FAR?s ? he is fully qualified to give tailwheel instruction and to endorse the logbook of a pilot in a Cessna 185, a Cessna 152 Sparrowhawk Texas Taildragger, or a Supercub with a 180 horse engine. And that pilot is then free and legal to go out and land his airplane on a river bank.
If at least one more qualifed person had a chance to fly with the pilot before he goes full-throttle solo in his 185 and lands in a cross-wind on a paved runway ?.
