Tailwheel Pilots’ Guide to Smooth Grass Landings

The rugged design of a tailwheel airplane and its extra prop clearance opens up the opportunity to land at a wide variety of off-airport locations with soft surfaces, like sand, gravel bars, grass and even mud. A modified soft-field approach and landing technique should be used when operating from these conditions, which allows the wheels to touchdown at the slowest possible airspeed with the wings supporting the weight of the airplane as long as possible.

This week’s tip explains how to land a tailwheel airplane on non-pavement surfaces using the soft field method. To learn more about how to fly tailwheel airplanes, check out Sporty’s Tailwheel Checkout Course with Patty Wagstaff.

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Bret Koebbe

As Sporty’s lead aviation course and video producer, Bret is usually flying an interesting airplane, and often with a camera rolling. He oversees the development, production and distribution of over 30 aviation courses from Sporty's, including the Private Pilot Learn to Fly Course. He is a flight instructor and check airman at the Sporty's Academy flight school and a senior captain on a Cessna Citation.

Latest posts by Bret Koebbe (see all)

• Video Tip: How to land a tailwheel airplane (wheel landing method) - December 17, 2025
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