Cumulus Aviation
an LLC company
Who is Cumulus Aviation?
Cumulus Aviation was founded to give quality, proficient tailwheel training and bi-annual flight reviews to those pilots who wish to improve their personal skills or just learn the fine art of tailwheel flying, in an airplane just like their forefathers.
Our Vision
Over the last few years I have flown with younger pilots who have never trained, let alone flown in a tailwheel airplane. I thought, How sad is that?
The definition of "conventional gear" airplanes has changed over the years. Tail wheel airplanes were once the only type of gear you could buy and fly. It's what my father and probably yours, learned in. With the introduction of the Ercoupe, the nosewheel airplane came into popular usage and eventually the tailwheel airplane became the "ugly stepsister". What was once considered "conventional gear" is now something that, but for a few models, are not being produced. The most popular ones that come to mind are the Maule and the Husky, but with the increasing number of Experimental aircraft that use the tailwheel configuration, more pilots are lacking the skills to fly them safetly.
Perhaps "fly them" is unjust, as the airplane doesn't really care whether the little wheel is at the front or the back while in flight. It's the time while the wheels are on the ground that things can become quite exciting.
Experimental aircraft tend towards tailwheel configurations because it save weight and when you are trying to go fast or get into a small patch of grass every pound helps. In addition, a tailwheel airplane gives you better prop clearance and slower landing speeds, both better for those unimproved strips.
So the need is there, whether to improve your skills, or prepare you for your nearly finished experimental. Tailwheel flying provides a nostalgic feeling and we are here to help you achieve proficiency.
Company Profile
Cumulus Aviation started at Pecan Plantation (0TX1), 45 miles SW of Ft. Worth, Texas with the desire to teach pilots who wish to improve their flying skills, learn the fine art of flying tailwheel airplanes or just fly the nostalgic way that our forefathers did.
We offer Tailwheel transition training, bi-annual flight reviews, sight-seeing and aerial tours. Soon, we also hope to add spin training, an area where the FAA, perhaps mistakenly, no longer requires proficiency.
Tom Woodward, owner of Cumulus Aviation has been flying since 1966 when he took his first glider lesson. Growing up on a grass airstrip he had many oportunities to fly, first in gliders, in which he obtained his instructors rating and then powered aircraft. He learned in a Aeronca Champ and later the legendary Piper J-3 Cub. Along the way he has flown over a dozen models of tailwheel airplanes including the L-19, Pawnee, Maule, Stinson, Decathlon, Soneri, Husky and Acro Sport. He currently flies the Citabria 7ECA which he uses for tailwheel transition training.
In his spare time over the years, he has amassed over 18,000 hours flying commercially all over the world and is currently typed in the B727, B737, B757, B767, B777, MD11 and MD80, none of which are tailwheel airplanes!
"Preparation and practice prevent accidents" is his motto and one he practices every flight. Bob Hoover once said that every flight has a "perfect" profile and he tries to achieve that profile every minute of every flight. We strive to do the same here at Cumulus Aviation.
Come drag your tail with us!