PA-18/19 Super Cub
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Commercial; Flight Crew Flight Instructor; Flight Crew Instrument
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 90; Flight Crew Total 685
Training / Qualification
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft; Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action
Human Factors; Procedure
I went up for practice tail wheel landings. After the first landing; the aircraft veered to the right. I corrected with left rudder and the aircraft eventually sharply turned left. After a few back and forth oscillations; the aircraft performed a ground loop to the left. With the right wingtip scraping the ground. There was minor damage to the right wingtip. In retrospect; this was a classic ground loop and the bane of all tail wheel pilots. It is likely that my control inputs did were not timely and most likely weren't effective initially due to the low airspeed of the plane at that point; and the subsequent lack of airflow over the rudder. In the future; it will be best to add power at the first instance of oscillation in order to maintain positive aircraft control.
A PA-18 pilot ground looped his aircraft and scraped a wing. The pilot admitted that his control inputs were not timely and conducted when the aircraft's airspeed was too low for airflow.