Definition
Airplanes equipped with conventional landing gear, consisting of two main wheels positioned forward of the airplane's center of gravity and a single small wheel supporting the tail at the rear. This arrangement causes the airplane to sit nose-high on the ground, with the propeller angled upward when at rest.
Plain English
An airplane with two wheels up front and one small wheel under the tail, so it sits with its nose pointed up when parked.
Context Anchor
Seen in training for airplanes with conventional landing gear, especially during taxi, takeoff, and landing discussions.
Derivation
Called 'conventional gear' because this layout was the standard design in the early decades of aviation, before tricycle gear (nosewheel forward) became the norm. The name 'tailwheel' simply describes where the third wheel sits.
Why Pilots Care
These airplanes require specific ground handling techniques during taxi, takeoff, and landing to prevent ground loops because the center of gravity sits behind the main wheels.
Intuition Check
Do not read “tailwheel airplane” as simply any airplane that happens to have a wheel near the tail. In flight training, it means a specific landing-gear layout: main wheels forward and the small support wheel at the tail, with no nosewheel.
Example Sentence 1
Before flying the Piper Cub, she completed her tailwheel endorsement with a CFI experienced in tailwheel airplanes.
Example Sentence 2
After touchdown the pilot held the tail low in the tailwheel airplane to maintain directional control until it slowed to a walk.