Tailwheel endorsement template

I certify that [First name, MI, Last name], [grade of pilot certificate],
[certificate number], has received the required training of 14 CFR § 61.31(i)
in a [M/M] tailwheel airplane. I have determined that they are proficient in
the operation of a tailwheel airplane.

/s/ [date] [instructor name] [certificate number] [expiration date]

For N1302B, [M/M] is Luscombe 8E.

AC 61-65K A.75 reads, character for character:

I certify that [First name, MI, Last name], [grade of pilot certificate], [certificate number], has received the required training of 14 CFR § 61.31(i) in a [M/M] of tailwheel airplane. I have determined that they are proficient in the operation of a tailwheel airplane.

The template above drops the word "of" after [M/M]. That word is genuinely in the FAA text and is an error carried across revisions. The parallel endorsements in the same appendix do not have it: A.73 reads "in a [M/M] high-performance airplane" and A.74 reads "in a [M/M] pressurized aircraft."

Sample endorsements in AC 61-65 are non-binding guidance, so either version is acceptable. The deviation is recorded here so a future reader knows it was deliberate rather than sloppy, and so that the signing instructor is not stopped mid-sentence by wording that reads wrong.

Do not use wording that says [he or she]. 61-65K changed to "they are proficient." Any endorsement text containing [he or she] is quoting 61-65J or earlier, which is cancelled.

Do not use "make and model" in place of [M/M]. 61-65K uses the abbreviation. Most third-party sources still carry the older phrasing.

14 CFR 61.31(i), verbatim from eCFR:

(i) Additional training required for operating tailwheel airplanes.

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (i)(2) of this section, no person may act as pilot in command of a tailwheel airplane unless that person has received and logged flight training from an authorized instructor in a tailwheel airplane and received an endorsement in the person's logbook from an authorized instructor who found the person proficient in the operation of a tailwheel airplane. The flight training must include at least the following maneuvers and procedures:

(i) Normal and crosswind takeoffs and landings;

(ii) Wheel landings (unless the manufacturer has recommended against such landings); and

(iii) Go-around procedures.

(2) The training and endorsement required by paragraph (i)(1) of this section is not required if the person logged pilot-in-command time in a tailwheel airplane before April 15, 1991.

Wheel landings are required in N1302B. The exception in (i)(1)(ii) applies only where the manufacturer has recommended against them, and no such recommendation exists for the Luscombe 8E.

The pre-1991 exemption is real and will occasionally walk in. A pilot who logged tailwheel PIC time before April 15, 1991 needs neither the training nor the endorsement. They may still want the Checkout in order to rent N1302B, which is a separate matter entirely.

The endorsement rests on the element view of the student's Progress Tracker showing PROFICIENT against all six elements, not on the lesson view showing five lessons finished. See PROGRESS-TRACKER-TEMPLATE.md.

There is no knowledge test and no practical test. The instructor's determination is the whole mechanism, which is why the element view exists.

Retain the endorsement record per 14 CFR 61.189, minimum three years.

AC 61-65K ¶33.2 addresses aircraft that change configuration:

Some tailwheel airplanes have different configurations, such as wheels, floats, or skis. If a pilot is going to act as a PIC of an aircraft configured (equipped) with main wheels and a tailwheel, the pilot must have the training and endorsement. If the aircraft has skis or floats in place of the wheeled landing gear, the training cannot be accomplished and thus the endorsement is not required. The training and endorsement required by the regulation must be done when the aircraft has a tailwheel in the wheeled landing gear configuration.

Not applicable to N1302B in normal operation, recorded because the question is asked.