A C-120 pilot with his instructor training for recurrency; ground looped the aircraft in a crosswind...

Attributes
ACN	1258389
Time
Date	201504
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Cessna 120
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Landing
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Dispatch Dispatcher Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 8.9 Flight Crew Total 763 Flight Crew Type 144
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft Inflight Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

I went up with my tailwheel instructor CFI to get current and proficient in the tail dragger after a 5 month absence from flying a conventional gear airplane. On my last landing (which was a 3 point landing dead on center-line) during the roll-out I failed to maintain directional control using left rudder to counteract weathervaning which caused the plane to ground loop. The winds were coming from the west at 280/13 KTS and the airport was landing aircraft on 180. This was a direct crosswind. I have done training before with winds much higher than this. However; after 5 months absence my skill level declined and I was not quick enough to respond to the relative high crosswinds. (However; the cessna 120 does not have a designated crosswind limit since it was manufactured in the 1940s) in the future; I will retrain with winds more benign than the ones that were present on the day of this incident.very minor damage occurred to the left wing tip and no bodily injuries occurred. We were very fortunate and I learned a very valuable lesson with regard to my own personal limitations in flying a tailwheel airplane.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A C-120 pilot with his instructor training for recurrency; ground looped the aircraft in a crosswind because he had not flown in a while and reacted inappropriately to the winds.

Narrative: I went up with my tailwheel instructor CFI to get current and proficient in the tail dragger after a 5 month absence from flying a conventional gear airplane. On my last landing (which was a 3 point landing dead on center-line) during the roll-out I failed to maintain directional control using left rudder to counteract weathervaning which caused the plane to ground loop. The winds were coming from the west at 280/13 KTS and the airport was landing aircraft on 180. This was a direct crosswind. I have done training before with winds much higher than this. However; after 5 months absence my skill level declined and I was not quick enough to respond to the relative high crosswinds. (However; the Cessna 120 does not have a designated crosswind limit since it was manufactured in the 1940s) In the future; I will retrain with winds more benign than the ones that were present on the day of this incident.Very minor damage occurred to the L wing tip and no bodily injuries occurred. We were very fortunate and I learned a very valuable lesson with regard to my own personal limitations in flying a tailwheel airplane.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.