Virginia Tailwheel Academy was born out of a pure passion for flying. Our mission is to build the skill of true stick and rudder flying within the aviation community, and have fun while doing it. We strive to build a community of aviators who not only want to plus up their flying skills, but who will also want to share the experience of aviation with others. We’re building tailwheel legends one pilot at a time. Come fly with us, come hangar fly with us, and level up your skills today!
What we offer:
Tailwheel Endorsement
Learn to tame the taildragger! Comprehensive training from basics to the endorsement sign-off. We’ll guide you through taxi, takeoffs, landings, and everything needed to make you a confident tailwheel pilot. We believe in comprehensive training that provides confidence in the cockpit and improves pilot’s skills, allowing them to fly conventional gear aircraft the right way.
Spin Endorsement
Ready to expand your safety envelope? Practice spin entry and recovery with our instructors in a controlled setting. Spin training refines your feel for the aircraft and is excellent preparation for advanced ratings (or just to conquer that fear!).
Grass Strip Operations
Research & brief the strip: runway data, surface notes, obstacles, slope/length, NOTAMs, local practices.
- Call ahead for permission: what to ask, etiquette, documenting approvals.
- Overfly & assess: wind, moisture, vegetation height, tire tracks, go/no-go cues.
- Arrivals & departures: soft-field techniques, energy management, abort points, rejected takeoffs.
- Contingencies: escape routes, crosswind options, when to wave off.
Take-home: a practical grass-strip checklist for any unfamiliar turf.
Aircraft Rental
Already endorsed or finishing up your training? Rent our tailwheel aircraft to build hours or just enjoy flying a classic taildragger. We maintain our planes meticulously for safety and offer block time discounts for avid flyers. Post-endorsement renters even get a special discounted Legends rate – so you can keep improving your craft affordably.
Rust-Buster Sessions
Sessions: Haven’t flown in a while? Our rust-buster refresher gets you back in the left seat with confidence. Shake off the cobwebs with a personalized session to review fundamentals, practice landings, and polish rusty skills. Welcome back to flying – we’ll make it feel like you never left!
Who we are:
Toto Marchand co-founded Virginia Tailwheel Academy to pass on the precision, judgment, and pure fun that tailwheel flying builds in every pilot. A pilot at the world’s leading private aviation company and a former air traffic controller, he brings airline-grade standards, clear briefs, and calm coaching to every lesson.
Toto’s aerospace engineering and law background make training both precise and practical, combining performance and systems thinking with real-world compliance and risk management. Toto is an ATP, CFI, CFII, and MEI.
Steven Frost-Barnes co-founded Virginia Tailwheel Academy to share his passion for flying and to help create a place where pilots could experience the joy, challenge, and pure awesomeness of general aviation. A lifelong aviation enthusiast, Steven brought a deep appreciation for classic aircraft and the kind of aviation community that makes tailwheel flying so special.
After helping establish VTA and its mission of building better, more confident stick-and-rudder pilots, Steven has moved on to pursue other endeavors. We are grateful for his role in the Academy’s founding story and for the passion he helped bring to the it from the beginning.
Virginia Tailwheel Academy 