 The Piper Cub is a popular taildragger aircraft. Taildragger describes an aircraft whose tail forms one of the primary undercarriage contact points - either literally dragging its tail section on the ground, or (more frequently) with the use of a small articulated wheel assembly attached to the most posterior part of the airframe. The term is used in aviation jargon.
Taildraggers have unique ground handling characteristics that some pilots consider to be quite challenging. In a taildragger, the center of mass is located behind the front landing gear, creating an inherently less stable situation. Visibility while on the ground may be reduced due to the pitch of the aircraft, making taxying difficult. This is not always the case, depending on the model and geometry of specific aircraft. For example, the Cessna 170 has better visibility over the nose than later model Cessna 172's due to the increased size of the instrument panel in the later model 172's.
Taildragger versions of the same aircraft often have higher useful loads and cruise speeds due to the elimination of the nose gear and it's associated drag and weight.
There are experienced tailwheel pilots who insist the added challenges of a tailwheel aircraft arise from a lack of skill that results from poor training when transitioning from a tricycle landing gear aircraft. Most pilots now learn to fly in tricycle gear aircraft (e.g., Cessna 152 and Cessna 172) and only later transition to taildraggers. Since the fleet of general aviation aircraft with a tailwheel is declining, so are the numbers of instructors experienced in this type of aircraft.
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