tailwheel spring rear support

[allonsye 85]

I would not go dual.  Three leafs is the only way.  SIngles break, duals go flat.

 

This shop will talk to you about the spring you need officially for your "go cart".  If you explain that you need one of the 1-1/2" wide springs they have made for the airplane guy in Rhinelander, he will understand.

 

I think you will have $50 with shipping...

I guess I did a good job of totally hijacking Hermans post. Thanks for bringing the topic up Herman.

 

I got an email back from Wassau and indeed, they said send in your old one and "I'll build a new one".

 

So, it appears the concensus is that single and double leaf springs are not the way to go period and to build a 3-leaf spring.

 

Now, back to Hermans original thought about elimanting the centering cam or not?

[Av8r3400 1179]

Now, back to Hermans original thought about elimanting the centering cam or not?

 

If you are talking about taking off the cam-plate that unlocks a Maul tailwheel, I would highly recommend this for at least the first 50-100 hours of your operations...

[SuberAvid 617]

I am using the dual tail spring from Airdale witht the wide Matco 8" dual fork TW and it has been a great set up.  The original Avid spring bent immediately.  I bought a single spring from AC Spruce and stacked it with the Avid spring and it finally broke.  The TW becomes a wrecking ball on your rudder as  the fusalage drags along in the gravel.  I bought the Airdale spring when I was still flying my MKIV and then switched it to my Avid+ and it has been great.  On the 3 spring unit, the weight on the tail would not be a issue but it seems like it would be pretty stiff unless they are much lighter springs.  All that get transmitted back into your airframe.  Just something to consider.  If you can land without ever touching your TW until you are stopped; that should not be a problem though. 

 

It would be a pain for me to use my plane if theTW did not swivel.  I have never had it disconnect unexpectedly on me; I don't land on pavement much though so maybe it is more of a problem on pavement.

Edited 3 Oct 2013 by SuberAvid

[vfrazier 0]

I'm new to this forum, and new to Avid HHs too.  I recently bought a MK IV HH that needed some love.  One of the things that had to go was the original tailwheel.  The springs were bent and the tailwheel assembly was junk.  I replaced the entire assembly with this:

 

So far, it's had one trip up and down the runway, steers and behaves very well.  Flights will commence after the inspection and upgrades are done, and most importantly, after the brakes are fixed.  The brakes were improperly installed and the pedal geometry is all wrong... but that's a different discussion.

 

Sharp eyed readers might notice that the new tailwheel assembly looks very much like the one that are commonly seen on Van's RVs.  It is very similar, but not the same.  I figure if the tapered spring worked well on those planes, it should be plenty strong enough for the Avid. (Yes, I understand that something else might bend, but that's why we fly experimentals, eh?)

 

BTW, it weighs 631# on certified, calibrated scales and has a 582 BH with a Kiev prop.

Edited 8 Oct 2013 by vfrazier