Tailwheel Swap

[dav8or 20]

I had been having problems for a long time with the Matco tailwheel that was on my Avid. I finally made a new spring this past week and swapped the Matco for a used Maule tailwheel from Ebay.

 

I knew I had some ground handling issues but had no idea how bad they were with that old tailwheel until I taxied with the Maule. I now have ground handling the way it should be and can spin around either direction now even with the almost non-existant braking action of the cable/drum brakes I have. Wish I had made that swap a few years ago. New brakes will be coming soon.

 

Dan

[EDMO 1078]

Dan,

     We were having lots of problems with shimmy on the J3 Maule 8" tailwheel - took a Maule 6" solid tailwheel off of the Luscombe and put it on the same spring on the Cub, and everything works fine now.

     Are you a Springmaker?  May need one someday...

EdMO

Edited 10 Aug 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[dav8or 20]

No. I had to cut one out of a spring that was left over in our hangar. It looked like an add-a-leaf of some sort. I just found the section I wanted for the arch and cut it to width and length then drilled the mounting holes in the ends.

 

I used a Maule 6" solid tailwheel. My hangar mate has had one for a while.

 

Dan

Edited 10 Aug 2015 by dav8or

[C5Engineer 1170]

I've heard this story from multiple people myself included only in reverse order. Which Matco did you have?? I hated my Maule and pulled it off after 10 hrs of flight testing on my plane. Glad it's working out for you. I predictable proper working TW does wonders for landing confidence.

[EDMO 1078]

Something in these stories is telling me that the angle of the spring, pivot axle, or something else, must have been wrong with the problem tailwheel - no matter what brand it was.  Maybe the change of tailwheels corrected this?

I just bought another new 6" maule to go on the Luscomb.

Is Matco approved, or have any STCs for any factory planes?

EdMO

I wont even get into the discussion of why tailwheels work or don't work -

I don't like tailwheels anyway - The 3rd wheel on Foxy is on the nose so I can park and taxi level and see in front of me.

Edited 11 Aug 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[Bandit 286]

I tied a rope to my Maule tailwheel  put it in a bucket, filled it with concrete. Sure makes a great boat anchor.

[akflyer 1427]

Bandit, I couldn't even bring myself to to that with it.  I was afraid if I tried using it for an anchor it would perform as well as an anchor as it did on the plane... I figured it would just drag the bottom and never hold for me so I did the best thing I could think of.. to the dump it went. 

 

If your just using the plane on a grass strip it may be OK, but I hated feeling every single bump in the concrete and on gravel and sand it just SUCKED.  I like the 8" wide matco, I just wish I had gone double fork instead of the traditional single.  The 6" maule was good in its day, but 1913 is long past.

 

[EDMO 1078]

Leni,

     Unless the FAA gives you permission to put a Matco on a factory plane, you are stuck with what the manufacturer approved for it.

And, if you wreck your factory plane, the insurance may say that it is not paying because you have an unauthorized part on it that caused the wreck.

     That is a lot different than the Experimental world.

I agree, "1913 is long-gone", that's when nosewheels were invented! 

EdMO

Edited 12 Aug 2015 by Ed In Missouri

[rdooley79 28]

I agree the solid Maule is a piece of junk. 

 

My kitfox has the Matco 8" wide pneumatic wheel now. Drives like a Cadillac. 

 

The tailwheel spring on my plane has flattened out a little as a result of the previous owner removing the smaller 3rd spring. The shimmy was wicked with the Maule and with a Matco it's much less but still present. Hope to install the new spring this weekend and have a nice shimmy free tail with a super smooth Matco to steer with.

[dav8or 20]

I had the 6" solid Matco. It was binding on the shaft (even with lubrication) and the "wings" would not release the lock to swivel. I could not get it to break out to the right at all. It also was making a horrible squeaking sound any time it hit a bump or pressure was put on the horizontal no matter how much it was lubricated. I could not get it to break out to the right at all. I looked like I had never taxied a tailwheel aircraft anytime I went down the runway.

 

I have yet to try it on a paved runway (will try that tomorrow) but my setup felt much smoother on our grass strip than it did with the Matco. I wonder how much of it is in the spring and caster angle?

 

Dan

[1avidflyer 1983]

If you go on the Matco site, they have a rebuild kit that is real cheap compared to buying indivigual parts. They say there was a problem and they addressed it with the rebuild kit. Jim Chuk

WHLTWBCNV

CONVERSION, TAILWHEEL BASE

Price: $64.16

More Info

Tried the copy and paste thing, but the picture isn't showing up. Still should tell you what I'm talking about. Here is the page address. http://www.matcomfg.com/TailWheelAssemblies-tp2-13.html

Edited 14 Aug 2015 by Jim Chuk

[dav8or 20]

I have standard gear and do not have large bush tires so I need to stick with the small tailwheels to keep what little deck angle I have for 3 point landings which already cannot be done to a full stall without hitting the tail first. I have no need for the bush tires in my part of the world so I am staying with the smaller mains to keep my cruise speed around 100mph.

 

We are using a relatively light single leaf spring which I am sure helps with smoothing out the bumps from the solid tailwheel.

 

Dan

[dav8or 20]

If you go on the Matco site, they have a rebuild kit that is real cheap compared to buying indivigual parts. They say there was a problem and they addressed it with the rebuild kit. Jim Chuk

I called a talked to a tech guy at Matco a few weeks ago. It was going to cost more than a new tailwheel in parts just to get mine working.

 

Dan

[dav8or 20]

If you go on the Matco site, they have a rebuild kit that is real cheap compared to buying indivigual parts. They say there was a problem and they addressed it with the rebuild kit. Jim Chuk

WHLTWBCNV

CONVERSION, TAILWHEEL BASE

Price: $64.16

More Info

Tried the copy and paste thing, but the picture isn't showing up. Still should tell you what I'm talking about. Here is the page address. http://www.matcomfg.com/TailWheelAssemblies-tp2-13.html

I apparently have a 2 versions older model and would require new bushings to be used with that new kit along with a few other parts. I think it was going to total over $200 in parts. The guy said I should just buy a new one.

 

The Maule cost me $180 on Ebay which is about what a new Matco was going to be. My hangar mate has flown his Avid for years with the Maule tailwheel with no issues so I decided to give it a try and so far it seems to work well. I will find out how it does on paved runways tomorrow.

 

Dan

[dav8or 20]

I landed and taxied around at a paved field yesterday and it worked great. It turns really well now, although it would probably be a handful for a newer tailwheel pilot which is not surprising due to the short fuselage.

 

Maybe I was just used to the solid wheel since I have not had anything else on the Avid. I did feel bumps and cracks a little with the Matco but didn't really notice them with the Maule and new spring. To be fair my old spring was more a piece of flat 1-1/2" steel with a bend in it than a spring. It was adapted down to 1-1/4" at both ends to fit the Avid. My new tail spring was cut to 1-1/4" from an actual arched spring. I think that makes a noticeable difference.

 

Dan