I have found the messages on the tailwheel facinating and really thought
provoking but still, so far as I am concerned not too reassuring or
conclusive. Don't get me wrong I think that it is pretty sure to be better
than our original t/w but I am not at all sure on the design philosophy.
Perhaps that dosen't worry you but it does me. Why do we have the holes in
the tailwheel turning plate offsett back from the pivot centre of the t/w.
The instant answer is that , when we put in a generous bit of rudder the
cables go slack and the we can blow the tail round with the fan. Dave was
good enough to tell us that he had sheared the stop pin reversing the
bird.That is a valuable bit of information but I am not really sure that I
like the idea of using a stronger stop acting on the arm. Sorry Graham I'm
not being different for the sake of it but the twisting side load that the
tail can exert on the fixing of that dirty great spring arm may well do a
nasty to the fus.Praps its better just to fit a new stop pin as a penance for
getting the reversing wrong??? The tail wheel has provision for the use of
a guide/pulling hook handle maybe Dave hasn't had time to make one yet but
when he gets round to it he is unlikely to shear any more pins I think.
The bit that really puzzeles me is that given the rear offset of the
tailwheel turning plate referred to above the cable control over the
tailwheel is very firm in the straight ahead position and almost absent at
large deflections. I would have thought that ideally what we want is almost
exactly opposite to that so that given a crosswind take off we would use a
fair bit of aero rudder to move the wheel from the straight ahead which would
give a healthy rudder movement so that when the tail lifts the transision to
an aerodynmic control from the tracking control of the wheel would have been
well established before!!!! the wheel leaves the ground.
Tonight I tried the above idea in practice by turning the tailwheel 180
degrees and the coupling it up and I could indeed set it up with the cables
slack staight ahead and, on input from the rudder bar they tightened up
progessivly as the deflection from ahead increased.
To builders not yet interested in tailwheels (and mayhap thoroughly P'd off
with them) I apologise for the above my only exscuse is that it may
ultimately help you. Sorry to all for spelling mistakes I'm tired.
Please will the factory please tell us how the linkage is designed to
work.
PS to Tony the wing filling is not as bad as you seem to think the stuff on
it in the mag covered it faily well I think though I would hesitate before
using Gemin's ski sander even if the consequence brought a fair crop of sweat
to my brow. It did but no lasting harm. Ron S no33.
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