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Best Full Swivel Tail Wheel Options

What Tailwheel Full Swivel Do You Fly?

  • Van's Standard Full Swivel Tailwheel

    Votes: 4 9.8%
  • Doug Bell Tailwheel Fork Tailwheel

    Votes: 22 53.7%
  • Screaming Eagle Retrofit Tailwheel Fork

    Votes: 6 14.6%
  • Other Full Swivel Tailwheel Folk

    Votes: 9 22.0%

  • Total voters
    41

gmcjetpilot

Well Known Member
What are the best full swivel tailwheel options out there and Pros and Cons

Van's Full Swivel
Doug Bell Tailwheel Fork
Screaming Eagle Retrofit Tailwheel Fork
Other?

Please Comment below on your opinion. *ALSO WHAT WHEEL DO YOU USE*
 
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I have the Condor pneumatic tailwheel assembly from Flyboyaccessories. I'm not entering the poll because I haven't flown it yet.

Dave
RV-3B
 
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I have the Condor 2 pneumatic tailwheel assembly from Flyboy. It's 2" bigger in diameter and rides much better than Van's stock tailwheel & has real bearings!.
 
I replaced Vans tailwheel with the Screaming Eagle Retrofit Tailwheel Fork and paired it with the Lightweight Tailwheel Tire from Flyboys.
Pros:
  • Angle of the tailwheel fork is not 90 degrees. Reduces the stress on the fork if you hit a hole or rut
  • Raises the tail slightly which increases visibility over the nose
  • The lightweight tailwheel has a sealed bearing. The grease fitting the Vans tailwheel has is useless IMHO
  • Lighter
Cons:
  • None that I can think of
 
I would think JDAir should be included in the poll.

It is, in my opinion, the finest of the bunch.
 
George

I have a Doug bell fork and rocket link which are both great additions however if I was to start again I think I’d pay the extra and go for a JDair TAILWHEEL ASSEMBLY WITH TAIL LINK FOR VAN'S RV
The reason for this is that I fly off grass. Perfect in the dry but after a few wet days the grease gets sucked out of the fork No big deal but often it’s not until you taxi out next time you feel the steering getting stiff and I need to pull it apart and re grease it.

Regards

Peter
 
The Doug Bell has the least probability of getting caught on something if you taxi over it... the fork starts almost immediately below the pivot point and slopes back to the wheel. If you ever drop your tailwheel off the edge of the runup pad, a little throttle and it'll ride right back up.

The stock fork and ones like it that have a significant vertical wall dropped below the pivot point are more likely to bind against whatever they hit, and the JD Air, while having a great bearing system, forms a "hook" shape because the bearing is larger. Don't taxi over a tiedown wire or it might get caught in there.

These are all mights and maybes, of course, but with the Bell fork none of them are a risk.
 
I had the light weight wheel and because it was so harsh, noise wise, during taxi; I went with the Fly Boy's deluxe soft solid rubber wheel with sealed bearings.
 
Tailwheel

When I bought my -8 it had the Doug Bell fork on it with a small hard tailwheel and I could feel every bump and crack on the taxiways. I decided to talk to Flyboys and get the Condor fork and the pneumatic tailwheel. Boy did that make a difference, smooth as glass and easy to taxi so I loved it for a while.

Then I showed up at the hangar to fly one day to see a flat tailwheel, hmmm..... OK no problem, just check the air to 50 psi and go but the tire wouldn’t take air. Took it off and discovered the 90 degree air fitting was leaking where it was connected to the tube. Oh well, defects happen so I bought a new tube but less than a year later the same thing happened and I am convinced the 90 degree air fitting is not a great design. After two tires in a row I gave up and ended up finding a solid tailwheel tire that fit the pneumatic wheel rim perfectly and have had no issues ever since.

I added the tow bar bolt which I highly recommend. I have the lightweight tire from Flyboys to use as a spare that can be thrown in the cross country bag but you have to carry along some spacers to fit the Condor Fork. It’s not as smooth as the solid tailwheel but easy to do a full swap if needed without taking any tires apart. I probably don’t need to carry the lightweight tire any more since the solid wheel has worked fine. When I had the pneumatic tire I always carried the lightweight one everywhere I went. I also ditched the chains and upgraded to the Tail Lynx cables which seems be more solid and responsive during taxi.
 
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I switched from Vans to Condor 2 pneumatic tailwheel assembly from FlyboyAccessories. I also installed the Rocket steering link but reverted to Vans chains/springs because the steering like broke off and was lost.

Pros:
Upon landing the rear is quieter - you don't hear the "boing". This is especially true with the Rocket steering link.
Taxiing over irregular surfaces is quieter and smoother.
The wheel features sealed bearings, which require no maintenance.
Small gain in forward visibility because the tail is slightly higher.

Cons:
The first tire lasted about 150 hours; it costs $55 to replace (stock RV solid wheel lasts at least 500 hours).
Keeping the tire at the recommended 50psi is difficult. Because of the small volume of air, just checking the pressure results in 2-4psi drop.
 
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