RV6 aviation products tail wheel

[fieldbaren]

My RV6 has an Aviation Products tail spring which needs replacing.I would like to use a Vans tail spring along with the new JD Air tail wheel assembly. the problem is the tail spring Vans sent me is different. The Aviation Products spring that goes into the fuselage has a constant diameter of 7/8", 6" long
while Vans spring is about the same diameter, but instead the surface that goes into the fuselage is less than 2" long then it tapers down for some inexplicable reason where at approximately 6" it goes to back to 7/8" diameter then tapers
towards the end of the spring to accept the tail wheel assembly. Has anybody else tried this?

[jrs14855]

The round tailsprings are essentially the same as the round landing gear which was designed by Steve Wittman in the 1950's. The taper inside the socket allows the spring to flex without putting a lot of load on the socket tube.
The tailspring without the taper on the front seems to work ok. That style has been used on many aerobatic airplanes, in most cases without a socket. In that case the front of the spring is bolted directly to the fuselage and at the aft end of the fuselage fits into a much shorter socket.

[Scott Hersha]

The Vans tailspring should fit fine. Pulling the old one out may be a little difficult, but some WD-40 and patience will help. The challenge will be drilling the front hole in the new tailspring in EXACTLY the same place as the original that you are replacing - inside the fuselage! If you are replacing the bent-type tail spring, as I am on my new (to me) RV4, it might be easier to modify your existing tail spring to accept the new full swivel tailwheel assembly. That?s what I?m going to do. You will need to cut off the bent section of the tail spring, and then machine the aft end to .635 for about 2? going forward. Measure the diameter of your tail spring to see what you have. If yours is smaller, you can still do the same thing with a .625 tailwheel swivel assembly - see FlyBoys Accessories (advertised on this website) - they also have the same tail spring replacement ($95) As Vans. Whoever does your machining to get .635 (or .625) will need to round and taper the forward end of this cut so you don?t have an ?edge? - stress riser. The swivel socket mount will need to have two 3/16? (#10) holes drilled for mounting it. I will attach a link that explains this

OK. After spending too much time trying to figure out how to attach a file - should be simple, and usually is - I?ve given up. If you would like to see the attachment that explains how to modify your bent spring non-swivel tailspring to the full swivel version, just send me a PM and I?ll send it to you the easy way (email). I?ll try to remember to take some pics when I?m doing mine. I can post pictures here, but couldn?t figure out how to send a PDF. I feel so old..... but I can still build airplanes....

[fieldbaren]

Thanks for your reply. This is my second RV6. I didn?t build either one. The first RV6 had the old Vans spring. I had that modified at a machine shop for the full swivel tailwheel.
The second RV6 that I have now. Has an Aviation Products spring and tail wheel assembly. This is worn out and I wanted to go to a JD air or Screaming Eagle tail wheel. The main problem is that Vans Spring is different!

[Scott Hersha]

If you need a socket for a .625 tailspring, FlyBoys has that. Screaming Eagle tailwheel socket - fits a screaming eagle or JD Air fork. Vans tailsprings were .635, but FlyBoys also has the ones that fit the way earlier .625 tailspring.

Check them out or give them a call: flyboyaccessories.com