C

check 6

Member
I have not yet installed the Aviation Products tailwheel but I have noticed that the chains on my bird ( bought not built, it's a past 60 thing) have been rubbing on the bottom glass fairing of the rudder. Also at speed on the ground there ie roll out there is some slop followed by very sensitive rudder/ tailwheel. So the question what is the proper tension for the standard cable and is there an alternate set up i.e. shock strut etc. Hope to get the new tailwheel on tomorrow and thus increase the clearance on the fork . I'm open to ideas and or comments Jack
 
Jack

Get a couple of "eye" bolts to put on your rudder. This will lower the chain a little. Also. get some clear poly tubing that you can put the chain through.
This will stop the scratching.

I like my chains quite taut. Easier to handle on the ground.

Bryan Carr
 
Carr said:
I like my chains quite taut. Easier to handle on the ground.

Bryan Carr
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I also like my chains very tight - very little deflection. Makes the steerign very precise on the ground. Personal preference I think.

Paul
 
I couldn't tell from your post which RV you have but on my RV3 and the early model RV4s you can't get full rudder travel with tight chains. Not sure you need it but something to think about.
Tom
RV3 2000+
 
Carr said:
Jack

Get a couple of "eye" bolts to put on your rudder. This will lower the chain a little. Also. get some clear poly tubing that you can put the chain through.
This will stop the scratching.

I like my chains quite taut. Easier to handle on the ground.

Bryan Carr
Click to expand...

Great idea about the eye bolts to just lower the arc of the chains. Mine is an RV 8 and the chains while not loose per say are not tight and have perhaps a 1//4 inch sag in them maybe slightly more. Lets see today change the tailwheel add eye bolts and tighten the springs can do easy. Thanks .

Paul as to an earlier post you commented on, I think I'm going to try one bolt to hold the new tailwheel on using the vertical pilot hole in the spring rod rather than the two holes Van's puts in. I will remove the spring and chuck it in a vice on the drill press to align and drill the new hole... open to comments before I start Thanks Jack
 
check 6 said:
Paul as to an earlier post you commented on, I think I'm going to try one bolt to hold the new tail wheel on using the vertical pilot hole in the spring rod rather than the two holes Van's puts in. I will remove the spring and chuck it in a vice on the drill press to align and drill the new hole... open to comments before I start Thanks Jack
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I've seen lots of 'em held on with one bolt Jack - should work. I do know at least one guy who has had both bolts in the standard setup break - the tail wheel "knuckle" then just rotated on the spring. He couldn't figure out why it happened - weak bolts maybe? But that's the only case I can think that two would be better than one! ;)

Paul
 
Paul:

I think you told me that you used the original bolt holes and drilled the sleeve in the Aviation Products wheel to use these holes. This is my other thought. I'm just a little concerned about getting the positioning exact on the new sleeve. I would, of course start with a small pilot hole and work up.

Bottom line is besides safety over bumps I think the combination of tighter spring tension and the larger wheel should make for more precise steering on role out. I'm finding that on undulations in our runway the main gear because of its rigidness has a tendency to skip and with the slight slop in the tailwheel assembly there is a small measure of over control. Never had this issue with the Citabria but then the main gear has more spring and the tailwheel / rudder is not a sensitive.. comments
 
Bottom line is besides safety over bumps I think the combination of tighter spring tension and the larger wheel should make for more precise steering on role out. I'm finding that on undulations in our runway the main gear because of its rigidness has a tendency to skip and with the slight slop in the tailwheel assembly there is a small measure of over control. Never had this issue with the Citabria but then the main gear has more spring and the tailwheel / rudder is not a sensitive.. comments
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Landing too fast? If the plane tends to "skip" it is usually due to the wing still having enough airspeed to fly. The sweetest landings in an RV are attained in a very small airspeed window, usually slower than most low-time RV pilots are landing. That fat wing will fly at very low speeds even after the tail has given up. This makes the plane get light on its feet if you are a little fast when the tail comes down and the wing returns to positive angle of attack.

Sometimes a good remedy is more slow flight practice and getting a very good handle on stall speed in landing configuration. Make sure landings are within five knots of stall speed when at touch down, and the skipping and control issues will probably disappear. You will also be amazed at the short rollout. :)
 
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Ironflight said:
I've seen lots of 'em held on with one bolt Jack - should work. I do know at least one guy who has had both bolts in the standard setup break - the tail wheel "knuckle" then just rotated on the spring. He couldn't figure out why it happened - weak bolts maybe? But that's the only case I can think that two would be better than one! ;)

Paul
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I had a bolt break in my Aviation Products tailwheel when I first installed it in '93 (Happened right in front of the hangar). I drilled out the hole and sleeved it. Now the sleeve takes the shear loads and the bolt holds the sleeve in place. Haven't had a bolt break in 14 years.
 
I also had the bolt break that was holding my Aviation products tailwheel on. IMHO, a single bolt all by itself is insufficient. The bolt takes quite a beating, even with the best of landings. I now have two bolts which are changed out every year during the condition inspection just to be safe. I hadn't thought about sleeving it, and would probably go that route now.
 
I got the Avaition products tailwheel on today. Decided to go with using the factory vertical pilot hole to use as a drill guide, rather than the original horizontal holes. Hole punched through very nicely. I then gave thought to what some had said about having a second bolt for safety so I drilled one about an inch or so closer to the back end of the sleeve. Carefully drilling through the alum sleeve and then using that as a guide to go through the spring rod. This one took more time as I must have hit a real hard part of the rod. Anyway it is on and looks good. I'm very happy with the increased clearance from something solid. The quality of the assembly is far better than the original. I also see what some have said, that it is easy to grease the vertical shaft but my gun fitting will not fit over the zerk on the wheel axle so I will disassemble it and grease manually. I do like the product and really don't notice a great difference in the way the aircraft sits. I will test taxi it tomorrow.
 
Wheel Bearing Greasing....

check 6 said:
.......I also see what some have said, that it is easy to grease the vertical shaft but my gun fitting will not fit over the zerk on the wheel axle so I will disassemble it and grease manually.
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I'd like someone that really understands tailwheel bearings (far better than I) to definitively answer whether this particular wheel actually needs to be greased or not. The ad says that they are "sealed bearings", and they certainly look sealed to me - yet I still ground down a gun nose fitting so I could pump grease into the wheel cavity. The zerk on the wheel doesn't appear to have a valve ball in it (I have two of the wheels, and both are alike), so grease just gets flung out.

Am I wasting my time trying to put/keep grease in this wheel? I plead ignorance!

Paul
 
I agree, Paul. I don't grease mine either and have replaced it twice, from tire wear, not bearings.
On another note, I have found that the grease fitting on the pivot shaft does almost no good. The thing needs to be disassembled, cleaned and greased every year.
 
Sealed bearings are plug and play

If the bearings are truly sealed, then they need no grease. We use sealed bearings in our seaplane wheels and they see service underwater. They last a pretty good while depending on how much water flying you do. Sealed bearings are prepacked with grease and sealed. When they go bad, you replace them. They are great for airplane wheels because of the limited use and limited heat build up.
 
tailwheel bearings

Sorry for the spam, but I have a useful product for those who are tired of greasy, dirty tailwheel tires... sealed bearings. No need to fill your hub with grease that oozes out onto your tire, hub, rudder, etc.

The bearings and spacers that I offer will fit your existing Van's tire. Simply knock out the old bearings and install the new. About 3/16 wider when installed than the Van's bearings, but can be ground off if necessary if you have a particularly tight tailwheel fork.

$30 plus USPS shipping for 2 bearings and 2 spacers.

www.vincesrocket.com/products.htm

I also have replacement tailwheel tires, tailwheel forks, and replacement parts for full swivel tailwheels.

Contact me directly at: [email protected]

Thanks,

Vince
 
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