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Thinking of Changing Tailwheel Fork
- Thread starter StuBob
- Start date
Toobuilder
Well Known Member
Ok, in the interest of illustrating multiple solutions, here's what I did with the stock yoke/fork (disregard the extra stuff on top - that was the locking feature)
Which wheel is that Toolbuilder?
Toobuilder
Well Known Member
JD Air fork/yoke and Aviation Products wheel/tire.
The JD Air fork/yoke is a very mice piece of kit - I bought it last year. My 7 isn't flying yet but I'm looking forward to trying it. However I do have one problem:
There are two different versions of the tail spring with different aft end diameters (0.635” and 0.644”). According to the flyboys website, these are pre- and post-2017. However, I can’t see any distinction made on the Van’s website. I have a 2015 vintage tail spring which fits snugly with my 2015 vintage Vans yoke, but my tail spring is a little loose in the JD Air yoke (which sure enough has a 0.644” I.D.) People have suggested using shims but this seems a bit sub-optimal. But buying a new tailspring also seems like a painful solution, especially since it's expensive and might require drilling the aft holes. Looking for a good idea!
Andy
I have a Condor 2 with the pneumatic tire. Honestly, I installed it pre phase 1 and have never tried the stock setup for comparison. Works good. smooth taxi, good visibility, and even though I have super loose chains it tracks well.
I don't have strong feelings about any of them. I just installed this one because I got a good deal on it used here on VAF, but it works great.
Toobuilder
Well Known Member
Yes. It’s a bit on the loose side. Not normally an issue if the bolts are reamed to an interference fit, but I also filled the socket with JBWeld to shim out any possible movement. So far so good, but hardly a long term testimony yet.
Ha! The other saying that comes to mind is that even blind squirrel gets an acorn every now and thenWhat's the saying? My loss is your gain?
FYI- As I recall, It didn't play well with your tailwheel spring and you had lots of shimmy that scrubbed all the tread off the tire. I don't know what the difference is, but there's no shimmy at all on mine. Even though my chains are quite loose it tracks more like a 172 than like the 170 I also fly. Really happy that I rolled the dice on it.
Ha! The other saying that comes to mind is that even blind squirrel gets an acorn every now and then
FYI- As I recall, It didn't play well with your tailwheel spring and you had lots of shimmy that scrubbed all the tread off the tire. I don't know what the difference is, but there's no shimmy at all on mine. Even though my chains are quite loose it tracks more like a 172 than like the 170 I also fly. Really happy that I rolled the dice on it.
Yep, major shimmy when I tried it. Glad it's working for you. I'm sure it has to do with the bend in the spring.
Couldn't this method put a lot of stress on the bolts which after many landings might lead to fatigue? I'm also wondering why the tail spring O.D. was increased - was it to reduce the likelihood of the tailwheel yoke hitting the bottom of the rudder on bumpy grass runways? If so that might be a good reason to use the newer part, despite the cost.
