YellowPeril2
I'm New Here
Hello all,
My father and I have an RV-8 that we have made significant tailwheel modifications on. We had replaced the stock tailwheel springs with one singular two way spring, which makes the airplane much more controllable on the ground at low speed. We also took our tailwheel fork to a machine shop to have the original tailwheel horizontal travel length widened so the tailwheel would have the same angle of travel as the rudder. These modifications have increased the controllability of the plane at normal taxi speeds drastically. During high speed taxi tests, the tailwheel is no longer as controllable as it is during normal taxiing. The tailwheel will almost caster at high speeds and there is some lag between rudder input and tailwheel movement. Is there any reason we can't devise a locking tailwheel for our plane, or has it already been done by other RV-8 pilots? Thanks.
My father and I have an RV-8 that we have made significant tailwheel modifications on. We had replaced the stock tailwheel springs with one singular two way spring, which makes the airplane much more controllable on the ground at low speed. We also took our tailwheel fork to a machine shop to have the original tailwheel horizontal travel length widened so the tailwheel would have the same angle of travel as the rudder. These modifications have increased the controllability of the plane at normal taxi speeds drastically. During high speed taxi tests, the tailwheel is no longer as controllable as it is during normal taxiing. The tailwheel will almost caster at high speeds and there is some lag between rudder input and tailwheel movement. Is there any reason we can't devise a locking tailwheel for our plane, or has it already been done by other RV-8 pilots? Thanks.