jbDC9
Well Known Member
I installed a Bell tailwheel fork within the first year of flying my RV-8; I’m quite used to maintaining the standard wear items of the steering pin plus the notch on the steering arm… I’ve cycled through several sets of pins and arms. But now after 16 years and 2100 hours the tailwheel yoke itself is showing some wear that I hadn’t expected; the steering pin slide slot on the vertical shaft of the yoke has become worn allowing a good bit of lateral play on the steering pin. During taxi I have a bit of free play on the rudder due to the slight slack on my tailwheel steering cables, but now the added wear and lateral play of the steering pin makes it worse. My tailwheel steering response has gotten pretty sloppy, subtly changing over the last couple of years. It’s time to fix it.
Has anyone else seen this, and is there a fix, as in perhaps a welding shop could weld a small bead on either side of the slot to be filed smooth? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy a whole new fork?
Has anyone else seen this, and is there a fix, as in perhaps a welding shop could weld a small bead on either side of the slot to be filed smooth? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy a whole new fork?