Flyboys tailwheel

As many of you know, I converted my 9A to a 9 last year about this time. One of the modifications I made was getting larger (longer) axles so that I could put 6" wheels to accommodate some larger tires (800x6) and give me a bit more comfort on rougher landing zones.



That worked well last summer in Yukon/BC, but I decided that the standard 6" hard rubber tailwheel was not ideal and was probably the weak spot in the system (anyone from RTS will also tell you that the standard tailwheel makes a hellaceous tin-canning noise going over the expansion joints around here). So I worked with Vince at Flyboys and he made me a custom fork to accommodate a larger tailwheel. This is a direct drop-in replacement for the standard tailwheel fork. I used a Matco aluminum wheel and an 8" wheelchair tire (no-flat tire, so tubes not an issue). I'm very happy to report that this tailwheel fork is outstanding in construction (but needs paint one of these days....) and fits the bill perfectly. I believe that it is just a larger version of his standard fork. I have had no vibration or other issues with the size change and it damps the expansion joints nicely. I was out this morning (ahead of the pylon racers) and did a number of landings on one of the local dirt runways (N57, Rosaschi) that had some cow tracks and motorcycle ruts in it, and the wheel handled perfectly.



New tailwheel on left, standard tailwheel on right.

Thanks to Vince for working with me on developing this.

Greg,
You've really gone to a taildragger. That's quite a beefy tail wheel.
That should do well on those Alaska strips.

I can't wait to get to try out my my flyboy tail wheel. Mine's the tiny one in your picture. I should be back flying next week.
My conversion's taken a bit longer than expected, especially with the #$^%^ gear weldment removals. I'm completing the cowl rework this weekend as I had to trim a 1/2" from the aft cowl.

Have fun in Alaska.

I wonder what the speed rating is on a wheel chair tire

Looks good Greg. I hard chromed my Flyboys tailwheel fork after becoming tired of painting it all the time. Small stone chips would sand blast the metal on a frequent basis.

I would love to see an overall photo of your plane with the big tyres on it.

Mark.

That looks great Greg!

May I recommend you use Rustoleum spray paint on that fork? The reason is that you will scratch it up and by using Rustoleum, you can give it a light sanding and repaint it every annual.

You make me wish I had changed out my gear legs when I changed out my engine so I could put the larger tires on my -9.