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Monster tailwheel

born2fly

born2fly

Active Member
I thought some of you might be interested in a new tailwheel assembly that Vince Frazier and I have cooked up. It uses a Matco T8 and Vince's 8" fork.

The handling of my RV6 on rough surfaces is significantly improved, and the raised-up tail feathers are much more out of harm's way (rocks thrown up by the main tires).

I'm also running the 380-250x5.00 main tires, and the overall off-road behavior is WAY improved.

Here's a link to a pic of the tailwheel:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/illesg/3077818103/

I don't think he has anything on his site yet, but Vince's URL is:
www.flyboyaccessories.com


G.
 
Hey that looks good. What did you have to do to fit the 380-250x5.00 mains ?
And in the photo of your whole plane are you at Los Trancas 17CL, Big Creek ?

Phil
 
upgraded tail wheel

Hi Gregory.

Do you happen to know what the weight trade off is - if any?
 
More info

Phil, you have a sharp eye, yes that's Las Trancas, Bud McCreary's airstrip on Hwy1 near Waddell Creek.

The big Van's pants fit, but I had to move them up about 2" to clear the tires and provide a bit more pants-to-ground clearance. The tires pretty much just fit right onto the existing wheel/brake setup. Of course the brake pressure and tail-steering pressure on the ground are slightly higher now, but no big deal.

Mains add 1.5# each, and tailwheel adds about 3# for a total of 6# increase in empty weight. Net change on CG is -0.4", which means I still have an 80# baggage capacity at worst-case aft-CG loading (empty tanks).

I haven't done any serious speed-testing yet, but with the pants completely removed I lost about 9kts, and when I put them back on everything seemed "normal" - about 140kts at 19" x 2500rpm and 6+gph. My max cruise before was about 168kts @ 7000 but I haven't had a chance to check it.

I REALLY like the improved ground handling and ground clearance, and it doesn't seem like it really cost me anything in performance. But I'm not one of those shaved-knot guys - - if I find out I'm getting 166 now instead of 168, it's not going to ruin my day.

G.
 
Up Front Clearance?

born2fly said:
I thought some of you might be interested in a new tailwheel assembly that Vince Frazier and I have cooked up. It uses a Matco T8 and Vince's 8" fork.

The handling of my RV6 on rough surfaces is significantly improved, and the raised-up tail feathers are much more out of harm's way (rocks thrown up by the main tires).

I'm also running the 380-250x5.00 main tires, and the overall off-road behavior is WAY improved.

Here's a link to a pic of the tailwheel:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/illesg/3077818103/

I don't think he has anything on his site yet, but Vince's URL is:
www.flyboyaccessories.com


G.
Click to expand...

I like the Bell Wheel for two reasons, clearance on the front side of the tailwheel fork, and better stearing geometry. From the pictures it does not look like you gained that much clearance (could be an optical illusion), and the geometry of the fork to the wheel center line is the same as Van's? (the wheel has to "drag" sideways at low speeds to execute a turn?)
That Monster Wheel on an upsized Bell style fork would give you a boat load of clearance and the geometry. No offense to Vince and his fine products.
 
pros & cons

The clearance on the Van's wheel (up to the metal of the fork) is a little more than 2". The clearance on Vince's 8" fork is just under 4". Note that if you have clearance ABOVE the centerline of the wheel, it's not necessarily going to do any good in bouncing over a really big obstacle. I've discussed with Vince the concept of incorporating a hard "ramp" on the leading edge of the fork. This would have a more beneficial effect (with a huge obstacle) than just more clearance above the axle centerline - which would tend to 'catch' anyway. But basically, I'm hoping that I have the sense to stay away from 4" high ledges and immovable objects.

Due to the larger wheel size, the "trail" - distance from pivot centerline to axle centerline - has changed from 3.75" for Van's to 4.5" for the 8". It's a compromise between trail and vertical-height change. The tailwheel ground steering is now very slightly heavier than stock, which doesn't bother me, but it's definitely NOT lighter, as would be the case with a Bell or Flyboy 6" fork. The 6" forks reduce the trail and lighten the steering.

So far, I really like that smooth-rolling, high-clearance tailcone. If anything crummy starts to happen, I will keep the forum posted.

G.
 
We knew that the steering would be a bit heavier with this relatively huge tire. However, when you place the 6" tire on top of the 8" tire, the difference in footprint and clearance is enormous.

I think that is what Greg wanted the most.. smoother ride and less chance of the tire encountering an obstacle that it can't handle.

Greg and I are still tweaking the assembly to get a fork that is optimal for those who insist on flying with no limits!
 
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