taildragger toe-in vs toe-out AGAIN

- Barnyard BOb - wrote:
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 17:56:40 GMT, Dave Hyde wrote:


My hypothesis is that the sloppy spring links let you get a bunch of
rudder deflection before you get much tailwheel deflection, and this
is good at, say, 40MPH and above.

This is interesting. One of the things my inspector asked
me to fix was the slop in the tailwheel springs. I got
almost all of it out, and the airplane handles very well
on the ground, but I haven't had it up to 40 mph yet. I've
flown two RV's with loose springs and I thought mine handled
better at low speed, but that may just be wishful thinking.
I've seen lots of recommendations from RV people to make sure
there's at least a little slack in the springs, and I don't
recall ever seeing any RV-flyer recommend NO slack.

My head hurts :-)

Dave 'still ground-bound' Hyde

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Your setup is fine...
for NO wind or wind STRAIGHT down the runway.

In a crosswind with CONTROLS CROSSED and
you're about to 3 point... guess what you got?

Yep... a rudder AND a tailwheel aimed towards
the boondocks. The stronger the crosswind,
the more problematic this can become.
depending on a lot of factors....
including one's experience level.

The following is my GENERAL statement:

YMMV.

For the most pleasant transition....
The aircraft needs springs that can yield
sufficiently in a timely manner, some 'slack'
to ameliorate this golly-woppled condition
or a combination of both. A lot of the setup
depends on pilot preferences.

Can one do without the above suggestions?
Sure. Beat your head against the wall, too.
That's my 2 cents - given many, many tailwheel
years and hours and I'm sticking to it. g

P.S.
Let me add... it's as much 'art' as science.


Barnyard BOb - no advocate of wheel landings

I agree with both Dave and Bob I have put many hours on my RV-6 in both
configurations. With tight tailwheel springs it is much easier to handle taxing
and takeoffs and landings in a NO WIND condition. But now add some cross wind
and things can get "golly-woppled"** in a hurry with tight springs. Bob is
correct when he says you need SOME slack. Another consideration for spring
tension is whether you can get full rudder deflection in both directions with
tight springs.
My preference at least on an RV-6 is some slack in the springs, which IMO is a
better compromise for all taxi, takeoff, landing configurations.

**Bob's words :-)

Jerry

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 20:39:29 GMT, Jerry Springer
wrote:

Another consideration for spring
tension is whether you can get full rudder deflection in both directions with
tight springs.

And yet ANOTHER consideration (depending upon aircraft type) is whether the
tailwheel-mounting spring relaxes when the tailwheel is off the ground.
That may increase the distance between your rudder horn and your tailwheel
horn, not a good situation if your link between the two is tight on the
ground.

Ron Wanttaja

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 20:49:41 GMT, Ron Wanttaja
wrote:

On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 20:39:29 GMT, Jerry Springer
wrote:

Another consideration for spring
tension is whether you can get full rudder deflection in both directions with
tight springs.

And yet ANOTHER consideration (depending upon aircraft type) is whether the
tailwheel-mounting spring relaxes when the tailwheel is off the ground.
That may increase the distance between your rudder horn and your tailwheel
horn, not a good situation if your link between the two is tight on the
ground.

Ron Wanttaja

these experiences are interesting. I guess you sort it out by having a
fly of typical aircraft to see whether the results match your flying
style.

on my Tailwind the link rod and taper spring are pretty well together
and parallel when you look at them in elevation.
bouncing the tail up and down doesnt produce any noticeable movement
of the tailwheel.

tailwheels are like yellow volkswagens. you only start noticing them
when you have one at the top of your mental focus. after I sorted out
my tailwheel I started noticing them in photos. Pitts Specials quite
often have the same setup, and in articles in Sport Aviation I notice
that the setup is preferred by others with short coupled frisky
aircraft.

A friend building a Sonerai did some comparisons with all the
homebuilts on our airfield (probably 50 or so) and showed me his wing
tip rock test. you hold the wing tip and rock it up and down while
watching the tailwheel. his target was a tailwheel which didnt move
because of the rocking. of all the aircraft he looked at he said that
mine was the most rigid of the setups and the only one that didnt
wobble all over the place. oddly it is one of the lighest. it is a bog
standard Wittman tapered spring tailwheel setup in tempered SAE4140
steel. works well (though I'm not starting a religion over it :-) )

I hope the guy who posed the original question got something useful
from all of this. I thought he deserved a decent reply.
Stealth Pilot
Australia.

Jerry Springer wrote:

With tight tailwheel springs it is much easier to handle taxing
and takeoffs and landings in a NO WIND condition. But now add some cross wind
and things can get "golly-woppled"** in a hurry with tight springs.

Thanks, BOb and Jerry. Good thing I've got some extra chain
laying around. All I need now is 10 extra hours in a day.

Dave 'anti-wopple chain' Hyde

All I need now is 10 extra hours in a day.

Quit wasting time on this newsgroup!! :-)

Ed "not practicing what I preach" Wischmeyer