Lockable Tailwheel?

15 posts in this topic

Posted

Hey guys,

I have been looking at all kinds of tail wheels and I want to put a "bush style" Tailwheel on my Magnum.

so far, the Matco tundra style looks really good price and width of tire wise.

I have also come across a few lockable tail wheels.  Just Aircraft is using lockable tail wheels and brake steering. 

What are your thoughts on lockable tail wheels?

 

Thanks,

Ron

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Posted

I can't speak to the feasibility of a castering tail wheel on the Magnum, but on a regular Avid or Kitfox, it would be a guarantee of ground loop problems. 

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Posted (edited)

I could have explained it better...they are cockpit selectable locked/castering via one cable.

I think the idea is that you lock these straight for landing, which they claim makes the chances of ground looping go down drastically because your rudder input has no affect on steering.  I have always kept my feet off of the brakes during landing until I was moving slow enough that I could control the input (much faster airplanes)

...I could see taxiing with the Tailwheel castering in a crosswind would suck!

They are popular in the Vans RV world, but it is a little 3" wheel.  It wasn't until the last couple of years that I started seeing these on Bush style planes...Just Aircraft/Bearhawk...

 

Ron

Edited by RDavidson

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Posted (edited)

The Army AT6 Texan / Navy SNJ  had a lockable tailwheel that you manually locked before takeoff - I was told that if you failed to lock it, when you put the throttle forward you would quickly be looking at where you had started!   The same for the landing!

 I guess several of the WW2 planes with one radial engine and a big prop had them.  I was told that the old F4 Corsair (not the new jet) had so much torque that if you opened the throttle too fast that it would do a barrel roll on the ground or in the air...

EDMO

Edited by EDMO
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Posted

Having flown several planes (Waco UPF-7, Agwagon, etc) that have these I like them. The only down side to them is that fact that if you forget to unlock it when you TRY to turn off of a hard surface runway, you find you can't. They do go quite a ways to helping keep the plane straight, as long as you have the stick in your lap and the wheel is locked. Once you get used to using them you forget about even having to lock and unlock them. At least that was my situation. I would lock it once I lined up straight down the centerline, then unlock it again just before turning off the runway. Not much to it. Very simple system to help stop some ground loop situations. 

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Posted

Be carefull with a locked tailwheel.

On the first fly with our avid flyer, the cam-plate (for unlock the tailwheel on matco tailwheels) was removed. I had my first groundloop... and while turning the tailwheel scratched over the asphalt. The result was a bend frame, a broken wing and many hours of working on plane.

In the repair, we buy a cam-plate for the tailwheel.

Some months later, we had a groundloop again. Max. wind from the side (crosswind 15kn) on concrete. The controler ban a land on grass... :mad: . After landing a unvoluntary ballet. We need 200ft and two groundloops ... on a 4133ft runway. No damage! No wing on the ground. And no full trousers...

For me is a tailwheel that unlock when groundloop the best guarantee for no damage.

When you can unlock or lock it manually... do it like EDMO say...but in groundoop unlock it.

Martin

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Posted

Martin,

Thanks for the reply.  That doesn't sound like fun, nor does it sound like the tower was much help either.

You gave me a lot to think about.

 

Danke,

Ron

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Posted

Be carefull with a locked tailwheel.

On the first fly with our avid flyer, the cam-plate (for unlock the tailwheel on matco tailwheels) was removed. I had my first groundloop... and while turning the tailwheel scratched over the asphalt. The result was a bend frame, a broken wing and many hours of working on plane.

In the repair, we buy a cam-plate for the tailwheel.

Some months later, we had a groundloop again. Max. wind from the side (crosswind 15kn) on concrete. The controler ban a land on grass... :mad: . After landing a unvoluntary ballet. We need 200ft and two groundloops ... on a 4133ft runway. No damage! No wing on the ground. And no full trousers...

For me is a tailwheel that unlock when groundloop the best guarantee for no damage.

When you can unlock or lock it manually... do it like EDMO say...but in groundoop unlock it.

Martin

Martin, are you saying you had a lockable Matco tailwheel? I didn't know they even offered that type of setup. I was talking about one that you actually have to mechanically lock and release from the tailwheel. Not a swiveling one that will unlock when it gets past the point the mechanism allows it to release automatically. 

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Posted (edited)

Be carefull with a locked tailwheel.

On the first fly with our avid flyer, the cam-plate (for unlock the tailwheel on matco tailwheels) was removed. I had my first groundloop... and while turning the tailwheel scratched over the asphalt. The result was a bend frame, a broken wing and many hours of working on plane.

In the repair, we buy a cam-plate for the tailwheel.

Some months later, we had a groundloop again. Max. wind from the side (crosswind 15kn) on concrete. The controler ban a land on grass... :mad: . After landing a unvoluntary ballet. We need 200ft and two groundloops ... on a 4133ft runway. No damage! No wing on the ground. And no full trousers...

For me is a tailwheel that unlock when groundloop the best guarantee for no damage.

When you can unlock or lock it manually... do it like EDMO say...but in groundoop unlock it.

Martin

Martin, are you saying you had a lockable Matco tailwheel? I didn't know they even offered that type of setup. I was talking about one that you actually have to mechanically lock and release from the tailwheel. Not a swiveling one that will unlock when it gets past the point the mechanism allows it to release automatically. 

No sorry, not want so say that i had a lockable Matco tailwheel. I say be carefull with a locked tailwheel. Our tailwheel was locked, because the cam-plate was missing. If it is locked while the cam-plate is lost or while it is an manually locked is the same effect. Sorry for my bad english.

Martin

Edited by Flugtaxi

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Posted

Sounds like he's referencing a Maule t/w.  Do Matco's use a removable cam to lock/unlock?

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Posted

No.  The Matco design is more like a Scott.

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Posted

Hi friends,

any new information, recommendation or news regarding Tail Wheel Lock?

I am going to start (after more then 30 years) with tail-dragger again, so any information to help me will be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

My current installation is WHLT-8LD TAILWHEEL, LIGHT WEIGHT DUAL FORK 8" pneu tail wheel and I am thinking about replacement.

Thanks.

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Posted

IMHO, on an Avid the tail wheel doesn't have the authority to stop a ground loop, so a lockable one isn't much of a cure. On youtube are a bunch of Ground Loop videos showing tail wheels sliding sideward, peeling the tire off the rim and even bending the tail mounting framing in the process.

Best way to avoid a ground loop? "Happy Feet", lots and lots of pedal motion, small dithering that lets you react quickly to the initial yaw. I find using narrow, thin,  light shoes is important, since the Avid pedals were designed for Snow White's friends.

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Posted

A tail wheel lock helps hold the plane straight on takeoff and landing to reduce the initiall swerving...You are correct once you go beyound a certain point, your are screwed. Ive read that wider gear either Grove one piece aluminum or the other wide PA-18 type gear help a lot. The Midget Mustang II use  slack in the steering springs so the tail wheel mostly track straight andthe rudder keeps the plane on course until you get flying speed....This is an age old problem that is amplified by the Avid/Kitfox short fuselage and the pilots, passenger and wing fuel behind the MLG which aggrivates matters...ON a PA-18  with onlly the pilot, in level attitude, the CG is only 2" aft ofthe MLG axles so it makes it easy to steer, but also easy to tip  over orflip whichhappens a lot...I think a tw lock willhelp, not solve the entire problem, only a longer fuselage would...

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Posted

The Matco appears to be are reliable design that when set up right are just about foolproof (and will unlock in a ground loop as I had an instructor demonstrate to me recently):bugeyes:

the happy feet comment is sound advice

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