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Is this tail spring bent?

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Posted

It looks to me like the spring changes angles right where the tail wheel assembly slides onto it. My suspicion is that the spring is starting to permanently deform. 

20190706_212452.thumb.jpg.6f0d3db81e03c6

If that's the case I'm guessing a hard landing or 2 might crunch the bottom of my rudder. I've heard that it's a good idea to double up the spring but given that the rectangular thingy that attaches the spring right at the bottom of the tail post is only large enough for the spring that's there, I'm wondering how that's done? The current spring is about 3/8" thick and the rectangular thing it's maybe 1/2" inside height.

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Posted

The best rule is to judge the verticality of the TW pivot axis, the closer to pure vertical the better, since if the angle is slanted, as the TW turns it has to pick up the airplane's tail a bit, which hampers ground maneuverability. It looks good to me.

I doubled the spring on mine and found it barely fit inside the channel, so I clamped the two springs together to prevent the extra spring from popping out.

tw enhanced.jpg

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Posted

The Kitfox and Avid springs are not the same.  The Avid has the single bend in it, and the Kitfox one is curved.  This picture is of my Kitfox 4 and it shows the shape the Kitfoxes use.  But either way, the angle of the pivot axis is the important thing, as Nick says in his post.  JImChuk

Photo0587.jpg

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Posted

Jim, It looks like you have a clamp up at the top of the double spring, seems similar to what I did to help keep the second spring aligned. This might help Willja67, too.

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Posted

Jim, It looks like you have a clamp up at the top of the double spring, seems similar to what I did to help keep the second spring aligned. This might help Willja67, too.

Yeah I noticed that. An adjustable mount as opposed to the fixed mount on mine. 

Btw my name is Will.

The plane just came home from the welder a couple weeks ago and i was hoping i wouldn't have to take it back. 

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Posted (edited)

Jim, It looks like you have a clamp up at the top of the double spring, seems similar to what I did to help keep the second spring aligned. This might help Willja67, too.

Actually, I think what you are seeing is a removable chain link that is connected to the rudder horn on the rudder.  And the Kitfox does use a clamp of sorts to hold the leaf springs together that is right at the end of the fuselage.  Nick, just looked at my picture again, and maybe you are referring to the clamp I just mentioned.  It is a factory part on the Kitfox though, not something I added.  JImChuk

PS,  just dug through a bunch of pictures, and I see on my Kitfox 1, it doesn't have the factory clamp like later models.  Here is a picture of the Kitfox 4 showing the clamp.  

Photo1001.jpg

Edited by 1avidflyer

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Posted

My model 2 has the clamp like the 4. Of course it could be a model 4 tail wheel assy. Evidently this model 2 has been beefed up a little bit.

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