Rudder yoke for Tailwheel steering Questions

[John Bickham]

I'm finishing up the second elevator and will be starting on the rudder shortly. Looking for some input on the rudder arm (yoke).
I plan on doing a lot of off field, rocks, etc. Looking for something sturdy and can take a bit of abuse from both the terrain and the pilot. I am closely eyeing Eric's new Tundra Tailwheel development.

I'm trying decide between the "off the shelf, bolted" version or the custom made welded version. From what I can tell from pictures, the Avipro rudder comes with a welded tailwheel steering arm. It also looks like the "the Bob" uses a nice rounded version. I think the custom made welded version has the advantage of being a little longer and reduces chain to tailwheel kingpin angle.

Anyone have recommendations on what the dimensions should be? Any and all help appreciated as always.

[sjt]

There was an article written up on tailwheel mounting and its effect on shimmy. From the article I took away the following:
The yoke needs to present the tire in such a way that if the tire deflects left or right, the deflection will cause the tail to lift and take energy out of the system.
Bad things will happen if a small deflection(left or right) causes the tail to lower - increasing the energy that is causing the deflection .

[Enewton57]

Hi John, take a look at the aircraft spruce part number 06-15900 That's what I used on both of my Bearhawk and Patrol. Very strong and should hold up well. Eric Newton - Long Beach, MS http://mybearhawk.com

[Chewie]

There's some guidance in the yellow Bingelis book too.
I have a great photo here but it's likely copyright infringement if I post. But if you have that book look on p. 254.

[nichzimmerman]

Reviving an old thread here, but...
I must be missing something on the rudder drawing (4-place) regarding installation of a steering arm. The rudder spar is T14 (7/8"x0.049") with an internal diameter of 0.777" which is too big to snugly receive the 3/4" steering arm from ACS. The plans seem to indicate the lower rudder spar has an internal tube to compensate for this but there is no tubing that has a diameter between 0.75" and 0.777" that can adequately reduce the size of the opening to 0.75" What am I missing and what solutions have others found? I would to keep the steering arm removable by not welding it on.

Nic
BH 1217

[nichzimmerman]

I'm still looking for ideas/solutions concerning the question in the previous post. I'm quickly approaching decision time on the rudder. Thanks.

Nic

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[marcusofcotton]

You could make the bottom bit of the spar T15 (.058 wall), which leaves only .009" for snug fit. I'm not there yet, let us know what you decide and how it works out for you.

[nichzimmerman]

Good idea. Unfortunately the rudder is already finished except for this feature.

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[alaskabearhawk]

This is what I did: http://www.mykitlog.com/users/displa...g=180307&row=8

AS part number 06-01045