Help me choose a tailwheel

[Wayne Massey]

Whee - with almost 100 hours experience now with Bob's tailwheel on three different airplanes I've never had a problem. But all my experience has been since the design change. I don't know what your issue was with the original design but the reported problems have been addressed and corrected with the updated design. That's what I like about Bob's designs is he fixes any issues that come along.

Let us know how the Matco works out. Your experience and reports would be helpful.

[Zzz]

I coughed up the change for the Baby Bushwheel. I've slobbered over them for years and I figure you only live once. It current does a fantastic job of rolling over the backcountry-sized cracks in my driveway.

[whee]

Yeah, I wish I had a Baby Bushwheel of my own but I just can't bring my self to do it. Hopefully next week I'll have a set of Grove wheels/brakes and a Matco TW headed my way in the mail.

[Battson]

For the guys using a leaf spring, what sort of paint are you using?

I have used a really strong automotive grade two-pot to start with, but this has still chipped extensively on the lower surface due to rocks flung against it, and worn down in between the leafs, both of which have led to some rusting.

For the meantime, I am switching to an etch primer via rattle can, so that I can just keep it touched up and prevent further rusting.

[jaredyates]

I used Rustoleum flat black. I'll probably plan to repaint next winter, but it didn't look like it needed it after the first year. Grass is more forgiving than gravel!

[N942VT]

I sprayed mine with some leftover Stewarts black, urethane enamel. It's held up well but will need to be recoated at some point. Not sure what you could use back there that will take the abuse.

[whee]

It is so dry around here it is hard to get anything to rust so I'm just going to rattle can it and reapply as needed.

[dedgemon]

What about Linex or rhinoliner or some type of bed liner material. That's about as tough as I can think of.

[Bcone1381]

POR-15 is what used underneath my mower deck.

[LukeS]

We used to use POR-15 for ornamental railings. It's a really tough finish, but the UV will make it chalk within a year of exposure. I think they have developed a top coat now, but I have no experience with that.

[Zzz]

I just picked up a rattle can for this exact purpose, Jon. Was agonizing over how to prime it and came up on this stuff. I'm just going to glass bead them and shoot. It'a apparently quite resilient.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CPIN34/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Peter Girard]

BEARHAWK MOD tail-wheel 11 inch casting aluminum 819-438-1758

[TimTall]

Reviving an old thread here.... How have you guys been doing with your tail choices? It's time for me to buy one and I'm interested to see what your experiences are after 5 years since the last post. I'm going with GY 26's on the mains and I will be landing in sand and gravel on rivers enough to want the biggest tail wheel that makes sense. I have an 8" wheel on my current plane, which is way lighter, and it basically turns into a pizza cutter on anything but hard surfaces.

What I really want is a wider wheel. I'm sure the baby bushwheel would be the best choice but I'm trying to control the spending somewhat.

Whee, did you end up going with the Matco?

[zkelley2]

If you're in a lot of sand the baby bushwheel and matco tailwheel are the only truly wide tailwheels. Its very weird to me that a lot of aftermarket "off airport" tailwheels are tall. That's the opposite of what you want. You lose AoA.
Very wide and short is most ideal.

[rodsmith]

Check out Eric Newtons Tundra tailwheel. Available for either flat or round spring. bhtailwheels.com

[Bcone1381]

Mine is not flying yet. However, Erics 8" tailwheel seems well designed, sturdy, and well built. I assume the tundra is as well.

[whee]

I didn’t go with the Matco. I made some calls to guys that had the Matco TW, talked to a guy at Matco and determined that the BH has too heavy of the tail. The Matco will work but it’s right at its weight limit so that presents some issues.

I went with a Bob Tundra. I don’t like how tall it is but that’s the same issue with all the other options. Years ago some guys were trying go cart racing slicks on their TWs. Matco uses them too. Some guys liked them while others didn’t like the square profile. I found a 8.5” tall 3.5” wide slick and put it on. Haven’t flown it yet but I’m hopeful I will like it better.

The thing about these big TWs is they all shimmy and they put massive loads on the spring and mounts. On grass or gravel shimmy doesn’t matter but it’s hard on stuff and can make the plane hard to control on pavement. The Bob Tundra has a brass bolt that can get tightened against the king pin to stop the shimmy. It’s a Rube Goldberg solution but it works.

Reality for me is I’m not going to be flying gravel bars like I thought and anything over 8.50s and a cookie cutter 8” TW is pointless in the Idaho wilderness which is where I do the majority of my flying. Hopefully this 8.5x3.5 tire will make me happy.

[whee]

Haha, wow, idk how anyone could look at a TW with camber and not think it was a problem. Thanks for clarifying. Camber can be challenging to adjust but anything is possible. I’ve corrected TWs that had camber on a couple different planes. The new tapered rod springs make it easy. Just weld and file the mounting holes.

[TimTall]

My little tailwheel shimmies a bit too. Caster is set properly and the bushing is snug. Still has a bit of a shimmy on pavement sometimes but it's usually easy enough to pick the tail up for a second to get it to stop.

Whee, are just changing the wheel and tire with in the Tundra fork assembly?

[whee]

Tim, I only changed the tire and tube.