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Thread: Another tailwheel discussion

  1. #21
    Senior Member jrevens's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another tailwheel discussion

    I forgot to mention that my buddy Stan (Sourdostan) has flown over 2000 hrs. in his mod. IV Speedster, literally all over the USA & Canada, with a 6" Maule tailwheel. I never heard him complain about it. I know he's flown & landed in wild crosswinds many times - the wind does blow around here occasionally. Just sayin' FWIW.
    John Evens
    Arvada, CO
    Kitfox SS7 N27JE
    EAA Lifetime
    Chap. 43 honorary Lifetime

  2. #22

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    Default Re: Another tailwheel discussion

    Just fitted the new matco today, to early to tell if it's very different to the maule ,but the big difference is the pneumatic tyre, very nice ,on pretty rough gravel you can't feel the the tailwheel touch down ( I usually wheel it on) at all , now I just have to get the brakes working better, they only just hold at 3500 rpm , and sometimes they won't hold to do a tight turn,,,,,,

    Last edited by metalman; 10-25-2014 at 12:48 AM.

  3. #23

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    Default Re: Another tailwheel discussion

    Quote Originally Posted by jrevens View Post
    I forgot to mention that my buddy Stan (Sourdostan) has flown over 2000 hrs. in his mod. IV Speedster, literally all over the USA & Canada, with a 6" Maule tailwheel. I never heard him complain about it. I know he's flown & landed in wild crosswinds many times - the wind does blow around here occasionally. Just sayin' FWIW.

    Same here -- no problem with the Maule for me.

    I think follks like to blame things for their own issues
    -mis aligned
    - hard to handle
    -some just do not have the feet to eye co-ordination either.

    I see it all the time - thousand of dollars spent on tailwheels
    landing gears etc etc
    converting to trigear

    I never had a issue with tube gear or Maule tail wheels

  4. #24
    Senior Member
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    Default Re: Another tailwheel discussion

    I have used the Maule tundra tailwheel on my Series 5 for 700 hrs and have never had any issues with mine as well. I do the required maintenance annually and keep it lubed well. So far so good. Bruce N199CL

  5. #25
    Senior Member t j's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another tailwheel discussion

    No problems with my Maule tail wheel unlocking except when I want it to. I had no tail wheel experience when I built my Kitfox and the tail wheel was a mystery to me. A friend with lots of tail wheel hours showed me how to rig it.

    First couple flights My kitfox was one of those "Squirrley as all He..." tail draggers. Aligning the main gear cured that and it became one of the tame ones.

    To unlock it I need to to be moving slowly forward, push the rudder pedal all the way, and "Stab" that brake just as the pedal hits the stop.

    A couple years ago I found this short video on tail wheel rigging. It confirmed what my tail wheel friend had showed me.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtokU8mIDQk
    Last edited by t j; 10-25-2014 at 06:25 AM.
    Tom Jones
    Classic 4 builder

  6. #26
    KFfan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another tailwheel discussion

    Thanks t j
    I had seen that video but could not find it in my "bookmarks".
    It is there now!
    Lou
    KitFox II
    582

  7. #27
    Senior Member
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    Default Re: Another tailwheel discussion

    I'm with Maxwell ten years on my Maule and NEVER had a problem, and I
    don't see why I would either. It is a bone simple device.

    I'm a skeptic about Maule Tailwheel as Problem.

    Regards,
    Jeff

    Quote Originally Posted by N981MS View Post
    Just to give a voice to those with Maule tailwheels that "behave".

    I have had 2 and not had any problems. Just got lucky, I guess, since I did not know I needed to check them.

    One on a Maule M7 235 (about 150 hours).

    One on the KF for 700 plus hours now without any problem.

    I bet I'll check mine at next annual.

  8. #28
    Senior Member av8rps's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another tailwheel discussion

    Ok, so again, this is why this my point about maule tailwheels is so hard to get across. I specifically said that I know some have had really good luck with them. But others haven't been so lucky.

    Case in point; I have a Kitfox project in my garage that has been seriously damaged in ground loop accidents 4 times. The guy that bought it last ground looped it right after purchase bad enough to mess up the wing and the fuselage, ironically had flown a Luscombe for years before buying tbe kitfox. And the guy that sold it to him had a decathalon and a Pitts, and told me that kitfox was the hardest tailwheel airplane he'd ever flown. He was able to get rid of it before ground looping it, but the original owner wrecked it the three other times (severely enough to need to replace horizontal stab and elevator, wing tips, struts, etc). But ironically, no one ever changed the tailwheel from the original maule. So when I got it the first thing I did was to check it to see if it would unlock with the fuselage on sawhorses. And sure enough, full pedal either way unlocked it easily. Very easily. Oh, and the springs were not too tight.

    So using just that Kitfox as an example, were all three of the pilots just not skilled enough to handle this little ol' Kitfox? You can think what you want, but I know what I think. I've experienced a messed up maule tailwheel that made an Avid Flyer pretty much impossible to land (described in detail in my previous post). But by just removing the swivel feature of the tailwheel, that same Avid became easy to land. Oh, and I'm not afraid to defend my tailwheel skills either as I have flown a lot of different tw aircraft in my lifetime and essentially grew up on them. And fwiw, I have never ground looped one. So I know when I can't land a docile little taildragger without the risk of wrecking it, there's something wrong with the airplane, and not me.

    For those of us that aren't having issues with the Maule to even subtley imply it is probably poor pilot skills causing the problems others are having I believe is doing a disservice to our fellow flyers.

    So rather, how about we do an experiment to get to the bottom of this? How about the guys that have had no issues with their Maules on their Kitfox put the tail up on a stand and see if they can break the lock to swivel by just pushing the rudder pedals full defection left and right (simulating as if you are landing in really gusty crosswind conditions). And also, if they don't unlock with just rudder pedal movement, tell us how tight or lose you have your springs set up.

    I'd love to get to the bottom of this, as after searching the net I discovered there are other aircraft types having similar issues with the Maule tailwheel.

  9. #29
    Senior Member t j's Avatar
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    Default Re: Another tailwheel discussion

    I am going to do the saw horse test. My plane is folded up on the trailer right now but condition inspection is due soon so I need to get it done.

    I have friend that completed building a Model 2 Kitfox a couple years ago. He is an accomplished tail wheel pilot but has problems with his kitfox. He has ground looped it several times and always says he doesn't know why it happened. I keep telling him it is because he isn't paying attention to keeping it straight. I'll check his maule tail wheel when I get a chance.
    Tom Jones
    Classic 4 builder

  10. #30
    Senior Member
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    Default Re: Another tailwheel discussion

    A lot of Kitfox's have incorrect tailwheel angle, and compensate for that with
    chain tension, and end up probably with all kinds of poor behavior. I milled a
    wedge to adjust the angle of my tailwheel on my spring and that helped a lot
    with basic handling, and allowed me to run with reduced chain tension.

    There's a lot more to tailwheel than just the "Brand", I think you could set
    up a Scott poorly, and spend a lot more money to boot, than a Maule ...

    I still think the Maule is a fine tailwheel, and I don't buy the poor design
    idea at all. I think more likely any fault of Maule tailwheels is that they
    were simply not setup correctly in the first place by whoever built the
    plane.

    There is also the issue that a lot of "fine" tailwheel pilots, aren't, and when
    humbled by a groundloop it's easy to blame something. I'm not saying this
    is the case exactly here, but I don't buy the Maule tailwheel as simply
    being bad.

    I run mine with the anti-shimmy friction springs removed, and my chains
    are "just" taut, but with no tension on the chain springs. My rudder pedal
    pressure is light, and that I've NEVER had the tailwheel bust loose from
    an inadvertent unlock.

    Oh, but indeed I HAVE groundlooped the plane, and did a spectacular 270
    degree tire screeching turn on 8.50x6's tires right in front of the airport
    restaraunt at lunch time on a Saturday as well. Which was my fault and
    not the tailwheel. I'd be tempted to blame the tires, but I'd rather just
    suck it up and say - I screwed up.

    Jeff

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