If your Kitfox handles like this you may want to reconsider the whole endeavor.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1iJeuflwj5g
Re: Tailwheel a *****cat on grass but a wild animal on pavement
If your Kitfox handles like this you may want to reconsider the whole endeavor.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1iJeuflwj5g
Re: Tailwheel a *****cat on grass but a wild animal on pavement
Jeff,Originally Posted by n85ae
I agree that with a good knowledge of tailwheel design (as you obviously have), a Maule tailwheel can be set up to minimize ground loop issues.
Unfortunately most people do not have the knowledge or understanding you have about the Maule. Just like you said, they just bolt the tailwheel on and expect it to work. And honestly, can we blame them when they see thousands of other people do it that same way and have no problems? And how many decades has the industry promoted that any average person can build and fly one of these things? I think it is safe to say that they assume if tailwheel set up was so critical more information would be made available. But it's not. So they bolt the tailwheel on and move onto the next page of the manual.
And even if they had the intuition to dig deeper about setting up their tailwheel so as to avoid issues, last I looked Maule has little to say about setting up their tailwheel. And frankly, if they knew how to do that, wouldn't they fix their own airplanes?
http://www.avweb.com/news/features/U...-224274-1.html
I really don't mean to sit here and continue bashing Maule tailwheels, as overall I think Maules are cool airplanes and I don't mean to inflict any hard to the good people building the planes. I just don't like their tailwheel. And not so much because it is impossible to make one work properly (you and others have proven otherwise), but more because the average guy is not likely to get it right. And all that does is give our planes a bad rap, increase our insurance rates, make the FAA wonder about homebuilts more than they already do, and worse, hurt people.
I have thought many times about trying to put together a Maule tailwheel set up instruction sheet in an effort to help others avoid problems with theirs. I'm pretty sure my comprehension of the design is good enough to do so. But being that I have not been impressed with the durability of the Maule tailwheel, I'd rather just change to a different brand of a tailwheel.
I had hoped this thread would help to convince others that may be having issues to go to a different brand as well. When you look at what we have invested in our planes it really is cheap insurance to replace the tailwheel altogether if you are having problems with yours.
Re: Tailwheel a *****cat on grass but a wild animal on pavement
That is another really good example of what happens when a tailwheel full swivels too easily. I'd much rather have a tailwheel that doesn't full swivel and have to pick up the tail to push it into a hangar than to deal with ground handling like that. Let's see, the tail of a Mini-Max has to be all of about 10 pounds?? Even a 90 lb weakling could handle lifting that tail...
It truly is amazing how many issues there are with taildraggers related to full swiveling tailwheels. Thanks for sharing another video of that with all of us.
Re: Tailwheel a *****cat on grass but a wild animal on pavement
Larry,
I don't know if I ever shared this with you, but before you bought that airplane when Johnny had it on his first taxi tests he almost took out a runway light while just slow taxiing. He was all flustered, telling me that he had the opposite rudder fully applied but it just kept heading for the runway light. That same afternoon we put the tail up on a barrel he had in the hangar and I proved to him that his tailwheel was unlocking one way (to the left as I recall) while just taxiing. I told him to fix it either by removing the cam plate or lessening throw, but I'm not sure what he did. But I do remember him being pretty upset by the whole thing.
So I'm not surprised it unlocked for you too. Apparently he never did what I told him.
Re: Tailwheel a *****cat on grass but a wild animal on pavement
Jonny sold me the plane without a cam plate. So he did take it off (and lost it).
I got a new one and put it on for my hangar mates to easier move planes around.
The fine gentleman who now owns the plane got the cam plate and screws in a Baggie with instruction to wait for a while before he tries it. I think he'll do fine.
Re: Tailwheel a *****cat on grass but a wild animal on pavement
I don't mind you sending it at all. It's important to share information here that can help us.
Wow, harder than an S-2! There is definitely something wrong with that Kitfox if that's the case. I've got some Pitts S2 (and S1) time, and the Kitfox should be WAY easier based on my experience flying those. Not sure if you ever flew a Skybolt, but to compare a Kitfox to a biplane, I would say the Skybolt is similar in handling (I love how a Skybolt handles fwiw).
Here's a easy way to check main gear alignment; Make sure the main tires are inflated the same and then attach a 8 or 10 ft piece of pipe, angle iron, etc centered across the outside face of each tire. Then measure the distance between the pipes forward and rear of the tires. The distance should be the same front and rear of the axles at the same distance. Obviously the long pipe five feet forward and back of the axle will show an exaggerated toe in or toe out, but that's what you need to know. If you find one bent in or out that is probably a big contributor to the ground handling issues. I believe the gears today are built with no toe in or toe out, so ideally they should be the same measurement front and back on the pipe. My Model 4-1050/1200 I still have in my garage was toed out 3/4 of an inch measure one foot forward of the axle. That is A LOT of toe out for one wheel. I heard some were actually warped in the welding process, but it could also come from hitting a hole in the runway? Either way, it would only make sense that you wouldn't ever want wheel alignment to be that far off on your Kitfox. I wish I could tell you how well it handles with the gear aligned and a new tailwheel, but unfortunately that Kitfox is still awaiting my attention in the garage. (that's what happens when you have one to fly)
Re: Tailwheel a *****cat on grass but a wild animal on pavement
Smart move to have the plate removed when delivered. In fact, losing the plate really isn't such a bad idea either
Re: Tailwheel a *****cat on grass but a wild animal on pavement
hay who put those rocks in my way, dangburnit
Last edited by Slyfox; 05-19-2016 at 06:01 PM.
steve
slyfox
model IV 1200-flying
912uls
IVO medium in-flight
RV7A-flying
IO-360
constant speed prop
Re: Tailwheel a *****cat on grass but a wild animal on pavement
Are you sure those piles are rocks?Looks like someone is using the runway for a horse pasture.
Dave S
Kitfox 7 Trigear (Flying since 2009)
912ULS Warp Drive
St Paul, MN
Re: Tailwheel a *****cat on grass but a wild animal on pavement
ok who put that poop in my way, dangburnit
steve
slyfox
model IV 1200-flying
912uls
IVO medium in-flight
RV7A-flying
IO-360
constant speed prop
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