Brian Trubee and Dave Leonard.
How much slack do you have in your RV tail wheel chains?
Have you ever tried no slack?

Paul Lamar


The length changes as you change the rudder from side to side.  There should
be just enough slack so that it does not restrict in either direction.  That
means very little slack.

Better yet, I highly recommend one of these:

http://www.flyboyaccessories.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66&products_id=242

those chains have a tendency to break, the like is far neater.  You can
check mine out next time I fly up.
Also, if Mike has not already changed it out, I highly highly recommend the
full-swivel tail wheel.  Makes moving the plane around SOOO much easier.
Found at Vans Store:

http://www.vansaircraft.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?ident=1309503585-362-393&browse=airframe&product=tailwheel-assy

--
David Leonard

Turbo Rotary RV-6 N4VY
http://N4VY.RotaryRoster.net
http://RotaryRoster.net


I have the full swivel. It looks like this. I set up with no slack. In other
words the springs are slightly preloaded with about half a pound each.
BAG 489 in the Vans catalog page 78.

There appears to be as many opinions on tail wheels as there are RV fliers :)

Some say slack is good in a cross wind landing. I suspect if there is a difference in track angle and rudder angle the wheel will pop into
auto swivel.

Paul Lamar


Paul,

Do you have any tailwheel time?  Recent?  If not, find a plane that you can fly often, and an instructor willing to work you hard. It's not hard, but there is a learning curve that you absolutely must get over. The RV-4 is known to be pretty benign on the ground, but you could still screw up. Especially when you're tired or in challenging conditions. Fly a Champ (Citabria), Cub or TCraft to get your feet, eyes, and brain hard-wired properly.

Depending on the model of tail wheel, what you say about unlocking is true.. The tail wheel will go to full swivel. That's fine, but you may have to use a little brake or power to keep things straight once slowed down. Sometimes the tailwheel will will reengage with the rudder if you center the rudder (to be expected in a varying crosswind). If your brain is wired up, your feet will do the right things without you thinking.

Some tail wheels are locking, using a separate cable to latch which causes the pivot to lockaim the centered position. Full swivel (not) steerable when unlocked (Haigh?).  Each design can work fine as long as it's in good repair, and the pilot has internalized the behavior of the system. That's the important part.

At Reno, I remember seeing a Midget Mustang racing without a tailwheel - just a steel rod as a skid. Have to be paying attention to make that work on pavement, as I suspect it would be nearly as happy sliding sideways as going straight.


Matt-

Nothing recent.
Back in World War 1 one blipped the throttle to raise the tail and hit the appropriate  rudder pedal. Now we have brakes that work. I considered a nylon skid for the RV4. Dave should try it for his Reno adventure.

Paul Lamar



Paul,
Hope you are not relating the WWI throttle blipping from personal experience.

I have little to no slack in my tailwheel chain. By all means, get a bit of tailwheel time. I'm a fairly low time pilot and got signed off on a Champ. The RV-4 is really a nicely behaved airplane, both on the ground and in the air, but no one should ever take that for granted.

Brian Trubee