Has anybody seen, or does anybody make, a detented full swivel tailwheel suitable for ultralights?
The tailwheel on my Kolb Ultrastar is steerable, of course, and I have differential brakes, but the field I fly from requires some tight maneuvering on the ground. I can generally accomplish this with the help of the brakes, but that puts a lot of side load on the tail (especially with the tailwheel is mounted way down low on the sub fin). I really miss the swivel tailwheel I had on my T-Craft where it would steer until you pushed it hard enough, then it'd pop out of the detent and swivel all around. Of course that one would be way too heavy for my Ultrastar. Perhaps I need to design one myself, I know I can, but I'd rather not reinvent the wheel (no pun intended).
-Dana
If you don't grow up by age 35, you don't have to.
The tailwheel on my Kolb Ultrastar is steerable, of course, and I have differential brakes, but the field I fly from requires some tight maneuvering on the ground. I can generally accomplish this with the help of the brakes, but that puts a lot of side load on the tail (especially with the tailwheel is mounted way down low on the sub fin). I really miss the swivel tailwheel I had on my T-Craft where it would steer until you pushed it hard enough, then it'd pop out of the detent and swivel all around. Of course that one would be way too heavy for my Ultrastar. Perhaps I need to design one myself, I know I can, but I'd rather not reinvent the wheel (no pun intended).
-Dana
If you don't grow up by age 35, you don't have to.
