Thorp Air Command - T18.net

I have one of those little teardrop fairings on my shelf, probably will never use......Dan

Dan: I would be interested in buying the fairing you have on the shelf. Let me know Chuck

I have installed my "trusty " tail spring. The biggest issues were calculating which size NAS bolts would be required for attaching the nose and aft fittings. The process that is described in this thread is accurate and overall not that difficult. The look is worth the change, the ground handling should be a huge plus.

The one draw back to the tear drop fairing is you can not attach a tow bar w/o removing the cute little guy ! boom !

RB

No tow bar needed. I use a loop of rope tied to a length of old broom handle. I have used this on planes as large as a 180.

Get a patent , market it and sell it for $99.00 ! BIG BOOM !

RB

Lee!
I can't get the Trusty Tailwheel text and drawings STUG posted, in fact, many of the pictures are corrupted or the file won't open on the rest of the posts...?

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Scott Emery
EAA Chapter 326
T-18 N18TE

ok Scott, I'll take a look, must have gotten corrupt during the move.

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Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

Feisty got the fine Trusty tail wheel spring from Terry, and a Flyboy Accessories tail wheel. It went right together, and Feisty's tail box was free of those scandalous cracks shown by the less fortunate on this forum.
This afternoon I got a couple of flights in, and I strongly feel it is an improvement over the leaf spring and Maul Tailwheel.
It swivels better, has more control when taxiing, and rebounds more softly on landing, which reduces 'hobby horsing' if you land tail wheel first.
Thank you Terry for Ram Rodding this batch of springs and brackets!

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Scott Emery
EAA Chapter 326
T-18 N18TE

Hi all, I just learned that there was another batch of 10 trusty springs made. Langair would discount the batch a little if all 10 were bought. If there is enough interest, I'd be willing to get all of em and have the aft attach made - like last time.
They are available NOW- no waiting for the to be put into production!
I'm sure that once 'Cubes' closes on the classic deal we can expect the tail spring to be an inventory type item.

Blue skies,

Terry

I'm probably years away from needing one but wouldn't mind getting one while they're available. Put me down for one. How much $?

Thanks,

Brad Moore
Columbus, IN

Question about trusty tailspring installation:

I have my new tailspring and Flyboys Aviation tailwheel and was wondering about the mounting holes drilled in the socket/rod. RV guys drill two holes for bolts horizontally I have also seen holes drilled vertically. Is there any advantage gained by by drilling vertically, other than removing the bolt head and nut out of the slipstream? Are the loads better distributed if drilled horizontally?

Seems to me the holes would be easier to drill on the aircraft in the vertical thus reducing chances of holes being misaligned as I have seen on a few RVs.

Terry,

Put me on your list for the trusty tailspring and let's see if we can get up to critical mass.

Thanks
Tom Henthorn
Mountain View, CA

IMHO those holes need to be drilled in a properly fixtured drill press. I drilled mine vertical so if the nut comes off, the bolt will hopefully remain.

I also could use one for my project.

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Bob Highley
N711SH
SN 835
KLAL

With Bob, That makes 3....

Terry