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Conference vmszoo::rc

Title:	Welcome To The Radio Control Conference
Notice:	dir's in 11, who's who in 4, sales in 6, auctions 19
Moderator:	VMSSG::FRIEDRICHS

Created:	Tue Jan 13 1987
Last Modified:	Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1706
Total number of notes:	27193

989.0. "NOSEWHEEL TO TAILWHEEL" by BTOVT::BREAULT_B () Wed May 10 1989 18:19

      I'm considering converting my Eagle 63 tricycle geared plane to
    conventional (tail dragger). Has anyone else out there attempted
    this with this paticular model, or a similar one? What were the 
    results? Other than ground handleing, does the ship fly better, 
    worse, the same? Where should the main gear be placed in relation
    to the wing? Even with the leading edge, 10%, 20% of cord? It
    looks as though this plane will lend itself easily to this conversion.
    It also has a quite long fuselage which should help in the ground
    handling dept.
      I've had the plane for about 3 or 4 yrs. and just thought the
    change to tailwheel might make it more interesting to fly and
    give it a slightly different look from others at the flying field.
    I have it powered with a K&B 40, so it moves right along. I've 
    been able to take off from the ground in 4" high grass. The prop
    mowing a path all the way to rotation and liftoff, so underpowered
    its not!
      Any comments, suggestions or general help is much appreciated.
    
    
    Thanks,
    
    Bernie

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
989.1	The 'Groupie Kadet' is a tail dragger	AKOV11::CAVANAGH	So little time, so much to do!	`Thu May 11 1989 10:35`	16
	Hi Bernie I don't have any experience with an Eagle, but I did build my Kadet Sr. as a tail dragger instead of trike gear. The only modification was to move the main gear forward so they were in line with the leading edge of the wing (and omit the nose gear). The flight characteristics should not change but make sure you recheck the CG before attempting to fly it. Removing the nose gear and moving the main will definitely change your balance. The only other thing to remember is to hold up elevator during the initial part of the takeoff run so the plane won't nose over (like so many Super Sportsters). As you pick up speed you need to ease off the elevator so you won't take off too soon and snap it in. Jim
989.2	Screaming Eaglet	CLOSUS::TAVARES	John -- Stay low, keep moving	`Thu May 11 1989 11:00`	11
	A couple of years ago there was an article in Model Aviation on souping up the Eaglet, a similar plane but smaller. The article was titled "Screaming Eaglet". One of the things he did was to convert it to taildragger by putting a dural landing gear up under the forward edge of the cabin. The conventional rule for installing the gear is so the front edge of the tires is lined up with the leading edge of the wing. The tires should be no farther forward than the center of the axle/leading edge. This mod also installed a tuned pipe and faired in the nose real nice.
989.3		PNO::CASEYA	THE DESERT RAT (I-RC-AV8)	`Thu May 11 1989 11:23`	16
	Bernie, Best rule of thumb I know (and use) is, when viewed from directly above, the main-gear axle should be in direct line with the leading edge of the wing. The caution to recheck C/G is good advice. Performance change will be hard to notice though the lighter weight and lower drag of conventional gear does make a positive contribution. Once learned, I believe you'll find that conventional gear is actually friendlier on the ground in windy conditions than tri-gear. \| \| \| 00 Adios, Al \|_\|_\| ( >o \| Z__(O_\_ (The Desert Rat)
989.4	just do it	DISCVR::JONEILL		`Thu May 11 1989 13:04`	8
	Bernie, I did just that to my Falcon 56 recently and love every minute of it. I even think it became a little faster without the extra drag. One other piece of advise is to make sure you mount it solidly,I just kinda stuck a plywood plate to the bottom of the fuse and if the landing is less than perfect, I tear it off. The plane is taking a rest now for recovering and a beefier mount is on the agenda. Have a ball.
989.5	Add Toe In	WR2FOR::BEATTY_WI		`Thu May 11 1989 19:41`	4
	The trick to making a taildragger go straight down the runway is to toe in the wheels. Will
989.6		BTOVT::BREAULT_B		`Thu May 11 1989 21:00`	6
	Thanks for the input folks. Sounds like the old bird is going to be fun to fly again. I've already done as everyone suggested and moved the axle even with the leading edge. It looks better already. I've always thought the little wheel looked better on the tail end anyway. Bernie