Tail wheel / off airport ops

Hi,

I have a solid hard rubber maule tailwheel on the back of my Avid Flyer. I would like to do some off airport work, which I have not done before. Primarily landing on harvested bean fileds and grass "waterways" which may be a bit rough. I am concerned that the hard rubber maule may not obsorb much of the stress, but transmitt the energy to the frame and airplane. Is this a legitimate concern? I current fly from a proper grass strip. When it is frozen the grass clumps do transmitt considerable energy to the tail frame. I wonder what would happen with an unprepared landing area. How should my tail wheel behave?

Thanks,
Larry

I flew a solid Maule tailwheel off airport on a J-3 for many years with no problems. It should do fine for you. However, that said -- you get to keep the pieces if it don't.....
All the best,
JimC

Jim,

What kind of terrain did you land on? Does the roughness transmit the stresses to the airplane or should it be absorbed by the tail spring?

I ran a hard rubber Maule tailwheel on my Clipper for many years on sand and gravel bars and fields. It bounced around but never had any problems. I didn't have any problems with mesquite thorns causing flat tires. Practice keeping the tail up and you will be fine. Works as a good plow disc in sand.

Steve is correct. My own flying was mostly on sand, pastures, gravel roads, and fairly soft fields, using a small, solid tailwheel and standard 8.00x4 tires. For the same J-3 job these days, I'd probably use 8.50x6 tires like I have on my PA-12. The tail wheel, throttle, elevators, and rudder should be considered as a coordinated off-road device. For the most part, forget the brakes. Keep the weight off the tailwheel except when you need the load and tailwheel drag and when you need to make a special attempt to avoid nosing over. The best brake you can have on soft sand is full up elevator.
JimC