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Locking Tailwheel

Never specifically on a Skywagon, by my personal opinion is they're great on a pavement pounder but not so much for an off-airport machine. Is this a modification to a Scott or a free swivel you're talking about. The one I have experience with was a free swivel tied to the elevators. Hard forward stick unlocked the TW.
 
Plane will get a mix of pavement and no pavement. I have zero experience with locking tailwheels.
 
I've made a long taxi in a cross wind that it seems a locking tail wheel would have been nice. I think I remember my Dad's Thrush spray plane had a lock when the stick was back------must have been a reason with all that power and it had Studebaker brake cylinders.
 
After a LONG cross-wind taxi I started looking for the parts and determined they were made out of unobtanium!
 
I’ve flown two 185s with locking tailwheels. Most of our planes had them removed, and I never really felt that was a big deal either way.

As others have noted, a long taxi in big crosswind will make one a believer, but at least in my experience that doesn’t happen too often. They can help a little in a crosswind landing/takeoff, though they’re certainly not “required” in that realm. All in all, if I had a Plane so equipped, I wouldn’t remove it, but I also wouldn’t add one to an airplane like a 180/185.

They are most helpful/required on some larger aircraft that have no tailwheel steering.

MTV
 
The one I operated was on an Air Tractor and it was very well suited in that application. It was a simple free-swivel with a pin that dropped through a plate, and released by pushing the stick through the forward stop/detent. It was idiot proof in that regard, you couldn't forget to lock it. The big pro in that application was it being basically indestructible. Rough strips had no ill effect on it. The other obvious pro is that it's like having training wheels. We also has an Ag-Truck with a conventional Scott (3400?) and it routinely got the crap beat out of it and would (pick one) seize, fail to lock or stick at some indeterminate position, which could really get your attention at touchdown if you weren't ready for it. My perceived con for the locker would be in an off airport environment where you need to quickly swerve around something during takeoff or landing and the TW is locked. I can't give you first hand experience with what you're looking for, but I FEEL like if I had a Wagon, I'd want a well maintained Scott without a lock.
 
My plane had one but it was disabled when I bought the plane. I've replaced the tailwheel a couple of times since with XP and ABW tailwheels that don't support locks. I've never wanted for a lock, even with my old 14" XP tailwheel. I've heard some guys say they like them to control shimmy with big tailwheels and tail skis. I'm at about year 20 with big tailwheels and Magnum tail skis and haven't had many shimmy events, and the ones I've had were due to higher than normal landing speeds on pavement. I don't use pavement very often and don't taxi very far so factor that into my pirep.
 
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Alaska Bushwheels say they do not support a locking TW addition, but in fact they DO. Their fork is machined for the required recessed screw holes. I added the Cessna 180/185 locking parts (available from Yingling Aviation or your local salvage yard) to my Murphy Moose using the ABI-3450-T01 tailwheel.
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Land in icy Kotzebue heavy on retracted wheel skis a few times with a stiff 90* crosswind, blow a tire twice from tailwheel shimmy, and you'll soon find out what that tailwheel lock down by the tunnel is for. I used it often taxiing on ice or taking off in a crosswind until the tail came up. Again heavy and again with a Federal tail wheel/ski. Can't say it was needed if counter braking to control direction was effective.

Gary
 
mike mcs repair said:
first thing we'd remove when we got another 185 was that locking stuff if it was installed
Click to expand...

Did they later become a maintenance or operator problem?

But then I've been told of some Part 135 ops in SE removing panel gyros (AH/DG) so the pilots wouldn't be tempted to use them.

Gary
 
My 185 has one. It is very useful when taxing in strong or gusty crosswinds on pavement. As I recall they were standard equipment on 185s can't remember on the 180s yet my 180s both had them.

I've flown a few different types of multi-engine airplane which had castering tail wheels with locks. The locks were mandatory on those planes.
 
The locking tail wheel , to the best of my knowledge, is a McCaulley not a Scott. I see above where someone has one set up on a Moose, not sure about that set up.
The 180 with a non-sea plane vert. Fin doesn't need one, as the weathervane isn't that bad. All the 185's came as sea planes W/ large vert. Stab. and in a strong X-Wind with a long taxi you end up heating the brakes up keeping yourself straight ( not to mention tired leg,lol) it would be nice At Homer the wind gets cranking and I would like a lock but don't have one and really no big deal.
Landing a Sky Wagon in X-Winds is is usually done as a wheel landing, way better control, so the lock is a non issue.
Operating out of places like Kot's in the winter is just flat hard work and I can't comment on the needs up there except dress very warm!
 
If your tailwheel shimmies, a lock will help immensely. Never flew a 180 with a lock, so I decided to leave a 185 unlocked, and it shimmied badly. Lock fixed that.

My UPF-7 checkout consisted of telephone advice. Everybody said " never make the mistake of landing with the tailwheel unlocked." I never did. After a year or so of semi successful flight, we converted it to Cessna 310 brakes at Roy Redmond's suggestion and that change converted it to a docile Super Cub-like taildragger.
 
If your tailwheel shimmies, get it fixed! And I don’t mean by locking the tailwheel.....that’s a bandaid. A properly set up tailwheel should not shimmy. As others have noted, adding a tailski and operating on pavement is the one exception to that. It’s hard to prevent tailwheel shimmy with a tailski without a lock.

But, if a tailwheel shimmies, fix it! That violent oscillation can do some damage.

MTV
 
mvivion said:
If your tailwheel shimmies, get it fixed!
MTV
Click to expand...

first cheap thing to try is new tire... some get a pattern worn in them that sets up a bad shimmy...

also tail heavy loads will shimmy so bad they rip out the tailwheel stirring cables on asphalt ....
 
Lots of different experiences and scenarios here so possible for every plus or minus when it comes to tales of locking tail wheels. My problem prone use was on icy winter runways or slick ice covered lakes and rivers in crosswinds on AWB 3600 wheel skis and their tail wheel penetration ski. Taxiing without sliding a tire too much or lighting fires with the downwind brake. Trying to steer around stumps and logs with skis down and not spin like an overturned beetle in the wind. That short but tricky transition stage between tail contact at liftoff and at landing maintaining directional control when on the pavement or ice.

Then various loads...heavy in the tail...with some ice on top of the tail ski or maybe as MTV suggests a part in need of an adjustment. I recall some pre-load set screws on top of the McCauley unit that were painted an interesting slip paint color but beyond my skill set as to what to do with them. Might have been better to have someone who knew look it up in the C-185 Service lit and do some turning torque testing.

Training in those days was by self...and self eventually learned to use the lock in certain circumstances. Today we have this knowledge base and sharing options for figuring the ops out.

Gary
 
I was told this pilot forgot to lock the tailwheel on his Bearcat and it was seen swiveling around. Eddie, you need all the help you can get. 8)
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I agree that a shimmying tail wheel needs to be fixed promptly. If you need to go somewhere to fix it and have a locking mechanism, use the locking mechanism.

Reports that nothing would stop the shimmying of that giant tailwheel on a local Super Cub used mostly on pavement caused me to recommend a locking mechanism. It has since been replaced with the good old 3200.
 
tedwaltman1 said:
Alaska Bushwheels say they do not support a locking TW addition, but in fact they DO. Their fork is machined for the required recessed screw holes. I added the Cessna 180/185 locking parts (available from Yingling Aviation or your local salvage yard) to my Murphy Moose using the ABI-3450-T01 tailwheel.
View attachment 33932
Click to expand...

Nice to know they finally started doing it. that appears to be the tundra tire version. wonder if they are doing it to the regular ones
 
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