Tail wheels! TAIL WHEELS!!!

[The_Wreck]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Tired Old Man
	I just bought two of the J&J tailwheels. I meant to do that soon after looking at the size and bulk of the White Rose units in Toledo. I guess it just takes me a little time to get around to things. Now if J&J was to downsize their product just enough to cover the 28% size class they would have a solid lock on the premiun tailwheel markt.

We have had a lot of requests to downsize, however, because of the way we make these, they would cost about the same to make them in a 28-30% size. The material cost and machining would all be about the same, and it is hard to see a big market for $75 tailwheel on a 28-30% airplane.

The main difference between our current tailwheel and one for that size plane is the length, we can do custom bends for our tailwheel if somebody wants one that is dimensionally smaller. This would bring down the weight and changing the actual DUBRO wheel could further get the weight close to 2 oz.

It is very expensive to make small batches of these things but I guess if we get enough response we may make some smaller for 30% planes.

[rede2fly]

i would venture to guess that their are more pilots flying 30 % planes than 35 or 40%'ers out in the market, but its hard to find good stuff for them

[Tired Old Man]

That's the position I was seeing it from, but I can see J&J's point for sure. Swap out the 1-1/2" wheel for a 1" wheel, change the bends and you have what you need in the 28%-30% class. Flip side is I've seen a lot of people in the 28% class go the top of the line route in equipment. Some of that has been from the performance standpoint but some of it's probably been just for "bragging rights". Either way they'll invest near as much as would be done in a larger plane. Working with Wild Hare for the last few years has shown that a lot of people go "over the top" with their equipment. The loss of RC Blimp has left a void that begs to be filled.

[The_Wreck]

One of our favorite competitors who mentioned in this thread, simply sells smaller carbon leaf springs for his 30% tailwheel, everything else remains the same. I suppose we could try exactly what you say. Produce some new titanium that is still .25" but is dimensionally smaller and use a 1" wheel.

[Tired Old Man]

It wouldn't alter the price structure much, if at all, but it would permit servicing another size class of planes that's currently untended when it comes to lighter weight, wire sprung tailwheels. As in anything else the initial sales and exposure would be slow and small but gradually increase over a period of time. The start up cost from the production standpoint would be nearly non existant since the tooling and materials used are already present.

With the understanding that gassers are not the largest segment of r/c flight there are still a lot of 28% class planes out there compared to 35% and up. The way I see it, the more tailwheels you folks sell the larger your margins.

Success means you will be around a long time, fulfilling product needs as I need more for my own stuff. Selfish for sure, but I just can't stand seeing great products fall to the wayside because they did not sell enough to remain a viable business

You make a very nice tailwheel !!

[3D Meatshield]

I'm about to get one of these for my 86" QQ Yak, size be damned. I'm not too happy with the stock one, and even if this is a bit oversized I'd rather have something rock solid and non-scale than something that's going to fail (and in my estimation, the stock gear WILL fail.)

How much of a difference in length is there, anyhow, between a 35%er tailgear than a 30%er? Would seem to be negligible to me.

And I agree with tired- there really seems to be a lot more guys flying 30% or less than does 35-40%ers. As much as I want to build a 35%er (or bigger), transportation is an issue. having a handful of 30's I can take and fly is better than having a 35 that I can't leave the house with.

[The_Wreck]

	Quote: Originally Posted by 3D Meatshield
	I'm about to get one of these for my 86" QQ Yak, size be damned. I'm not too happy with the stock one, and even if this is a bit oversized I'd rather have something rock solid and non-scale than something that's going to fail (and in my estimation, the stock gear WILL fail.) How much of a difference in length is there, anyhow, between a 35%er tailgear than a 30%er? Would seem to be negligible to me. And I agree with tired- there really seems to be a lot more guys flying 30% or less than does 35-40%ers. As much as I want to build a 35%er (or bigger), transportation is an issue. having a handful of 30's I can take and fly is better than having a 35 that I can't leave the house with.

Goto our custom bend page and download the form and we will bend a titanium wire to your size specifications. It will weigh less and you could use a 1" - 1.25" wheel on our carriage. It should weigh about 2.5oz or less.

http://jjtailwheels.googlepages.com/custombendpage

We will do the bend free of charge as a test case for 30% planes.

[3D Meatshield]

	Quote: Originally Posted by The_Wreck
	Goto our custom bend page and download the form and we will bend a titanium wire to your size specifications. It will weigh less and you could use a 1" - 1.25" wheel on our carriage. It should weigh about 2.5oz or less. http://jjtailwheels.googlepages.com/custombendpage We will do the bend free of charge as a test case for 30% planes.

Sorry for the delay, I finally got off my ass and got you the measurements you needed. I sent you two .pdfs via email, let me know if you need any more information.

Thanks!

[The_Wreck]

	Quote: Originally Posted by 3D Meatshield
	Sorry for the delay, I finally got off my ass and got you the measurements you needed. I sent you two .pdfs via email, let me know if you need any more information. Thanks!

We finished up your tailwheel. It came out to be 1.9 oz. with a 1.25" Dubro wheel. We will send some pictures and ship it Monday.

Thanks

[Absolut Yak]

Just put one of these on my Extreme Flight 88" Yak. Used the stock carbon leaf. Haven't flown it yet, but should solve lots of problems I've experienced over the years with various setups.

Doug