RE: Tricycle gear question.
lou does indeed have a point when he mentions motorcycles, but the problem is that we are not talking about motorcycles here where stability is important at 65 MPH, we are talking about a model airplane and as he said raked back will help with the bumps and that is what is important here, the bumps, because as the plane gains speed the nose gets light and you lose steering authority so as the nose wheel continues to hit bumps as you noted yourself the plane tries to wander all over the place. rake it back some and it helps the spring work its best forward and it hit the bumps more directly in line with the nose gear wire. it was also mentioned that haveing it swept fore or aft will affect the stance of the model however this is only true if you dont adjust it you can raise or lower the strut in the collar in most cases.