Well I have flown the heck out of the old Avistar for 2 seasons now and I am interested in converting it to a tail dragger. I have seen some posts here about the conversion. I would like to see anyones conversion Avistar or other from trike to taildragger to get an idea on how to do it. All help is appreciated. Thanks.

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I have done it. Also added struts and tail wires. Sullivan tail wheel. Put on a Saito 56, then later a Saito 72 with a 12x6 and unlimited vertical. First day out with the 72 pulled the firewall out of it. Needs pinned and glued. With this engine I don't think it would hold up with out the struts/wires. Hand launch if you want. Maybe I can get some pics later. It's one of my buddies favorite planes to fly. Crank up the throws and GO!!!!!!

I have the throws maxed out and just love the way it flies. That is why I figured making a dragger out of it would add a little to it. I have an Evo .46 in it now and it has all the power she needs. I need to start looking at bolting the wings too. I slapped them pretty hard the other day doing an Avistar snap roll. It is a great plane and I am not ready to give it up for another just yet.

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i had 2 avistars and converted both to tall draggers. The first after about 6 flights and the second as soon as i got it. Both used an OS46 LA with 11x7.5 prop and i had a ball with both of them until they suffered acute deceleration trauma. (both from pilot error)I had a problem with the firewall on the second an it needed to be reglued and pinned but otherwise it gave me no problems. I moved the main gear forward to the leading edge of the wing. I put a block of plywood in the fuselage similar to the main gear and used the original block for rear struts which were the same diameter as the main gear. I simply wrapped the struts to the main gear with copper wire and soldered them. I fashioned the tail wheel from some brass so that it attached to the rear of the fuselage with a nylon bolt. It was simply a plate wrapped around the end with a brass tube soldered to it. the axle was connected to the rudder and it was one piece run up through the stab. I had spokked wheels on it as a lark but it handled well and flew beautifully. I flew these both till they just about fell apart and had a great time with them.

I got it done WOOHOO. Now if the weather would just get better. I still have to do a weight and balance on it. Hopefully this weekend I will fly it. If I did it right here are some pics, if not look in my gallery for a couple of pics. Thanks for all the help from people in this forum.

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A couple more.

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That's a good looking trainer. I put a Saito 72 on mine with a 13x6.

What landing gear is that. That looks realy nice.

[8D]

That's a really nice conversion! What are the tendencies on takeoff and landing? Is that tailwheel gear available from a manufacturer or did you make it yourself? How far forward did you bolt the main gear? Sorry for all the questions but I really like this plane I just don't much like tricycle gear on our fields!
Thanks!

Here's how I handled it...
I used a basic .60 size duBro tailwheel bracket and fabricated a new wire. I had to mod the bottom of the fuse to bring the bracket on the same line as the hinge. I put a little hook in the end of the wire and inserted it into the bottom of the rudder then epoxied it in place. it looks great and doesn't show any signs of wanting to come apart. First flight will be this week.

For the final modification try and get another wing, cut it in half and glue it back together without dihedral. It will be a blast. The only problem in carrying out this mod it to create a new wing spar. What I did was drill into the halves and insert an aluminum rod I bought at the hardware store. I think it was 1/4 inch thick. The rod was epoxied in place and did not add any significant weight to the plane to make a difference. The no-dihedral set up makes it into a very aerobatic plane, not competition level but a lot of fun. If you also increase the size of the rudder it will be even better.

This plane lasted several years and I have to say it was one of the most fun planes to fly I have ever had. It finally died under the wheels of a truck when its engine quit in a very tall grass field and in trying to retrieve it we ran over it.

I am glad to see this post, it has answered a lot of questions I had. I am converting an Avistar to a tail dragger. I am in the process of fitting an Ultra Stick wing to an Avistar fuselage, I had a feeling it would fly great with a no dihedral wing, I am also installing a 90 Saito in it. The wing leading edge is about 1 1/2 inches ahead of the Avistar wing leading edge location. I moved it foreward to get the CG in a better location without adding tail weight.
The Chord of the Avistar wing is around 9 inches, the Ultra Stick wing has a chord of 13 inches. I hope the increased chord makes it float better since I have a heavier engine. The wing area has increased from 600 sq in to 700 sq inches. The wing loading should be close to what a plane with the recommended motor would be, the wingspan is within one inch of the stock wing. I am also going with flaps, what the heck, probably wont need them, but I can use them as speed brakes or ailerons as need be. I will post pics when I get a chance.
Denny

Man, the plane looks so much better as a tail dragger. Good job people! Once I get a few hours on my plane, I too plan this conversion!!