I think adding a wire control rod to the rudder servo might be the answer since the rudder is so high. I just need some suggestions on the best way to add a tail wheel. Also, how much reinforcement should be added to where I put the new main gear. It is probably about 3lbs. or so in weight. Thanks!

If it were me I'd drill out the balsa above the tube at the stern (that's already a tail wheel bracket) and put in a simple caster wheel held in place with a set-screw wheel collar inside the fuselage and another one below the tube to act as a load collar (bend the rod to absorb some of shock of landings). That is if there is enough space below the elevator linkage. I don't think you have the clearance to rig a steerable tailwheel rigidly connected to the rudder.

Unless you run the elevator linkage off to one side or even outside the fuselage near the tail. No law against that.

If the elevator linkage were in a different spot, it would be pretty easy. You really need to move it anyhow. The control horn is near the trailing edge of the elevator. That isn't the best place geometry-wise. The holes in the horn should line up with the leading edge of the elevator. since this needs to be corrected, just make the pushrod exit on the side of the fuselage rather than in the center. Then you can run some sort of tiller from the tail wheel, through the horizontal stabilizer and attach it to the rudder.

Why do you want to convert it to a tail dragger? It may just end up being a ground looping handful. Then again it may not. Nothing wrong with tail draggers of course but I figure it's best leave well enough alone. Save the tail wheels for planes meant to be that way. Then again, messing with stuff just for the sake of doing it is kind of fun too.

Yeah, I'm gonna do it for s&g's! It was a free plane, and it is much more agile than my trainer so I thought it might be fun to throw around a little and mess with.

first thing i would do is cut off the horn after the hole you are using!

you know maybe it can fly without a tail wheel at all only with a skid.....
or a wheel without linkage to the rudder at all, just a free wheel, if you give enough throttle it pulls the tail up anyway....
or you can over engineer something that will change the CG and then you have alot more issues to deal with.

Alex

Don't cut that control horn. You can use it as a skid. Just pump the throttle to make the model turn
when its on the ground. That's how it had it on my avistar. You don't need wheels.
Look at the WWI airplanes

That elevator horn is mounted just a little bit too far back for my taste.

Doing it like Charlie suggested is probably the easiest. You can get those dubro tail wheel bracket for $3.
Just get some music wire and bend it accordingly...that if you still want a tail wheel.

Whatever you do, don't have the tail wheel music wire rotate freely like the front wheels of a shoping cart.
It'll make the model go in circles on the ground. Some guy made his model like that and I was helping him.
I was wonder *** ?..I'm not that bad of a pilot.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_21..._2/key_/tm.htm

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_7402702/tm.htm



If you look at the pictures I posted in this thread, it shows where the pushrod comes out, and other things to help. You mount the pushrod to the rudder servo, on the opposite side from the rudder. I didn't use a sleeve, I just put a Z bend on the end of the rod that attaches to the tailwheel, and an adjustable clevis on the threaded end of the rod at the servo end for adjustment. This plane has been flying for years like this now.