I’ve been looking for a tailwheel upgrade—the tailwheel that comes with Van’s kit is solid rubber and as such, provides for a bit of a rough ride over bumps and cracks in the surface of the runways/taxiways. I received a Condor2 tailwheel kit from Flyboys on June 14. The kit is very complete—tire, tube, hub, axle bolt and even a new cotter pin. The new aluminum wheel is a real beauty! I installed the tube with plenty of talc and pumped the pressure to 50 psi. Removed the old fork and tailwheel and installed the new one. I took her out for a spin—wow, can’t believe how much smoother ground ops are! The old tailwheel will fit the new fork with the addition of a couple of thin washers. For traveling, I’ll take the old wheel along in event of a flat tire. The Condor2 sits higher than the stock fork/tailwheel. The tail, as measured at the axle is raised by .85”—should provide for a better ground clearance on grass strips. The fuse is raised by 1” as measured at the aft inboard corner of the flaps and the nose is lowered by .875”. The lowering of the nose doesn’t sound like much, but it is noticeable while taxiing. Overall, I’m extremely pleased with fine craftsmanship of the Condor2 as well as the smooth ground handling.
