I have 850’s and a 3200 tail wheel on my 150/150 taildragger. I would like to land on some river sand bars but a little Leary with this small tail wheel. I know the 850’s are fine but what experience do you have with a tail wheel this size?

The 3200 on the 1968 150/150 we used to have had a very heavy tail and made taxiing on asphalt marginally poor. Hopefully yours handles better.

It handles great on asphalt and grass.

Outlaw1973 wrote:I have 850’s and a 3200 tail wheel on my 150/150 taildragger. I would like to land on some river sand bars but a little Leary with this small tail wheel. I know the 850’s are fine but what experience do you have with a tail wheel this size?

A 3200 tailwheel should work just fine on any surface that an 8.50 tire will work on. I've worked 3200 tailwheels on airplanes with much larger tires and never worried about the tailwheel other than just staying away from huge stuff.

MTV

MTV-

You and G44 saved me from myself. I'm running 8:50x6's on my 185 with Scott 3400. I'd considered upgrading to a 10" tailwheel. I really don't go anywhere all that soft or super rough. Kurt sent me some great info and you further solidified my decision not to change.

Thank you

MW

185Midwest wrote:..... I'd considered upgrading to a 10" tailwheel. I really don't go anywhere all that soft or super rough.....

My C180 has a 10" tailwheel.
That said, I don't know that it's that much bigger / better than an 8" to make an upgrade really worth the cost.
If more flotation is required, the logical bump up is a baby bushwheel or 400x4 tailwheel.
But they have their own issues.

mtv wrote:

Outlaw1973 wrote:I have 850’s and a 3200 tail wheel on my 150/150 taildragger. I would like to land on some river sand bars but a little Leary with this small tail wheel. I know the 850’s are fine but what experience do you have with a tail wheel this size?

A 3200 tailwheel should work just fine on any surface that an 8.50 tire will work on. I've worked 3200 tailwheels on airplanes with much larger tires and never worried about the tailwheel other than just staying away from huge stuff.

MTV

Maybe on a 150 but on my 170 the 3200 is the limiting factor. I have had it dragging under soft sand when the mains were fine.

But I really don’t like the baby bushwheel on pavement so I end up swapping tail wheels a few times a year. Maybe I should try the glider tire.

daedaluscan wrote:

mtv wrote:

Outlaw1973 wrote:I have 850’s and a 3200 tail wheel on my 150/150 taildragger. I would like to land on some river sand bars but a little Leary with this small tail wheel. I know the 850’s are fine but what experience do you have with a tail wheel this size?

A 3200 tailwheel should work just fine on any surface that an 8.50 tire will work on. I've worked 3200 tailwheels on airplanes with much larger tires and never worried about the tailwheel other than just staying away from huge stuff.

MTV

Maybe on a 150 but on my 170 the 3200 is the limiting factor. I have had it dragging under soft sand when the mains were fine.

But I really don’t like the baby bushwheel on pavement so I end up swapping tail wheels a few times a year. Maybe I should try the glider tire.

Does this tire fit in the 3200 tail wheel yoke without modification ?

I don't think so, it fits in the Bushwheel fork but is reputed to work better on pavement. My bushwheel will judder even taxiing fast. Makes you honest landing though:)

daedaluscan wrote:I don't think so, it fits in the Bushwheel fork but is reputed to work better on pavement. My bushwheel will judder even taxiing fast. Makes you honest landing though:)

The glider tire is just a less expensive substitute for the Baby Bushwheel tire. It still requires the Baby Bushwheel fork. And, I guarantee you it will also shimmy on pavement. Maybe not quite as much as the BB, but it will.

I guess my experience with a standard 3200 tailwheel on Super Cubs on the Alaska Peninsula with lots of loose sand and cinder blow outs must have been an anomaly. This plane was equipped with the old Goodyear 25 inch Airwheels, so a fair bit of float on the mains. Yes, the tailwheel would sink in....often and sometimes deep. And, yes, sometimes that required some power to get going again. I tried to avoid a situation where I had to turn around, but those are sometimes unavoidable.

I've only run the Baby Bushwheel on a couple planes, and I really disliked it. It's really heavy, and it WILL shimmy on pavement. If you can essentially avoid pavement, almost 100 %, I guess they could be fine.

I just haven't seen the need for them, including on a couple Huskys I flew, with 29 and 31 inch Alaska Bushwheels. Those were on lots of off airport sites.

But, whatever winds your watch. But, keep a careful eye on your tail section.....shimmy is violent....

MTV

Thanks for the info Hotrod.

MW