I had a tailspring failure right where it gets in the tailwheel head. It happenened just before putting the wagon on floats last fall.
Now I have a good low time big tailspring (1-1/8). I’m now looking at my options for the tailwheel to go with.
I’m not exactly sure what model is my existing tailwheel (see picture), but the head shows: 3412-1 assy and the fork shows 3413.

-is it possible to just switch the head if the other parts are still on good shape?
-otherwise what are the main differences between a 3200 or a 3400 series? What’s the difference between a bent or straight steering arm?
8-10or12inch?
And finally is it a really big deal to put an alskan baby bushweel even if I’m based on pavment? I’d like to get rid of the tailski and just have the bbw.
Thanks for your feedback!
Cheers!

3200 is built lighter, smaller, and mounts to a leaf spring. So it definitely won't work on the 185. If you go the BBW fork route I would suggest going with a 4.00x4 rubber glider tire and 5.00x4 beaver tube. Airframes alaska will hook you up with that setup if you ask for it when you order the fork. Wears harder, less shimmy (but still may shimmy, just less then the BBW), but you still get the big footprint and flotation.

If you have a 3400 Scott, there's no reason why you can't just buy a new head for it.
You can buy just about any part or parts you need from Airframes Alaska-- a new head is about $500.

https://www.airframesalaska.com/Alaskan ... s/1848.htm

You can also buy a wide fork kit, and a baby bushwheel or 400x4 tire to go in it.
Or a new 8" or 10" fork, and the wheel/tire to go in it.
Seems like a lot of people have shimmy issues on pavement with the fat tailwheel though.
The turned-up ("bent") steering arm is used on the 53-55 180's,
the later ones generally use the straight arm.

Tailwheels & parts are also available from The Landing Gear Works,
including the 14" set-up which uses a 500x5 tire & wheel--
the ultimate in fat tailwheels.

https://tlgw.aero/

First and foremost as always is mission. If you are going to stay on tar or hard gravel runways a stock tailwheel/tire will do fine. If you are going to soft sand/mud/tundra then I would get a wide tail fork and tire of your choice. If you have someone that is good with tailwheels you could have them take it apart and see what they think of the lower section. HOWEVER, saving a few bucks now may come back to bite you in the future. If you are going on skis and going to anywhere you might get into deep snow I would make sure you had a tail ski. If you have ever had to move tail of a plane by hand in 4 ft of snow you will understand. Trying to blow a tailwheel around straight skis in hardback rutted snow is very hard on everything if you don't have a ski to help ride over stuff. You had a problem with that tailwheel/tail ski before (homemade I believe). that could have led to or aggravated the spring issue. As far as tire height, a few things to consider. In general tall tire rolls better on hard/rough surface but may dig in with soft stuff. A wide fork Baby bushwheel tends to stay on top of soft and rough stuff. A wider tire can give you a little more rolling resistance but not much. The big issue is how is the tire hight effecting you rotation on takeoff? The taller the tire the less AOA you can achieve on takeoff rotation. Once again if you are not working short strips it may not matter but real tall tailwheels come with a downside of hurting takeoff performance. Because it is not my money I would recommend you get a Baby bushwheel tailwheel and Glider tire from Airframes, then get a tail ski from Burl https://burlac.com/tailski.html not cheap but both products are well worth the money. DENNY

I needed a new tail wheel head a few years back. The cost for a whole new one seemed like a better way to go. I bought new, and sold the old parts. I wish I gone baby bush wheel instead of the 10” which is what I already had.

That tailwheel is all Scott. Call Airframes Alaska and order a new 3400 setup, the whole thing. You won't regret it.

As to Baby Bushwheel, I wouldn't. As Denny noted, on snow, you really benefit from a ski in a 185. The Baby Bushwheel won't do the same thing in deep snow.

BUT, the primary reason I would stay away from the BBW is that they shimmy on pavement.....a lot. You may be able to get it set up just right so that it doesn't, but it will soon, at least in my experience.

As Denny said, IF you're landing on beaches with loose sand, a BBW may be the ticket. But, if you do a lot of pavement, it's very likely to shimmy, and that is really hard on tails.

When I first started ski flying, I didn't know any better. The 185 I was flying had brand new wheel skis, which came with a tail ski. Mechanics installed it. My Super Cub got new straight skis, which came with a tail ski.

Ski flying is a serious learning experience, especially in deep snow. So, i learned. One thing I learned is almost nobody else used a tail ski in the Interior. Hmmmm. Didn't bother me, cause they work.

Pretty soon I was seeing more tail skis on planes. And, then more.

They work, and in deep snow, on a 185, they REALLY help. If all you land on is hard packed snow, not worth the bother, cause they also can shimmy if not set up right.

But, I'd stick with the ski and keep the small tailwheel tire.

MTV

I think I have 600 hours on my current baby bush. I operate on pavement.

The baby bushwheel is a vast improvement over the scott tailwheel. No blown out tubes either.

For the skywagon, if you don't need the tailski for winter ops, then you don't need skis either. If you need skis, then you will want a tailski rather than the bushwheel. The bushwheel is no surrogate for a ski.

I have a separate tailski mounted to the scott tailwheel.

Regarding shimmy, the tail ski will generate more shimmy than the baby bush. It's sad to hear people complain about shimmy who have removed their tailwheel lock. I am lucky enough to have a tailwheel lock and use it anytime I think the factors are present for shimmy (heavy, crosswind, tailski). Most of the time I don't use my lock, but man, I'm glad I have it. Flying with people who don't have one when their tailwheel starts to shimmy rattles the rivets out of my skull. I feel bad for their planes.

Squash wrote:...... It's sad to hear people complain about shimmy who have removed their tailwheel lock. I am lucky enough to have a tailwheel lock and use it anytime I think the factors are present for shimmy (heavy, crosswind, tailski). Most of the time I don't use my lock, but man, I'm glad I have it. Flying with people who don't have one when their tailwheel starts to shimmy rattles the rivets out of my skull. I feel bad for their planes.

I noticed that the OP's photo shows his t/w is set up for a lock.
I'm not sure if ABI / AA sells locking tailwheels,
but I'm pretty sure that TLGW does.

Squash wrote:I think I have 600 hours on my current baby bush. I operate on pavement.

The baby bushwheel is a vast improvement over the scott tailwheel. No blown out tubes either.

For the skywagon, if you don't need the tailski for winter ops, then you don't need skis either. If you need skis, then you will want a tailski rather than the bushwheel. The bushwheel is no surrogate for a ski.

I have a separate tailski mounted to the scott tailwheel.

Regarding shimmy, the tail ski will generate more shimmy than the baby bush. It's sad to hear people complain about shimmy who have removed their tailwheel lock. I am lucky enough to have a tailwheel lock and use it anytime I think the factors are present for shimmy (heavy, crosswind, tailski). Most of the time I don't use my lock, but man, I'm glad I have it. Flying with people who don't have one when their tailwheel starts to shimmy rattles the rivets out of my skull. I feel bad for their planes.

Excellent point. I never understood why so many 185s have had the t/w lock removed. Ours all had……. And yes, shimmy can be bad with a tail ski. We kept after them, and were able to minimize same, but….

MTV

I just went through a similar experience with the old McCauley tail wheel. It was in rough shape. I weighed the options on repairing it vs buying new. I was thinking that this thing has been used and taken abuse for 40years and maybe throwing parts at it wasn’t the smartest safest route. The hangup for me was, I wanted to keep the tail wheel lock. This was more difficult than I had anticipated. I had called around and posted here and there. I felt like I was doing myself a disservice cutting that corner by eliminating the lock so I waited while closely monitoring the McCauley. After a while I fell into a good deal on an older but serviceable XPM1-6. I had the pros at TLGW rebuild it back to good as new. I cannot speak highly enough about Tom’s help and the overall experience with TLGW. I did definitely spend a little more going this route then buying a complete new from Alaskan Bushwheel but I got what I wanted.

Pictured the night my son and I put it on.