Tail dolley wheels?

We had a Twin Astir whose tail boom was damaged around the mounting hole for the tail wheel; it happened due to the constant pounding of a hard rubber wheel without sufficient damping between the wheel and the fuselage. We made a real tail dolly with a large pneumatic wheel and had no futher problems.

On Monday, September 30, 2019 at 7:15:05 AM UTC-7, John McLaughlin wrote:
Schleicher supplied me with a solid tire dolly for my 31Mi, so it must be
okay.

Tom


Was it hard rubber, or foam filled?

The ASH 31 is supplied with a hard rubber Blickle tire for the tail dolly. A direct Blickle replacement wheel/tire can be purchased at http://www.magnusinc.com/ . Their part number is VW 202/20R. Contact customer service for assistance. A couple of years ago, cost was just under $40, not including shipping. It takes a couple of weeks for the product to ship.

I picked up a foam-filled wheel chair tire at a medical supply website.Â*
It fit the standard one-piece tail dolly wheel, though I had to press it
on using a hydraulic press.Â* Four inch PVC pipe cut in about a 4" length
makes an excellent tool for the job; it just fits over the circumference
of the wheel without touching.

I could not keep a pneumatic tire from going flat on my tail dolly. The
Stemme's tail weighs a LOT but I don't have my weight and balance handy
to give an exact number.Â* The Stemme's tow bar doubles as a lever and
fulcrum to lift the dolly wheel off the ground for removal.Â* Then the
tail is lowered on to the tail wheel and the dolly shell is removed.Â* I
tow at about 5 mph on the taxiways.

On 9/30/2019 8:10 AM, wrote:
I don’t get the comments about towing behind a car. My ASW-19 & 20 both lift the tail dolly wheel off the ground when I tow them.
There is a fairly common tow bar system (Initially offered by DG, I believe) which uses a long square tube with a round tube at the glider end welded at 90 degrees. This tube slips into a round tube receptacle mounted at the tail dolly caster. The opposite end of the long tube has a tow ball hitch. With this system, the glider is towed with the tail dolly wheel on the ground. A pneumatic tire can wear out or go flat if you have to tow long distances or over rough terrain. A solid tire is a better choice, provided it isn't TOO hard. You should try to find a solid tire that is similar in "softness" to a pneumatic tire to avoid vibration and shock.


--
Dan, 5J

Thanks Craig. Bickle describe that as 'soft rubber'. It looks just like the

Chinese one I had before, which, despite being solid, managed to go flat
under the tail of my Ventus.



The ASH 31 is supplied with a hard rubber Blickle tire for the tail
dolly.
=
A direct Blickle replacement wheel/tire can be purchased at
http://www.mag=
nusinc.com/ . Their part number is VW 202/20R. Contact customer
service
fo=
r assistance. A couple of years ago, cost was just under $40, not
including=
shipping. It takes a couple of weeks for the product to ship.