Jim,

Back in September you asked for specific degrees. I can’t tell you what will work best for your airplane as only by doing several taxi test will you find the best. However, we can use information from certified airplanes as to what works for them.

Cessna’s Service letter SLN 46 concerning wheel alignment for the 120, 140, 170, 180, 190, 195 tail draggers recommends a range of 1/16 inch toe in to 1/8 inch toe out. On a 6 inch wheel 1 degree is 1/10 inch. The reason you can have 1/16 inch static tow in on a tail dragger is the drag on the wheels when in motion will force them to tow out. Within that range I have a personal preference for tow out on tail draggers. As I stated back in September, tow out improves tail dragger stability.

http://www.teamkitfox.com/Forums/sho...23&postcount=7

Start with 1/2 degree tow out and see how it tracks in taxi. If the aircraft wanders, try a little more tow. If you have tire scuffing but it tracks OK then back off the tow a bit. This is assuming you have correctly set the tail wheel.

Far more critical than tow in or tow out on a taildragger is the tailwheel plane of rotation. (The vertical swivel axis) If it is not correct you will have horrible handling, excessive shimmy, or even an uncontrollable airplane. The tailwheel swivel must be vertical or tilted slightly forward. This ensures the tailwheel will naturally seek a position in trail with weight on the wheels.

If the tailwheel swivel is tilted aft the aircraft tail must be raised to allow the wheel to center and it is inherently unstable. As the pilot tries to steer the airplane the tailwheel will flop back and forth over center or even lock to one side.

There are frequent posts on this forum by owners installing big balloon tires. Doing so raises the front of the airplane and changes the tailwheel plane of rotation. If you change tire sizes at some point in the future, it is imperative that you reset the tail wheel plane of rotation.

Hope this helps,

John Pitkin
Greenville, TX