You have two flimsy (relatively speaking) springs acting on short lever arms. They are trying to displace the wheel (with a considerably longer lever arm) sideways relative to the fuselage. In order to actually make the tailwheel swivel with the aircraft parked, they'd have to move the entire tail to the side and turn the entire aircraft, against the static rolling resistance of the main tyres. It won't happen. What happens is that the springs apply a sideways force on the tailwheel. As the aircraft starts rolling, that force will make the aircraft turn. At this point, the wheel will deflect.CharlieP51 wrote:The CUB tailwheel will eventually and visually leave center some time AFTER the rudder begins to turn the plane..it tracks the turning plane.
If that is what it does, so far it is correct. The tail wheel will track the turning plane. It will make the plane turn, but it will, none the less, track the turning plane and not move much before it has actually (along with the rudder and/or brakes) made the plane turn. Consider how much force the springs will apply to the wheel. Picture yourself pushing the tail with that much (little) force. Will you turn the plane? If not, the tailwheel won't pivot either.
Now, picture the plane starting to roll. Will the same force make it turn? Yes, it will.
I once heard the installation described as a device for suggesting a direction of turn to the aircraft. Depending on circumstances, it may actually listen... or it may not. It's just not a very direct method of control.
A real Super Cub has an abysmal turning radius if you only use the tail wheel steering. To really make it turn, you have use differential braking, power or both. Ground looping works as well... or so I hear.CharlieP51 wrote:The A2A CUB will not pivot 360 on the ground without revving the engine...not real world, not even close, not like the FSX default CUB which can sit and rotate in one place with very little rpm because it has a functioning real-worl like steerable tail wheel.
The steering angle of the tail wheel achievable through the pedals is rather small. I doubt that the baby Cub is much different, even if I haven't flown one. You can make the Super Cub pivot in place but, again, it takes differential braking and a burst of power.I don't have the A2A Cub, so I can't comment on that one.
