I did not use any of the existing tail spring, the entire unit is built of fiberglass. It is bolted to the fuselage just like the metal spring was, in exactly the same place. I just had to use bolts that were a little longer.
I would not use Carbon Fiber as it is more brittle and what you want is something that can give with the shock. I put Duct Tape on the board and it still stuck a little. I made it wider than I knew I would need and cut it to size and shape. You will notice in one of the first pics, that there is another "leaf" added to the tail part of the spring unit. That is because the initial layup that I did, and what is documented, was not strong enough to keep the bend to a minimum when I pushed down hard on the tail part of the turtle deck. That "leaf" is just about as thick as the first layup. Notice on the 4th and 5th pic, that the vertical part of the wheel unit, is "vertical". Avery will tell you that, in fact, you want to make the vertical part, lean a little aft at the top, and not to have the wheel "trail", as you might think it should. I tried to get mine as they said, but "vertical", was the best I could do. I am very happy with the performance of this spring and am glad to recommend it to anyone. See N64KR at http://KRBuilder.org - Then click on the pics See you at the 2011 - KR Gathering in Mt. Vernon, Il - MVN There is a time for building and it never seems to end. Daniel R. Heath - Lexington, SC -----Original Message----- Thanks Dan. Looks good. A couple of questions: Did you use the part you cut off from the main spring to add to the tail of the spring and did you bolt it on instead of laminating it? Also would using some carbon fiber cloth strengthen it enough so you could make it lighter or at least not have to add that last part? Also, what did you use to keep the lay up from sticking to the forming board?
