Screaming Eagle Retrofit Tailwheel Fork

The Screaming Eagle Retrofit Tailwheel Fork is our flagship product: designed as a “drop-in” upgrade to replace the standard tailwheel fork in RV-type aircraft. Made in the USA in our own shop. Individually checked for quality, our tailwheels represent a significant advantage in performance over the stock setup. Our fork provides significantly better clearance, and also improves handling by reducing the steering force needed.

Due to the minimal clearance of the standard Van’s right-angle fork, you risk damaging the airframe of your plane every second your plane is on the ground. A rut in your grass strip, deep tie-down hole, asphalt edge, or pothole in the concrete can easily catch the leading edge of the old fork and cause major damage to your plane. Don’t risk it!

The Screaming Eagle tailwheel fork is raised for better clearance – if the tire will roll over it, our fork will clear. The extra height shortens the lever length on the fork and allows the plane to handle with less force on the rudder pedals, making your time on the ground much easier on the pilot.

The Screaming Eagle tailwheel retrofit fork is a self-locking, full swiveling design. It even works with a tailwheel pant installed! It includes the fork, axle bolt, nuts, axle washers, and cotter pin. You can re-use your existing locking pin and spring, as well as the control arm you already have, or you can replacements for those parts at the links above. Fork available in bare steel, primed paint finish, or powder coated white or black.

The retrofit fork is designed to fit existing RV or Rocket tailwheels. It weighs in at 15 ounces, virtually the same as the stock unit. Shaft diameter is 7/8″, and the fork fits a standard axle bolt size of 3/8″ (AN6-32).

The Screaming Eagle retrofit fork will make your RV, Rocket, or similar homebuilt steer crisply and give better obstacle clearance to help prevent tailcone damage from hitting a pothole, tiedown, or other obstacle. We also have a complete line of replacement parts for the tailwheel assembly, which are interchangeable with Van’s-type tailwheel units.

A standard Van’s tailwheel pant (available from Van’s) may be modified to fit our fork. Installed properly, your tailwheel will full swivel and perform normally. It’s gotta be good for an extra knot or two!

Screaming Eagle Fork weight with axle and top nut: ~17oz.(482g)

Want to Add a Tire? The Deluxe Tire and Lightweight Tire will fit perfectly.

New Purchase Option: Scratch ‘n Dent is now available for white and black powder coating color options! When the tailwheels return from the powder coater, a few come back with less than pristine coats.

Functionally – the tailwheel works just as great, but there is a blemish or two. We now have the option for you to buy the Scratch ‘n Dent versions of our tailwheels for $15 less. Pictures of the typical blemishes are available below.

A brand new tailwheel for a discounted price!