I noticed the steel tailwheel spring was looking a bit ragged, so I pulled it off the fuselage for reconditioning prior to hooking up the tailwheel controls. With the wheel removed, I propped up the fuselage on a small work table with plenty of cushioning:
I scoured off the rust and old paint with a scotchbrite pad, and masked off the ends where necessary:
After a coat of primer and two coats of Rustoleum matte black, it's ready to go back to work:
While I had it all pulled apart, I decided to upgrade the wheel itself to a Flyboy Accessories unit with sealed ball bearings, so no more greasing will be required. I also picked up one of their extended axle kits, to give the towbar something more substantial to grab onto. Everything here is very nicely made:
With the help of a helpful forum thread, I put together a collection of hardware for the tailwheel steering controls that will allow me to omit the terrible wire clips, which tend to break and are generally a pain. I retained the stock steering chains and compression springs, but substituted better hardware in place of the clips.
In the center of this picture are some Maillon Rapide Links (part number 7350SF-1/8), a pair of AN42B-4A eye bolts, and some AN115-21 cable shackles. And at the bottom, another upgraded Flyboy Accessories part – a tailwheel steering arm with a lug for a tiedown rope.
Here's how it all looks when installed:
At the forward end, eye bolts and removable links replace the chain clips. These links are rated for a working load of 440 pounds, well in excess of what the chain itself will bear, and are Loctited closed.
At the back, the cable shackles connect the springs to the steering arm. I had to expand the inner dimension of the shackles slightly to fit over the arm, but they are malleable enough that this wasn't difficult.
I may need to adjust the tightness of the chains in the future – right now they are slightly slack when the weight is off the wheel – but this should be good enough for now.