This is the original tailwheel that was installed in my Midget Mustang. I have no idea what aircraft it came with or if it's what is recommended by the folks at Mustang Aeronautics.

I think it's too small and gave a very harsh ride. I was also not a full-swivel so it made ground handling less convenient.

This is a Van's Aircraft tailwheel assembly as installed in a friend's RV-8. I've flown this tailwheel on several different RV's and really like it. It's springy enough to forgive a few bad landings, gives a nice ride during taxi operations, is large enough to avoid getting caught-up in all but the largest cracks in pavement, AND... it's full-swivel!

I purchased the Van's Aircraft "stinger" (tapered steel rod) and the actual tailwheel assembly. I just checked and the current part number is U FSTW ASSY and it's $195. Here's a LINK.

Of course there are no Van's parts available to retrofit to a Midget Mustang, so I designed the bracket you see in this picture. I used the same attach points as the original tailwheel assembly. As you might guess, the bended steel was not part of the original design. Keep reading for the required modification...

Of course the Van's wheel sticks out a little further than the original tailwheel assembly. Specifically, it looks like about 13-14" further than the original. Aside from tripping over it, I don't mind the fact that it sticks out. In reality, it's probably not a bad thing because it helps to mitigate the change to the 3-point stance... The Van's tailwheel is larger than the original and would have raised the tail quite a bit if it had not extended an additional 14" aft.

I used a Smart Level to level the fuselage before I drilled the hole in my new bracket to align the tailwheel.

I took a piece of dental floss and checked the measurement from the tailwheel to each wingtip trailing edge. My goal was to make sure the tailwheel was perfectly in-trail. Yes, that's a bad haircut. Must pay more attention when they're cutting my hair...

I modified the original design to include flanges at the forward edge of the bracket. This should sufficiently stiffen the piece up so that it won't bend again.

I guess I don't have a specific picture of the bolt keeping the rod from rotating in the bracket. If you look closely, you'll notice a bolt going into the bracket from the underside. I drilled a hole through the bracket and into the tapered rod. A single bolt holds it in place. This is the same design as the RV's use so it must work. You don't often hear of RVers losing their tailwheel assembly!

This is a bit deceptive because the tailfeathers have been removed for painting, but this is the finished product. I haven't flown it so I don't know if or how well it works, but bouncing the plane up and down as hard as I can doesn't seem to cause any problems.