New tail wheel fork for DG-800B and DG-400
To reduce the lateral control forces in the DG-400, DG 800A / LA and in the DG-800B up to works no. 8-218 we have designed a new tail wheel fork. The old fork sits in a plain bearing in the fuselage.
For the DG-808B, i. e. from Works no. 8-219, the fork incorporates a needle roller bearing which reduces friction. This new fork cannot however be used for the older glider types.
For this reason we developed a different fork for the older glider types, which incorporates additional roller bearings.
The lateral control forces used to be rather high since the strong springs of the steering mechanism for the tail wheel led to a high pressure on the plain bearings and therefore to friction. Thanks to the new needle roller bearing design we were able to achieve a significant improvement and increased comfort for the pilot.
Of course, the new tail wheel fork is slightly heavier than the old one - the difference is approx. 300 grams. This in turn requires an increased minimum cockpit weight (2 kg more than before), and the type placard needs to be changed. Technical Notifications have been written for the new tail wheel fork.
We strongly recommend replacing the old fork with the new one ASAP and keeping the old fork as a spare part. As we all know the tail wheel fork is designed to be some kind of a "weak link" for very heavy landings. It should therefore always be available as a spare part.
- w-dirks - 
Translation: Claudia Buengen