Flat Tires?

One of our least favorite jobs (thanks to our "Fancy Pants" with their
stupid, under-sized access doors) is airing up the tires on our Pathfinder.

I pull the plane back and forth while Mary fishes around for the stupid
nipple. If you want to hear a woman cuss like a sailor, just stop by the
hangar on tire-filling day!

It seems like we're having to fill the tires way too often. At least every
3 - 4 weeks, we notice that the plane has become a real bear to pull out of
the hangar, and that our take-off roll has become noticeably longer. Sure
enough, the tires will be down around 25%, from 40 to 30 lbs on the mains,
and from 30 to 23 lbs (or so) in the nosewheel.

This seems ridiculous. Is it a product of tubed tires, or do I have slow
leaks that should be fixed? Can you use "Fix-a-Flat" in aircraft tires?
(I'll bet not.)

How often do you guys have to fill your tires?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Jay Honeck wrote:
It seems like we're having to fill the tires way too often. At least every
3 - 4 weeks, we notice that the plane has become a real bear to pull out of
the hangar, and that our take-off roll has become noticeably longer. Sure
enough, the tires will be down around 25%, from 40 to 30 lbs on the mains,
and from 30 to 23 lbs (or so) in the nosewheel.

This doesn't seem unreasonable for standard aviation tubes. I've read
several different things about them and what it boils down to is that the
rubber they've always used is somewhat porous (on a molecular
level). There are a few new types of tubes on the market, the most
popular being the Michelen "Air Stop" (I think) that use a better rubber
that doesn't leak. I've heard that they pretty much keep there tire
pressure indefinitely. I believe there have been posts on both r.a.owning
as well as the Cherokee Chat confirming this. I'm switching at the next
tire change.

--- Jay


--
__!__
Jay and Teresa Masino ___(_)___
http://www2.ari.net/jmasino ! ! !
http://www.OceanCityAirport.com
http://www.oc-Adolfos.com

Hi Jay;

Aircraft inner tubes, due to historical inertia, lose air much more
rapidly than their automotive counterparts. However, at least one of the
major aircraft tire suppliers is now making innertubes of modern,
spaceage material that actually holds air. Try Desser.

Rip

Jay Honeck wrote:
One of our least favorite jobs (thanks to our "Fancy Pants" with their
stupid, under-sized access doors) is airing up the tires on our Pathfinder.

I pull the plane back and forth while Mary fishes around for the stupid
nipple. If you want to hear a woman cuss like a sailor, just stop by the
hangar on tire-filling day!

It seems like we're having to fill the tires way too often. At least every
3 - 4 weeks, we notice that the plane has become a real bear to pull out of
the hangar, and that our take-off roll has become noticeably longer. Sure
enough, the tires will be down around 25%, from 40 to 30 lbs on the mains,
and from 30 to 23 lbs (or so) in the nosewheel.

This seems ridiculous. Is it a product of tubed tires, or do I have slow
leaks that should be fixed? Can you use "Fix-a-Flat" in aircraft tires?
(I'll bet not.)

How often do you guys have to fill your tires?

We find we need to add a little air every few weeks, infact, I need to do it
tonight.

Couple things to check. How old are your tubes? You may need new tubes.
Tubes are usually natural rubber and will age and crack.

Do you have steel stem caps that you can tighten with a wrench? The steel
stem caps will have a rubber seal that seals against the rim of the valve
stem. Just don't over torque and rip the base of the stem.

Jim

Hey, at least you had help!
I would have roll the cherokee up a couple inches then take a look at
each tire to see if I can see the nipple through the damn little door on
our 1986 Cherokee 180. Then you have to do finger acrobats trying to
get the air hose connected to the nipple.

Those wheel pants on the cherokee are a love/hate relationship. You get
a little extra speed and they look better than no pants. But then
airing up the tires are a pain. And how many people have landed in a
muddy grassy strip and have the pants get clogged up causing the tires
to lock up.

As for the air leak. I think it is through osmosis. We only have to air
up the tires maybe a couple of time a year.

Jay, how about solid rubber tire! Of course you have to grease every
landing.

Nick
PA28-180 'D'



Jay Honeck wrote:

One of our least favorite jobs (thanks to our "Fancy Pants" with their
stupid, under-sized access doors) is airing up the tires on our Pathfinder.

I pull the plane back and forth while Mary fishes around for the stupid
nipple. If you want to hear a woman cuss like a sailor, just stop by the
hangar on tire-filling day!

It seems like we're having to fill the tires way too often. At least every
3 - 4 weeks, we notice that the plane has become a real bear to pull out of
the hangar, and that our take-off roll has become noticeably longer. Sure
enough, the tires will be down around 25%, from 40 to 30 lbs on the mains,
and from 30 to 23 lbs (or so) in the nosewheel.

This seems ridiculous. Is it a product of tubed tires, or do I have slow
leaks that should be fixed? Can you use "Fix-a-Flat" in aircraft tires?
(I'll bet not.)

How often do you guys have to fill your tires?

On 8/24/2005 15:21, Nick Funk wrote:

Hey, at least you had help!
I would have roll the cherokee up a couple inches then take a look at
each tire to see if I can see the nipple through the damn little door on
our 1986 Cherokee 180. Then you have to do finger acrobats trying to
get the air hose connected to the nipple.

Isn't there any way to get a floor jack under the gear and jack the
tire/wheel up off the ground?

I'm not criticizing, just curious.


Those wheel pants on the cherokee are a love/hate relationship. You get
a little extra speed and they look better than no pants. But then
airing up the tires are a pain. And how many people have landed in a
muddy grassy strip and have the pants get clogged up causing the tires
to lock up.

As for the air leak. I think it is through osmosis. We only have to air
up the tires maybe a couple of time a year.

Jay, how about solid rubber tire! Of course you have to grease every
landing.

Nick
PA28-180 'D'



Jay Honeck wrote:

One of our least favorite jobs (thanks to our "Fancy Pants" with their
stupid, under-sized access doors) is airing up the tires on our Pathfinder.

I pull the plane back and forth while Mary fishes around for the stupid
nipple. If you want to hear a woman cuss like a sailor, just stop by the
hangar on tire-filling day!

It seems like we're having to fill the tires way too often. At least every
3 - 4 weeks, we notice that the plane has become a real bear to pull out of
the hangar, and that our take-off roll has become noticeably longer. Sure
enough, the tires will be down around 25%, from 40 to 30 lbs on the mains,
and from 30 to 23 lbs (or so) in the nosewheel.

This seems ridiculous. Is it a product of tubed tires, or do I have slow
leaks that should be fixed? Can you use "Fix-a-Flat" in aircraft tires?
(I'll bet not.)

How often do you guys have to fill your tires?


--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Student
Sacramento, CA

add to this is check to make sure you valve cores are tight.
Michelle

Jim Burns wrote:

We find we need to add a little air every few weeks, infact, I need to do it
tonight.

Couple things to check. How old are your tubes? You may need new tubes.
Tubes are usually natural rubber and will age and crack.

Do you have steel stem caps that you can tighten with a wrench? The steel
stem caps will have a rubber seal that seals against the rim of the valve
stem. Just don't over torque and rip the base of the stem.

Jim

Jay Honeck wrote:
One of our least favorite jobs (thanks to our "Fancy Pants" with their
stupid, under-sized access doors) is airing up the tires on our Pathfinder.

I pull the plane back and forth while Mary fishes around for the stupid
nipple. If you want to hear a woman cuss like a sailor, just stop by the
hangar on tire-filling day!

It seems like we're having to fill the tires way too often. At least every
3 - 4 weeks, we notice that the plane has become a real bear to pull out of
the hangar, and that our take-off roll has become noticeably longer. Sure
enough, the tires will be down around 25%, from 40 to 30 lbs on the mains,
and from 30 to 23 lbs (or so) in the nosewheel.

This seems ridiculous. Is it a product of tubed tires, or do I have slow
leaks that should be fixed? Can you use "Fix-a-Flat" in aircraft tires?
(I'll bet not.)

How often do you guys have to fill your tires?

Our 150 (since sold) had the standard tubes, and we found ourselves
filling them so often that we put a foot pump in the back of the airplane.

As for the 172, we've been using the generic brand of the Michelin Air
Stop for years and have found it necessary to fill only once every 2
months or so. We just replaced the tires and tubes on the 172, and
because they worked well we bought another set of the very same tubes.
So far, so good.

If you'd like to see the replacement process in detail, go to my site
and browse to:

Aviation-Articles-Maintenance-Tire Replacement

-Doug

--
--------------------
Doug Vetter, CFIMEIA

http://www.dvcfi.com
--------------------

Be happy your wheel pants have doors - those on my plane have none. So
yes, inflating the tires is a
hands and knees affair, with a lot of feeling around where I can't see.
And it is unusual for there to be
any help available. At least I haven't grabbed hold of a black widow
spider yet (they have an affinity for
wheel pants). Getting my hands dirty is a certainty. I'll keep the Air
Stop tubes in mind for next time.

David Johnson

Jay Honeck wrote:

Can you use "Fix-a-Flat" in aircraft tires?

Nope. When I bought my Maule, it had McCreary tires & tubes. I had to pump them
up before every other flight. I asked my A&P this same question.

How often do you guys have to fill your tires?

The last tires I put on the Maule were Condors. I don't remember for sure, but
the tubes might have been Michelin (they were certainly not McCreary). The mains
would take 4 months or so to lose 5 pounds. Full pressure was only 26 pounds,
though.

George Patterson
Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a person to
use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks.