Has anyone put water in their pneumatic tailwheel?

It's fairly standard for tractors to have their tires filled with
water. Curious if anyone has put water in their pneumatic tailwheel
to provide a little more aft CG. Brass tailwheels exist, but they are
pricey.

On Feb 4, 3:49*am, gemerson wrote:
It's fairly standard for tractors to have their tires filled with
water. *Curious if anyone has put water in their pneumatic tailwheel
to provide a little more aft CG. *Brass tailwheels exist, but they are
pricey.

Sounds like a really bad idea. The volume is so small that even
filling the inner tube completely will likely only give a liter of
water or so (2.2 lbs). If you do fill the inner tube to more than
50%, the damping qualities of the wheel will rapidly deteriotate since
water is incompressible (but then, so is brass).
Don't do it, look for a way to safely attach lead plates to the
bulkhead in front of the rudder or by other means.

On Feb 4, 6:19*am, Herbert kilian wrote:
On Feb 4, 3:49*am, gemerson wrote:

It's fairly standard for tractors to have their tires filled with
water. *Curious if anyone has put water in their pneumatic tailwheel
to provide a little more aft CG. *Brass tailwheels exist, but they are
pricey.

Sounds like a really bad idea. *The volume is so small that even
filling the inner tube completely will likely only give a liter of
water or so (2.2 lbs). *If you do fill the inner tube to more than
50%, the damping qualities of the wheel will rapidly deteriotate since
water is incompressible (but then, so is brass).
Don't do it, look for a way to safely attach lead plates to the
bulkhead in front of the rudder or by other means.

2.2 lbs may not sound like much, but on my Ventus adding 2.2 lbs of
water to the tail tank will move the CG aft 9%! If that is enough,
why not try it? If the valve doesn't rust, and you have a way to
evacuate the tube (first of air, then later of water if you reverse
your decision), then it seems like a painless way to experiment with
trimming the CG.

BTW, I ran the numbers on this in about 20 seconds using "SeeG", a
weight and balance program I created (shameless plug) just for this
type of "what if" question. see http://www.glideplan.com

Matt

On 4 fév, 14:06, "Matt Herron Jr." wrote:
On Feb 4, 6:19*am, Herbert kilian wrote:

On Feb 4, 3:49*am, gemerson wrote:

It's fairly standard for tractors to have their tires filled with
water. *Curious if anyone has put water in their pneumatic tailwheel
to provide a little more aft CG. *Brass tailwheels exist, but they are
pricey.

Sounds like a really bad idea. *The volume is so small that even
filling the inner tube completely will likely only give a liter of
water or so (2.2 lbs). *If you do fill the inner tube to more than
50%, the damping qualities of the wheel will rapidly deteriotate since
water is incompressible (but then, so is brass).
Don't do it, look for a way to safely attach lead plates to the
bulkhead in front of the rudder or by other means.

2.2 lbs may not sound like much, but on my Ventus adding 2.2 lbs of
water to the tail tank will move the CG aft 9%! *If that is enough,
why not try it? *If the valve doesn't rust, and you have a way to
evacuate the tube (first of air, then later of water if you reverse
your decision), then it seems like a painless way to experiment with
trimming the CG.

BTW, I ran the numbers on this in about 20 seconds using "SeeG", a
weight and balance program I created (shameless plug) just for this
type of "what if" question. seehttp://www.glideplan.com

Matt

Hi
In freezing condition like Canada we put calcium in tractor tires
S6

*If you do fill the inner tube to more than
50%, the damping qualities of the wheel will rapidly deteriotate since
water is incompressible (but then, so is brass).

As far as I know, a 'Brass Wheel' refers to the hub, which is
typically made from cast aluminum or Nylon plastic, being made from
solid Brass. There is still a pneumatic wheel on this hub.
I also doubt that one can get the inner tube filled 100% with water
given the way the valve stem is positioned.
Since we are on this subject: has anyone ever tried to foam-fill the
tail wheel? Some wheels of industrial equipment gets foam-filled to
make them puncture-proof.
Uli Neumann

I filled mine with windshield wiper fluid to avoid freezing and it
worked very well. To fill I made a connection hose from a broken 12V
air pump and garden hose female connector so I could use the tap water
pressure to push in the WW fluid. That gets it 99% fluid and then use
a regular air pump to get the pressure up. Used it for two years w/o
issue, combined with a brass tailwheel. The WW fluid netted 0.869Kg
and moved the CG 6.9%. This was in a 65x210 wheel.

On Feb 4, 7:06*pm, GM wrote:
*If you do fill the inner tube to more than
50%, the damping qualities of the wheel will rapidly deteriotate since
water is incompressible (but then, so is brass).

As far as I know, a 'Brass Wheel' refers to the hub, which is
typically made from cast aluminum or Nylon plastic, being made from
solid Brass. There is still a pneumatic wheel on this hub.
I also doubt that one can get the inner tube filled 100% with water
given the way the valve stem is positioned.
Since we are on this subject: has anyone ever tried to foam-fill the
tail wheel? Some wheels of industrial equipment gets foam-filled to
make them puncture-proof.
Uli Neumann

I filled mine with foam. It took care of a couple of problems. First
my tire constantly leaked and I wanted a couple of pounds of weight in
the rear. Took it to a truck tire shop, they filled it for a few
bucks. This was about five years ago. Works like a charm. PeterK

Getting tired of punctures and leaks, I switched to a "solid" tail wheel (my
guess is that it is filled with some rather dense foam)
This added 260g of weight, and needless to say, no punktures since then..
I'd recommend it anytime.

Lars Peder
DG-600, Denmark


"GM" wrote in message
...
If you do fill the inner tube to more than
50%, the damping qualities of the wheel will rapidly deteriotate since
water is incompressible (but then, so is brass).

As far as I know, a 'Brass Wheel' refers to the hub, which is
typically made from cast aluminum or Nylon plastic, being made from
solid Brass. There is still a pneumatic wheel on this hub.
I also doubt that one can get the inner tube filled 100% with water
given the way the valve stem is positioned.
Since we are on this subject: has anyone ever tried to foam-fill the
tail wheel? Some wheels of industrial equipment gets foam-filled to
make them puncture-proof.
Uli Neumann

Why not also take your main tire to the truck tire shop and have it
foam-filled? The weight difference would seem insignificant. Is it cost
prohibitive?


"Lars Peder Hansen" wrote in message
k...
Getting tired of punctures and leaks, I switched to a "solid" tail wheel
(my guess is that it is filled with some rather dense foam)
This added 260g of weight, and needless to say, no punktures since then..
I'd recommend it anytime.

Lars Peder
DG-600, Denmark


"GM" wrote in message
...
If you do fill the inner tube to more than
50%, the damping qualities of the wheel will rapidly deteriotate since
water is incompressible (but then, so is brass).

As far as I know, a 'Brass Wheel' refers to the hub, which is
typically made from cast aluminum or Nylon plastic, being made from
solid Brass. There is still a pneumatic wheel on this hub.
I also doubt that one can get the inner tube filled 100% with water
given the way the valve stem is positioned.
Since we are on this subject: has anyone ever tried to foam-fill the
tail wheel? Some wheels of industrial equipment gets foam-filled to
make them puncture-proof.
Uli Neumann

On Feb 7, 8:49*am, "Dan Marotta" wrote:
Why not also take your main tire to the truck tire shop and have it
foam-filled? *The weight difference would seem insignificant. *Is it cost
prohibitive?

"Lars Peder Hansen" wrote in .tele.dk...



Getting tired of punctures and leaks, I switched to a "solid" tail wheel
(my guess is that it is filled with some rather dense foam)
This added 260g of weight, and needless to say, no punktures since then...
I'd recommend it anytime.

Lars Peder
DG-600, Denmark

"GM" wrote in message
...
If you do fill the inner tube to more than
50%, the damping qualities of the wheel will rapidly deteriotate since
water is incompressible (but then, so is brass).

As far as I know, a 'Brass Wheel' refers to the hub, which is
typically made from cast aluminum or Nylon plastic, being made from
solid Brass. There is still a pneumatic wheel on this hub.
I also doubt that one can get the inner tube filled 100% with water
given the way the valve stem is positioned.
Since we are on this subject: has anyone ever tried to foam-fill the
tail wheel? Some wheels of industrial equipment gets foam-filled to
make them puncture-proof.
Uli Neumann- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Interesting but I think it just might add too much weight? PeterK