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what not to do when you get a flat tire!

turbo

Well Known Member
don't do anything more than you need to get stopped safely. :eek:
new plane , experienced pilot.


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He thought the wheel was in a soft/low spot in the grass and gunned it to get through. Turned out the tire was flat. Last I talked to him, he didn’t know why it went flat.
 
If you fly an RV long enough you will get a flat tire. I got one a month ago and shut down the runway for about 10 minutes while we got it off. Small bit of wheel pant damage but no tire, rim or aircraft damage.
 
Unfortunately flat (under inflated) tires often occur when a temperature drop occurs. Have had that happen at least twice and they can be visibly hard to see because of the stiffness of the sidewalls and small size of the tires. One reason I check tire pressures often during the winter.

I once taxied (several years ago) from my hanger to the runway thinking it was just crosswinds that was causing the taxiing difficulties . But once I applied power for takeoff it was obvious there was something much worse causing the problem. Closed down the runway for over an hour until I could get a tire dolly under that gear. Major embarrassment on my part. Also costly because the tire and tube had to be replaced.

Hope Ed’s prop didn’t strike the dirt running. My engine is now just being reunited with my aircraft after a prop strike with the dirt at Oshkosh while taxiing. Nose wheel hit an unmarked concrete abutment in deep grass and RV nosed over. The prop dug a small trench and was bent slightly forward with the tips damaged. It taken six months for the tear down inspection (got a great engine inspection report from Popular Grove), a new prop (from MT), and other cosmetic repairs - all costing mega bucks. Engine shops are backed up and props are on back orders. Thank goodness for insurance. And yes, I’m a little dense!
 
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This isn’t Turbo’s plane, but one of my neighbor’s. The prop was running and will need to be replaced. The engine is going off for a teardown inspection and whatever repairs are needed. The spinner, cowling and wheel fairings were cracked and banged up, but otherwise no airframe damage.

Best part, no injuries. The pilot was pretty heartsick about it and beating himself up, but was back up in his other plane within a couple days.
 
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... The pilot was pretty heartsick about it and beating himself up, ...

I can imagine. These are not things we forget easily! One small moment of inattention and you're on your nose, or on your head, or worse.
 
If you fly an RV long enough you will get a flat tire. I got one a month ago and shut down the runway for about 10 minutes while we got it off. Small bit of wheel pant damage but no tire, rim or aircraft damage.

Not sure what long enough is but 19 yrs and 2200+ hrs and no flats. In fact never had a flat in any GA airplane.

My "Secret" to success, change the tires when they are worn with quality tires, always replace tubes (Michelin Air stop), and most importantly, never let the air pressure get low. Anything less than 30psi and you're just asking for trouble (I keep mine between 40-50). Change the nosewheel to one of the tubeless wheels like Beringer (when I had the stock wheel I changed the nosewheel tire/tube every annual). My current Beringer has at least 4 yrs on it now with not much wear.

I'll venture to say that 100% of the flats I've seen are torn tube sidewalls from one of two things: low air pressure first, or "cheaper/low quality"
tubes.

Most folks seriously underestimate the value of tires/brakes. It's the 'simple' stuff that usually bites you.
 
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Last I talked to him, he didn’t know why it went flat.
Because the air escaped...

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My "Secret" to success, change the tires when they are worn with quality tires, always replace tubes
I would agree and I have never skimped on tires but I cannot get myself to replace a tube that is not leaking and does not show wear spots.
My main wheels are getting the 4th tire change since new, 12 years and closing in on 800 hours.
The right tire has never leaked down at all and is still the original, Van's supplied.
The left tube is always leaking down a little and has been replaced with every tire change.(Michelin Air Stop).
 
(when I had the stock wheel I changed the nosewheel tire/tube every annual). My current Beringer has at least 4 yrs on it now with not much wear.

What was happening with the nose wheel, to dictate such frequent changes?
 
I'll venture to say that 100% of the flats I've seen are torn tube sidewalls from one of two things: low air pressure first, or "cheaper/low quality"

My experience as well :)
To which I must add worn down tires, had 2 on rental airplanes... both burst upon pretty smooth landings.
 
The pilot was pretty heartsick about it and beating himself up, but was back up in his other plane within a couple days.

I bet everyone was heartbroken! These events are sickening when they happen but it’s good to know no one was hurt. There’s a major lesson to be learned here and that is a good preflight includes close examination of the tires you’re about to rest your life on.

I agree once again with Walt in that you need to keep tire pressures between 40-50 psi and the usage of quality tires and tubes will save you money in the long run. Reuse of older tubes is IMHO a risky choice!

Rubber degrades over time which is one reason most car tire dealers won’t patch a car tire that’s been on the ground for a while. It’s never a goodbye idea to buy a new tire from old dealer stock. Why risk a major damage incident just to save a few bucks at tire replacement time!

Frequent check of tire pressures will save you an unexpected flat. Using quality tires and tubes saves money in the long run.
 
If you fly an RV long enough you will get a flat tire. I got one a month ago and shut down the runway for about 10 minutes while we got it off. Small bit of wheel pant damage but no tire, rim or aircraft damage.

Maybe not long enough for the absolute nature of the statement, but 15yrs and 2200hrs to and from lands far far away, not a single flat while under my care. "Dispatch reliability" takes many forms and there is a lot that can be done to mitigate getting a flat before you even leave the hangar.

Heck, I even went so far as to produce an emergency lifting solution which is still in production.

My heart sinks for the guy in the OP.
 
Best part, no injuries. The pilot was pretty heartsick about it and beating himself up, but was back up in his other plane within a couple days.

No matter how you look at this nothing is worse than what the pilot is already calling himself. I'm sure the cuss jar is overflowing!

I've had 2 flats: The first was a rental with wheel pants and some one had flat-spotted one of the MLG. My landing was the straw that wore though the thin piece of rubber left on that wheel. After that I always rolled the plane to look at the whole tire on preflight.

The second flat was the nose wheel on the RV. There is no doubt in my mind that the pressure was low and when I spun it around into a tie down that was all it took. Our 2 hour breakfast run turned into a 12 hour ordeal... You should have heard the names I called myself!

-Marc
 
What was happening with the nose wheel, to dictate such frequent changes?

Nothing, the stock wheelbarrow tire and tube is a POS, so I changed it every year as a precaution, takes a few hours maybe.
Made me feel better is all (and never had a flat).
 
Flat tires.

I had my first flat tire after the last Young Eagle flight on July 4, 2022 at 77S.
1,375 hours in a lot of different aircraft, almost 600 in the RV6. On rollout the 6 pulled slightly to the left & after I exited the runway I knew I had a flat tire although not running on the rim-yet. I was able to clear the taxiway & park it. Upon removal & teardown I put air in the tube & found a very tiny pinhole in the tube that was only noticeable after I put a lot of air in it. What baffled me was I could not find any evidence on the inside or outside of the tire of a puncture. The tire & tube were ruined & had less than 15 hours since new & 2 months old. Just running it almost flat caused deterioration on on the inside of the tire & chafing on the tube. Tire pressure 36-38 PSI. Bought direct at Vans in Aurora.
 
I had the same cheaper butyl rubber airstop-ish tube open a pore type hole in its infancy.

Found the easy way- pre-flight at door opening. Spend tbe bucks, cry once.
 
Not sure what long enough is but 19 yrs and 2200+ hrs and no flats. In fact never had a flat in any GA airplane.

In 22 years and something north of 12,000 hours, I just recently got a flat tire.. two actually within a week each other.. both were in an Extra 300 (Tailwheel) (two different Extras btw, however same mechanic making up the wheels and tires) and it was a non event both times. I was always afraid of landing on a flat, but out was such a non event, the second one I wasn’t really sure it was flat until I turned off the runway and it seemed to take power to taxi. Really makes me wonder how other people experience a flat, and how it ended up on his nose like this..
 
My "Secret" to success, change the tires when they are worn with quality tires, always replace tubes (Michelin Air stop), and most importantly, never let the air pressure get low. Anything less than 30psi and you're just asking for trouble (I keep mine between 40-50). Change the nosewheel to one of the tubeless wheels like Beringer (when I had the stock wheel I changed the nosewheel tire/tube every annual). My current Beringer has at least 4 yrs on it now with not much wear.

I'll venture to say that 100% of the flats I've seen are torn tube sidewalls from one of two things: low air pressure first, or "cheaper/low quality"
tubes.

Most folks seriously underestimate the value of tires/brakes. It's the 'simple' stuff that usually bites you.

I will add a third important mx item. Always add talc when installing tires with tubes. There is a lot of movement between the tube and tire, and the inside wall tends to be a bit coarse and some form of friction reduction is required to prevent chafing.

Larry
 
Tires/rubber

10 years of age on any rubber product is enough to consider replacement.

Don Broussard
RV9 Rebuild in Progress
57 Pacer
 
Sometimes tires go flat when pushed sideways.

Only when the tire is underinflated, then it flexes to much or the bead pops off.
A high quality 6 ply tire (8 ply for NLG) has a pretty stiff structure/sidewall compared to an economy 4 ply tire.

I will add a third important mx item. Always add talc when installing tires with tubes. There is a lot of movement between the tube and tire, and the inside wall tends to be a bit coarse and some form of friction reduction is required to prevent chafing.

Larry

100% agree. Anyone installing tube tires should know that.!
 
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Only when the tire is underinflated.



100% agree. Anyone installing tube tires should know that.!

While I agree they should, I have seen a few that had none, telling me that should know and do know are not the same thing out in the wild. I suspect many EAB builders / owners have possibly never seen a tube tire setup, except bicycles which can get away without using talc, and would never know this if we didn't point it out.
 
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While I agree they should, I have seen a few that had none, telling me that should know and do know are not the same thing out in the wild. I suspect many EAB builders / owners have possibly never seen a tube tire setup, except bicycles which can get away without using talc, and would never know this if we didn't point it out.

Reading manuals/instruction is obviously a lost art in todays world :cool:

https://www.goodyearaviation.com/resources/pdf/aviation-tire-care-2020.pdf

https://aircraft.michelin.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/2018/01/2016_CSM_Print.pdf
 
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Only when the tire is underinflated, then it flexes to much or the bead pops off.

Right on brother. I'm a 50 guy, adding at 45. When you fly like I do, it's best to have margin for swerving and bouncing ;)
 
While I agree they should, I have seen a few that had none, telling me that should know and do know are not the same thing out in the wild. I suspect many EAB builders / owners have possibly never seen a tube tire setup, except bicycles which can get away without using talc, and would never know this if we didn't point it out.

I think you are totally right - the things you learned by experience growing up can sometimes become just "assumed knowledge", when in fact you just don't recall acquiring it. When you run into someone that you feel had similar experiences as you, and they don't know something you've known "your whole life", it can be surprising.
 
The only flat I've had on an RV (so far - knock on wood) was on one of my RV-14A mains, evidently caused by lack of tube talc powder during initial installation. Upon examining the tube, I found a pinhole leak along an oval rub pattern that closely matched the embossed imprint on the tire.

Needless to say, I now tell anyone working on tires not to be stingy with the talc!
 

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EMT motto: "There's always time for lube!"

Looks like that applies to tubes in tires as well

Cheers

P.s. If the joke doesn't make sense, ask one of your first responders. They'll get a kick
 
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