Tire time! Goodyear Flight Special II or Airhawk, $50/tire difference. Which one?

Kiddo's Driver

Pattern Altitude
Joined
Oct 5, 2013
Messages
1,531
Location
Somewhere in the Southeast
Display Name

Display name:
Jim
Like the title says.
They are going on a Socata Tampico, TB9.
The only twist is that my son is going to be using the plane to learn to fly.
Also, I assume Michelin AirStop is the way to go for tubes.

Nose: 5.00x5 6PR
Mains: 15x6.00x6 6PR
 
Goodyear + Airstop for last 20 years no issues.
 
Been flying Airhawks on my B55 Baron for 4-years with airstop tubes - no issues. Flew them on my Mooney for 7 years - excellent performance. For a Tampico, I'd do Airhawks.
 
For airplane tires, get recaps. They can use a harder rubber compound on the tread that way, so they'll last even longer than new tires.

 
Airstop and Airhawk for my Mooney for 10 years as well.
 
For airplane tires, get recaps. They can use a harder rubber compound on the tread that way, so they'll last even longer than new tires.


Do the hard compound retreads have any traction problems on rainy crosswind landings?
 
Like the title says.
They are going on a Socata Tampico, TB9.
The only twist is that my son is going to be using the plane to learn to fly.
Also, I assume Michelin AirStop is the way to go for tubes.

Nose: 5.00x5 6PR
Mains: 15x6.00x6 6PR
Goodyear
 
FWIW:

I put an Airhawk on my Lance when I bought it. It's bald now, but no cords through yet. 4 years, ~600 hours, ~700 landings. Getting replaced with a new Airhawk now.

Airhawks are what the local flight school uses as well.
 
Do the hard compound retreads have any traction problems on rainy crosswind landings?
Not that I've ever been able to notice. I would think they'd have to be hard as a rock before it had any significant effect.
 
I went with the Goodyear tires, mostly because they are the ones listed in the Pilot's Information Manual and because the $150 price difference wasn't enough to scare me off. I went with Michelin AirStop tubes. Expensive little buggers. The nose tube was more expensive than the nose tire. Ended up having to buy a bent stem tube for the nose because they didn't have a straight stem tube. Surely that will cause the engine to fall off.
 
Last edited:
According to my plane's manufacturer, only the Goodyear are approved...
 
Back
Top