Aircraft Inner Tubes Info requested

[PittsDriver]

Yeah Wes, get an S-1S...I got 2 1/2 yrs and over 800 landings on the last set of cheapie Air Hawks. Re-used the tubes too.

You're just better at softer landings than I am and at any rate, I'm not flying a rubber band powered Pitts just to save on tubes And yes, I remember a rubber band powered Pitts and you were kickin' my tail when last we dove into a box.

 

[wabower]

Was that with you in or out of the plane? The profile might be slightly different.

True, however in both cases the CFI's had WAY more flight experience than I did, both total and in the particular airplane of the day, so they probably were better at visually identifying tire pressure than I was. Or so I thought.

 

[djpacro]

..... I've had 3 flats in the last couple of years. Nothing was found in the tire - no damage at all. And yet, the tube at a hole in it that looked like it had been poked with an ice pick. We never find anything inside the tire. It doesn't look like it was pinched when installed. It's just got a hole in it. ....... Any ideas about what's happening or if there's anything I can do differently to improve the life of my tubes?

I guess that Wes is no longer around this forum but ... I’ve just had the same problem with our recently-acquired S-2C and a friend said he had the same thing several times with their -C. Not experienced this over many hours in other models of Pitts. Just wondering if anyone has any more info please?

 

[Timbeck2]

Tire talc hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet. Use it.

 

[NoHeat]

This thread should win the double-necro-post prize! A 2008 thread that was revived in 2011 and then again in 2018, ten years after the original!

It doesn’t matter, though, because tubes are a timeless topic. They’ve been with us probably a hundred years already.

Pinholes in tubes without any damage to the tire are hard to explain. If the pinholes are round and don’t coincide with other trauma like a pinch or a crease, I’d have to wonder if the tubes were defective.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

Tire talc hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet. Use it.

Just not too much. One of my flats was caused by overuse of tire talc, so that on the very first landing with the new tire, the tire spun on the rim and ripped off the valve stem.

 

[djpacro]

I guess I’ll be making some phone calls to Annapolis then.