Blew a tire today... luckily on the taxiway

WannFly

Final Approach
Joined
Nov 28, 2016
Messages
6,553
Location
KLZU
Display Name

Display name:
Priyo
Went up with CFI to do some ground ref maneuvers, we got late and it got dark. Did a couple of touch n go with a c130 in the pattern. Was planning on doing one more but not sure why on the short final decided to make it a full stop. Close the the hanger blew the rt tire on the taxiway.... can't help think what would have happened if it blew on the 3rd landing just as I landed.....at night.

Anyone with first hand experience...can u share how much control u loose if u blow a tire rt at touchdown? And what's the proper procedure for recovery? I am guess hard opposite brake...

Now wait for the bill....

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
I've had it happen in a C172 and an RV.

I'll say it's easier to "keep straight" in the 172 (and probably your Cherokee) because you have nose wheel steering. Opposite brake helped. Don't know if it was "hard" but I know the rudder pedals weren't neutral.

On the other hand, in RV's and other fully castering nose wheel planes all you've got is differential braking to steer. Not sure if it's right wrong, but I jumped on both brakes with both feet, to heck with the pads... that thing was turning towards the flat tire side quick.
 
Tricycle gear, full opposite rudder and max braking on the good side to keep it on the runway.
Tailwheel, good luck. Same effect but hope you don’t ground loop or go up and over on the nose.

Actually I should say, max braking as required to maintain centerline.
 
Yep, twice. Fracture of the metal wheel flange. No real problem in either case, except it was "challenging" to make it off the runway to the taxiway. If you perform landings that are closer to "soft field" it'll just be a lot more resistance (and a bit of pulling) on rollout. This was in a retract - no damage to the airframe, but new wheel and tire required.

Wheel 2.jpg
 
Had a blowout last year in a C172, had landed and was slowing. Blew just prior to turning onto the taxiway, so not far to go to get off the runway. Changed tire and back airborne inside 30 minutes.
 
Last edited:
Went up with CFI to do some ground ref maneuvers, we got late and it got dark. Did a couple of touch n go with a c130 in the pattern. Was planning on doing one more but not sure why on the short final decided to make it a full stop. Close the the hanger blew the rt tire on the taxiway.... can't help think what would have happened if it blew on the 3rd landing just as I landed.....at night.

Anyone with first hand experience...can u share how much control u loose if u blow a tire rt at touchdown? And what's the proper procedure for recovery? I am guess hard opposite brake...

Now wait for the bill....

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Bummer. Glad no one was hurt. And no other damage to your ride! Was it the co-pilot side tire?

Are your tires as bald as mine after like 3,563,123 landings :)
 
Bummer. Glad no one was hurt. And no other damage to your ride! Was it the co-pilot side tire?

Are your tires as bald as mine after like 3,563,123 landings :)

its was the co-pilot side.. so my fat arse didnt cause it :d:d
tires arent that bad actually, its a bummer that it blew. luckily no metal was bent. MX guys says they changed the tire and the tube, so i am guessing it was in a pretty bad shape. will go to the hanger tonight and see how other tires are in compared to the new one
 
Yep, twice. Fracture of the metal wheel flange. No real problem in either case, except it was "challenging" to make it off the runway to the taxiway. If you perform landings that are closer to "soft field" it'll just be a lot more resistance (and a bit of pulling) on rollout. This was in a retract - no damage to the airframe, but new wheel and tire required.

View attachment 56917
phew.... i am told no metal was destroyed in the process...
 
Lost a tire, at night at uncontrolled field. After coming to a stop,pulled the aircraft off the runway into the grass.Had it fixed next morning.
 
I blew a tire turning off the runway at Oshkosh. It's a little disconcerting having the entire flightline watching you change it on the side of the taxiway.
 
It's pretty exciting on take off. ....
Probably much worse on landing!
 
It's pretty exciting on take off. ....
Probably much worse on landing!
Ha...didnt even think of that until now!!!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
I blew a tire turning off the runway at Oshkosh. It's a little disconcerting having the entire flightline watching you change it on the side of the taxiway.
Did you happen to have the spare with you, or did you have to make a quick run somewhere to get one?
 
Had a blowout last year in a C172, had landed and was slowing. Blew just prior to turning onto the taxiway, so not far to go to get off the runway. Changed tire and back airborne inside 30 minutes.
I had the exact same experience in a Cirrus, right after one of the best landings of my life.

The other blowout I had was in a Zlin, and it happened on the taxiway when we were going about 2 knots. I have no idea why either one happened.
 
Anyone with first hand experience...can u share how much control u loose if u blow a tire rt at touchdown?

Flat main when I landed. A solo as a student. C172. Not my home field.

While still moving on the runway, the plane pulled very hard to the flat side. I ended up partly on the grass after only a few hundred feet.

No harm done. Not violent. Luckily the line guys were still on duty so they could call FSS to NOTAM the runway closure and pull the plane back to the shop. They treated me really well, even though I felt I had caused them trouble.

The tires were balding on the rental, and I should have refused to fly it that way.
 
Did you happen to have the spare with you, or did you have to make a quick run somewhere to get one?
Another Navion owner happened to have brought some to sell in the Aeromart and he went and got them for me. We borrowed a jack and the air tank from Emergency Aircraft Repair.
 
I had the exact same experience in a Cirrus, right after one of the best landings of my life.

The other blowout I had was in a Zlin, and it happened on the taxiway when we were going about 2 knots. I have no idea why either one happened.

Sometimes a previous landing by someone else may have flat spotted the tire and it's just waiting to blow.
 
Sometimes a previous landing by someone else may have flat spotted the tire and it's just waiting to blow.

Chief pilot at the club insists we roll the plane back and forth to check both mains for flat spots or other tire issues during the preflight (since the wheel pants prevent a static inspection).

I'm glad I'm learning a lot at the new club.
 
Chief pilot at the club insists we roll the plane back and forth to check both mains for flat spots or other tire issues during the preflight (since the wheel pants prevent a static inspection).

I'm glad I'm learning a lot at the new club.

Yes, a good practice for sure.
 
Thanks all for sharing. I still don't know what exactly happened, the mx guy was gone by the time I went to the airport. The threads were good, I check tired before every flight and I have the wheel pants off. It went flat when I was at about 5 knots. Not sure if I could have prevented it in anyway or how I caused it, the landings last few days were all pretty decent

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
Nose wheel blew while taking off.
Flew the plane to the next airport, landed using the soft field technique.
I then did a high speed taxi with the nose off the ground until I got to the FBO.
 
It's kind of weird how a guy can blow a tire in public and talk about it on a forum, but a girl can't eat a banana without fear of reprisal. What a world.
Well most guys have blown a tire in their youth. Just experimenting or so I've heard.
 
It's kind of weird how a guy can blow a tire in public and talk about it on a forum, but a girl can't eat a banana without fear of reprisal. What a world.

The mechanic said I blew a seal. I said just fix the thing and leave my sex life out of it.
 
I had the exact same experience in a Cirrus, right after one of the best landings of my life.

About Cirri, Mike Busch once said that flat tires seem to be more common for them, due to underinflation.

A Cirrus has tight wheel pants and a small access opening that make it harder to check pressure, if one doesn't know a couple of tricks, and so many owners don't check often enough. I read a post on COPA by a guy who admitted never checking his tire pressure at all until he got a flat (he wrote that he assumed the shop checked it at oil changes). I'd bet he's far from being the only one.

I'm not saying this is what happened to you, but it happens to plenty.
 
Last edited:
About Cirri, Mike Busch once said that flat tires seem to be more common for them, due to underinflation.

The tight wheel pants and small opening make it harder to check pressure, if one doesn't know a couple of tricks, and so many owners don't check often enough. I read a post on COPA by a guy who admitted never checking his tire pressure at all until he got a flat (he wrote that he assumed the shop checked it at oil changes). I'd bet he's far from being the only one.

I'm not saying this is what happened to you, but it happens to plenty.
I still haven’t figured out a polite way to suggest that folks should check tire pressure regularly on aircraft. Small air volumes and crappy tubes equals adding air at least once a quarter. The air-stop tubes do a little better but they aren’t inflate-n-fergit like the auto tires I buy these days.

A cheap pressure gauge and a simple inflator from Walmart and most flats can be avoided. Heals on the floor is good. FOD is still FOD so there will be a few flats.
 
I find it much easier to use a compressor or an air pump to fill a tire. Blowing is too much work.
 
Last July had a front tire blowout on my Toga at 65kts on takeoff. Shout down engine and made the turn off the runway onto the taxi way. Call FBO for a tow. It was not hard to keep control but I would not want to try it at a higher speed.
 
I blew a tire turning off the runway at Oshkosh. It's a little disconcerting having the entire flightline watching you change it on the side of the taxiway.

I had a brake lock up on take off roll on the short runway at KBFI. Had to pull way off the runway so as not to hold up traffic. Pulled the wheel pant to bleed that side and was able to push it off onto the ramp. Was embarrassing having Boeings taxiing by with wings over my head and pilots grinning at me...
Those controllers there are so cool. Never gave me a lick of hassle. Love those guys!
 
About Cirri, Mike Busch once said that flat tires seem to be more common for them, due to underinflation.

A Cirrus has tight wheel pants and a small access opening that make it harder to check pressure, if one doesn't know a couple of tricks, and so many owners don't check often enough. I read a post on COPA by a guy who admitted never checking his tire pressure at all until he got a flat (he wrote that he assumed the shop checked it at oil changes). I'd bet he's far from being the only one.

I'm not saying this is what happened to you, but it happens to plenty.
I always checked. It involved me basically lying on the ground. Quite annoying.
 
I have been seeing some poor tubes lately. Splitting for no good reason. I suspect they're coming from a certain Asian country and aren't being molded properly. I have also had several instances of small yellow labels, inside top-quality tires made by a well-known US tire manufacturer, that seem to have some sort of hard varnish on them that comes loose and chafes the tube. Or the sticky label, once the varnish is off, pulls at the tube as the tire flexes, and the tube fails at that very point. I now clean that label out of there and it takes some doing.

Most actual "blowouts" are due to tires that should have been replaced far sooner. The cheaper tires have thin carcasses, with almost no rubber between the bottom of the tire's grooves and the reinforcing cord. Skid that tire even a little bit once its tread is worn, and you have a blowout.
 
Back
Top