fair price for tire replacement?

So, question, why do aircraft tires have tubes? Why aren't they tubeless like auto tires? Is it because the force landing can break the seal between rim and tire?

Also why is the quality of tube more important than the tire?
 
flyingron said:
The original poster said that the wheel pants was a 30 minute item on his plane which left 2.5 hours for the tire change.

The procedure for the Navion.

You need: A few wrenches, needle nose pliers, air tank, two reasonable friends, a 4x4

1. Have two of the guys crouch under the wing and push upward with their backs.
2. Shove the 4x4 under the gear leg.
3. Tell the guys to relax and if they stick around until you finish you'll buy them a beer
4. Unbolt the break caliper
5. Pull the cotter pin retaining the wheel nut.
6. Unscrew the wheel nut.
7. Pull of the tire.
8. Unbolt the wheel halves (the tire is already flat at this pont).
9. Fit the new tire tube.
10. Reasemble the wheel.
11 Remount the wheel, secure nut
12. Remount the brake caliper
13. Have the guys lift the wing again.
14. Kick the 4x4 out of the way
15. Top off the tire to the recommended pressure.
16. Order the beers all around and sign the log book while consuming.
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That would have been me, and the context was replacing both mains, including cleaning and packing the bearings.
 
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That whole process didn't take 30 minutes a side. Not counting the beers. It was actually an ice cream cone I had to provide the guy helping me (since it was Oshkosh and a hot afternoon).
 
AdamZ said:
So, question, why do aircraft tires have tubes? Why aren't they tubeless like auto tires? Is it because the force landing can break the seal between rim and tire?

Also why is the quality of tube more important than the tire?
Click to expand...

Sealing split rims is a pain, easier to use a tube. Quality of tube is more important than quality of tire because quality of tire is regulated, tube not. Tubes are what blow out and leak, not tires.
 
When into the shop and talked to the mx. He recommended a condor tire and the Air saver or air light or whatever the tube is called that is supposed to be the best tube put there.

Anyone care to talk about the Condor tires? He said it was a Michelin product.
 
Unit74 said:
Will the mechs usually have a problem if I bring my own parts?
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Usually individual mechanics don't mind you doing the work to order and pay for the parts and bring them to the airport, but big shops will not allow it for various reasons. Ask before you order and be prepared to bring in the paperwork showing where the part came from.
 
Unit74 said:
When into the shop and talked to the mx. He recommended a condor tire and the Air saver or air light or whatever the tube is called that is supposed to be the best tube put there.

Anyone care to talk about the Condor tires? He said it was a Michelin product.
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Michelin makes several types of aircraft tire including the Condor you mentioned and the Aviator I use. See this web page for details.

I used to use Goodyear Flight Custom (although their cheaper Flight Special is also appropriate for our planes) but stopped because like their automotive tires, they are much more expensive than their competition (more for the tire alone than I pay for Michelin Aviator tire plus tube) but I don't find their products to be that much better. However, if you are interested in them see Goodyear's web site.

You can also check Aircraft Spruce for lots of options and prices as well as an application chart so you order the right tire for your plane. That said, I can recommend Desser for prompt service and free shipping on orders over $100 within the 48 continental states.
 
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The condor was backordered so we went with the flight custom since the confirmation was 30 days out and I NEED tires now. It's $127 a tire and $50/hour labor which I thought was fair.

It's in the shop now..
 
Does anyone ever balance their wheels and tires?

Desser sells a balance kit. :dunno:

We didn't do it at our shop on mine.:nonod:
 
Clark1961 said:
Yer in California - the list of things which don't cause cancer there is shorter than the list of things which do.
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And had you noticed that the death rate for stuff that gets into your body like talc, lead-based paint, and all the rest of that stuff is markedly lower than in the rest of the country?

Jim
 
txflyer said:
Does anyone ever balance their wheels and tires?
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As stated earlier in the thread, some motorcycle shops can spin balance an airplane tire. That's what I've always done.

It's been probably six years or so since I last had it done, it's probably time...
 
txflyer said:
Does anyone ever balance their wheels and tires?

Desser sells a balance kit. :dunno:

We didn't do it at our shop on mine.:nonod:
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Not really, only if there is an issue, normally it comes out close enough that for the minimum time they see use at speeds where you notice, it's really not necessary.
 
Having replaced tires on small non-split wheels (wheelbarrow, and my aircraft tug) I can tell you a split rim is MUCH easier.
 
NoHeat said:
Why do they use split rims on airplanes?
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Because according to the best aeronautical minds in the FAA certification division, it's the way the Wright Brothers did it, and if it was good enough for them, by gum, it's good enough for you now. :D


Jim
/
/
 
Tire maintenance is allowed as preventive maintenance, but you are still required to have the correct tools such as a calibrated torque wrench to torque the through bolts. So if you don’t have as torque wrench borrow on from your local mechanic. Changing a tire is not a difficult task to learn, but it must be done correctly per the manual procedures not to pinch a tube or cause other damage. As a mechanic I used to teach the owners I worked with how to perform this task. There may be more to it than you think such as removing the brake calipers to get the tire off the axle and this may involve cutting (defective) safety wire to remove the calipers. For owners that had retractable gear aircraft I always recommend we perform a gear retracting to make sure the new tires would come out of the wheel well. This is an issue for some retreaded tires. You may want depending on the tires allow them to sit 24-hour as they will expand then perform the gear swing.
 
weirdjim said:
Because according to the best aeronautical minds in the FAA certification division, it's the way the Wright Brothers did it, and if it was good enough for them, by gum, it's good enough for you now. :D
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With that mentality we'd be landing on skids. The Wright Brothers weren't big on wheels. Even when they got around to putting wheels on the model E ten years later they weren't split rims, they were not entirely unlike bicycle wheels.
 
Stache said:
Tire maintenance is allowed as preventive maintenance, but you are still required to have the correct tools such as a calibrated torque wrench to torque the through bolts.
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I use a Craftsman model 1019 Laboratory edition, signature series torque wrench. The kind used by Cal Tech High Energy physicists, and NASA engineers. A split second before the torque wrench is applied to the wheel bolts, it is calibrated by top members of the state and federal Departments of Weights and Measures, to be dead-on balls accurate.
 
flyingron said:
I use a Craftsman model 1019 Laboratory edition, signature series torque wrench. The kind used by Cal Tech High Energy physicists, and NASA engineers. A split second before the torque wrench is applied to the wheel bolts, it is calibrated by top members of the state and federal Departments of Weights and Measures, to be dead-on balls accurate.
Click to expand...


My box end wrenches are also calibrated...... One half turn past stripped, then back it off a quarter. :rofl:
 
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