Sport Pilot Talk

seastar · Joined: 27 Oct 2008 Posts: 63

I attended the Midwest LSA Expo in Mount Vernon, IL last week.
During lunch in the terminal I overheard a conversation about LSA tires.
Without naming specific aircraft it seems that some LSA tires fail with great frequency.
One person called them "wheelbarrow tires".
Have any of you had bad expierence with LSA tires??
Bill

CharlieTango · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 10:58 am Post subject:

wheelbarrow tires and tubes are or were common on slsa.

i upgraded to aircraft tires and only then had a few flats due to the wheelbarrow tubes.

i recommend aircraft tubes as well as tires.

Cub flyer · Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 593

My X air tires dry rotted / cracked within months of purchase. Airplane was always stored inside and the tires were not used for three or four months it was on floats. Tires were indian I believe

Jim Stewart · Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 259

Wheelbarrow tires and tubes is an accurate description. Change both to name-brand aviation products if that's what you have.

Cub flyer · Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 593

Anybody know of a source for 5.00 X 4

PA-11 nose gear is this size

rfane · Joined: 26 Apr 2006 Posts: 214 Location: Sunnyvale, CA

The tires that come on most LSA's are complete garbage. Upgrade to some decent tires and tubes.

Cub flyer wrote: Anybody know of a source for 5.00 X 4

PA-11 nose gear is this size

Desser is probably the best source for aircraft tires.

Here links to the two I found there:

http://shop.desser.com/IW_Products.m4p.pvx?;MULTI_ITEM_SUBMIT

http://shop.desser.com/IW_Products.m4p.pvx?;MULTI_ITEM_SUBMIT

Light Sport Experts com · Joined: 08 Sep 2009 Posts: 2 Location: Florida

Hi Bill- Did you have a chance to check out the Paradise? I know that on the P-1 they use Condor aviation grade serialized tires with an FAA certificate. Tires are manufactured by Michelin. They seem to work well and no problems have been reported.

tadel001 · Joined: 12 Mar 2007 Posts: 251

Don't change the brand of tire or tube without a letter of authorization specific to the aircraf or authority in the manual.

seastar · Joined: 27 Oct 2008 Posts: 63

Light Sport Experts ---
I did check out the Paradise P-1 and was very impressed with the aircraft.
I did not ask about the tires.
Glad to hear they use PMA tires.

Sounds like more LSA's should switch to good tires.
That's a little scary that the tires are failing.
Bill

Cub flyer · Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 593

Actually my X air crashed due to the nose rim flying apart. About 100 hours total time. No damage history or rough landings.

The tire did not fail but the cast aluminum rim did.

I'll check Desser for the PA-11 nose tire.

I've had pretty good luck with McCreary Airhawks on the trainers. The Aero trainers were cheap but square every morning.

If you have an 05 CT look at the nose rim and see if it is spun aluminum. there is a machined aluminum rim replacement available that is much stronger.

jimhazen · Joined: 14 Apr 2007 Posts: 10 Location: Arizona

After my 3rd flat tire with "wheelbarrow" tires on my Allegro, I got a set of Desser 6ply A/C tires and tubes. No problems and vitually no wear after 60 TOs and landings.

Cub flyer · Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 593

6 ply 6.00X6 will support an Aztec.

4 ply should be fine for an LSA.

Cub flyer · Joined: 10 Sep 2006 Posts: 593

I'm going to try some tires from Wilkerson tire and rubber to see how it goes. The 8.00X4 cub tires are really expensive so we'll try retreads.

Will report on how it goes.

Helen · Joined: 23 Apr 2007 Posts: 119 Location: Maryland

We had at least one flat tire per week last year. We upgraded the tires and tubes (after we got an LOA to do so) but that did not solve the problem. When we brought our new mechanic on board this year he correctly diagnosed the problem as chafing of the tube along the rims and solved the problem by significantly increasing the air pressure above what was originally recommended by the manufacturer. I think we've only had one flat all summer this year.

Helen

seaplane_tux · Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:58 am Post subject:

Helen wrote: We had at least one flat tire per week last year. We upgraded the tires and tubes (after we got an LOA to do so) but that did not solve the problem. When we brought our new mechanic on board this year he correctly diagnosed the problem as chafing of the tube along the rims and solved the problem by significantly increasing the air pressure above what was originally recommended by the manufacturer. I think we've only had one flat all summer this year.

Helen

Thanks for the posting, I've been having all kinds of tire problems. I just started over inflating the tires last month and so far have had better results. A little conformation of the theory helps out. I suspected a very similar scenario, except I think it has to do more with the excessive spring gear flexing. Either way the increased pressure is doing the trick.