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Tire / tyre replacement strategy

Having read the recent thread on tire replacment problems away from home on a PA46 what is your strategy? I have in the hangar a new nose tire plus tube and the same for the main gear. I also have the Bogert tribal jack which allows jacking up the plane properly. So at home we could replace a tire on our own. I decided to stock both tires as sometimes they have long lead times from the supplier etc.

But taking all this on every trip is a lot of stuff. What is the best way? Simply keep it in the hangar? Only take it along when flying to remote destinations? Maybe only take the tools and the tubes and hope the outer tire will still be good for one more landing in case there is no other way? Or maybe pack it all in a box, store it at home and in case of an emergency call the wife to ship it out express?

www.ing-golze.de
EDAZ

Sebastian_G wrote:

in case of an emergency call the wife to ship it out express?

Well, that wont work for those of us who like to travel with the wife…I keep it in the hangar and in case of need ask the local mechanic to prepare a kit and have it shipped or flown by a friend. I only fly maybe 50 cycles a year and my tires seem to be good for well over 200, so I end up replacing them at around 4 years once they start getting some minor cracks on the tread, but keep the removed ones with plenty of tread remaining for emergencies: never had to use them.

On trips with especially difficult logistics (transatlantic, Svalbard) I took a spare main and nose tire and tube set. It can turn a one week ordeal into a one day fix.

Antonio
LESB, Spain

If operating a Cirrus, these are a very worthwhile addition to the tool bag:

Jack Pad Adapter for Cirrus SR20 and SR22

Last Edited by Pilot-H at 14 Aug 16:15

Pilot-H wrote:

If operating a Cirrus, these are a very worthwhile addition to the tool bag:

Interesting, unfortunately only for the Cirrus. Then the plan would be to carry only the adapter and in case of emergency go to the next hardware store and buy some standard automotive jack.

Regarding the spare tire. Obviously having tube and tire is best but what is the experience with the tire, will it usually last one more landing with just a new tube to escape some remote location? Anybody ever tried to repair a tube like on a bike in some remote location with no other options?

www.ing-golze.de
EDAZ

Some modem cars don’t come with any form of a spare wheel but instead have some form of foam spray that you spay into the wheel as a temporary fix.

Could this be possibly with aircraft tyres?

Tubes might be an issue.

Perhaps cold temperatures aloft might be an issue.

But I suppose the biggest problem is that you don’t know if the tyre has deflated again when you try to land.

EIWT Weston, Ireland

My 2012 Astra has only the foam kit. The last 2 annual services warned it was time-expired. I haven’t replaced it.
I tried one many years ago, when they first appeared. It wasn’t successful. They’ll have improved since then.
But a spare wheel can handle a shredded tyre or a damaged wheel.

Maoraigh
EGPE, United Kingdom

Most TBMs I have seen (I was hangared for 10 years at a TBM service facility) had a spare tyre in the front luggage compartment. Doesn’t the PA46 have a similar compartment?

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

dublinpilot wrote:

foam spray that you spay into the wheel as a temporary fix

There’s a permanent variety for tractor tyres, which sits in the tube like a slug going round and round and sealing any leaks. A farmer friend tried it in his car tyres but the vibration over a certain speed was bad to the point of being dangerous and he had to have it removed.

A 90 second vidéo of how it works:



EGHO-LFQF-KCLW, United Kingdom

“including nanoparticles”

ESKC (Uppsala/Sundbro), Sweden

A used wheel, with a new disc, bearings, hardware would be pretty economical to put together as a spare. You could carry a main and a nose wheel built up ready to go.

A jack adapter, spanners to loosen the caliper, and grips for the wheel nut. You might need screwdrivers for wheel fairings too. A short chain could make the nearest tie-down, work for the nose gear job on a light single. Like all these things you could practice one in the hangar first before doing it in the wild. Some of the other common failures that might also lend themselves to some forward planning:

- Alternator failure
- Voltage regulator failure
- Fuel cap loss
- Alternator belt
- Blocked injector
- Fouled plug
- Flat Battery
- Vac Pump failure

and other such fun events…

Last Edited by WilliamF at 15 Aug 19:01
Buying, Selling, Flying
EISG, Ireland
27 Posts
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