Alaska 29" Bushwheels

[POBO]

Interesting! My new replacement tires arrived today. I had the exact same thing recently happen on one of my tires (31’s). This is the only wear area on either tire, and they have very little asphalt use. This section of the tire doesn’t even touch the ground with 12#, which I run on asphalt, and I’m super gentle with my turns. I haven't bothered to count the number of total landings, or number on asphalt, but primarily used on the dirt. My inclination was that there was some sort of defect, but I didn’t call Alaska Bushwheels to discuss. Now wondering how many other folks have experienced the same issue, and if these tire were produced at the same time?

 

[Gust Kalatzes]

Just looking at the photo, the dark rubber area is witness to the ground contact surface area of the tire. The toe in and camber angles on the Husky gear are not tire friendly so the tire scrubs the surface cleaning/scrubbing the tire as you land, taxi etc. Basically tells you what part of the tire is leaving rubber on the runway/taxiway. My guess would be the fabric showing is on the outside of the tire where it may have wore thin. The rubber area around the exposed fabric has taken the texture of the fabric indicating it’s very thin around the exposed area.

Another observation from the photo is the curved dark wear line by the exposed fabric. Could be a flat spot created from a skid or the tire spooling up while landing or the bulges in the side wall from manufacturing. Also there are scratches in the tire from spool up or dragging. I get those too and just put another $20 in the tire pot when I see them.

My point is, I don’t think it’s the tires fault or anything you are doing wrong, it’s the built in alignment angles of the gear, the big soft rubber tire spooling up, etc. Every time you land the tire skids or try’s to catch up or spool up…zero to ground speed in few seconds or whatever. Soft rubber, big tire does not like that.

One of the reasons I purchased the Alaska Gear is I was told some of the bad tire wearing angles were removed. It was obvious after the gear was installed.

You may also want to check and make sure the brake calipers are free to release the brakes. The gear cover may be hitting the brake caliper or the pins are not lubed and sliding.

It is difficult to answer the question or concern from a photo, not knowing hours, landings, what gear, if that’s the outside of the tire, etc. It could very well be a bad tire but just wanted to share some thoughts.

Best,

 

[bumper]

Pretty sure I posted this before. Have a friend at Minden Tahoe who got tired of wearing out his AKB rubber as he had about 3/4 mile to taxi to get to the runway. One day I see him in the hangar with a gear leg off the round. He's slowly turning the wheel while using a small paint roller to apply truck bed liner (brand Herculiner) to the tire. This was maybe 5 years ago, so I emailed him this evening to ask how it was wearing, or did little black chunks of liner get pitched into his prop while landing. He said it was working just great, excellent wear, and no problems whatsoever.

Don't get much better than that . . . and it if does, we don't deserve it!!

bumper

 

[Michael5789]

The problem isn't the tire. It's the person doing 70 per cent of the landings on pavement. Apply some common sense and don't land on pavement. Goodyear 26s require a tube. I have those tires. You have to keep braking to a minimum or the tire will rotate on the wheel and break off the valve stem. Been there done that twice I believe. I'm more careful now!
I avoid pavement even with the 26s

 

[bumper]

The problem isn't the tire. It's the person doing 70 per cent of the landings on pavement. Apply some common sense and don't land on pavement. Goodyear 26s require a tube. I have those tires. You have to keep braking to a minimum or the tire will rotate on the wheel and break off the valve stem. Been there done that twice I believe. I'm more careful now!
I avoid pavement even with the 26s

Using a straight knurl on a metal lathe will prevent a Goodyear 26 from shearing off a stem . . . brake as hard as you like. Of course it's still a good idea to use a paint marker to apply witness marks.




My hangar is about 3/4 mile from the runway intersection, I imagine there are others with similar distances to taxi on asphalt. I don't care how much common sense one applies, often you just cannot conveniently avoid long taxiing on pavement. Running higher pressure, when you know you aren't gonna be landing in the boonies, helps.

 

[Michael5789]

I doubt that taxiing on pavement is causing tire problems. It's landing on it that give the tire scuff marks and tears.

 

[bumper]

I doubt that taxiing on pavement is causing tire problems. It's landing on it that give the tire scuff marks and tears.

I think you're half right. Just plain taxiing on pavement causes wear due to rubber squirm. The tire contact patch changes shape in relation to a given spot in that contact patch and this forces the rubber to flex while it's in contact with the pavement. In a tire with tread, the phrase "tread squirm" is often used. But on smooth tires, the same thing causes wear. Lower tire pressures makes this much worse. The bald patch worn through to the cord is more likely caused by initial tire contact during landing . . . made far worse if there's any pressure on the brake of course. None the less, that wheel has a lot of mass that must spool up from zero to ??mph in a heartbeat. Land a bit "crossed up" and the friction is worse still.

 

[bumper]

Oh, forgot to add, I think it important to balance the wheels after mounting tires. I use a static balance made for motorcycle tires. If the wheel has a heavy spot, that's going to tend to be at the bottom and thus get more landing wear. Yeah, hopefully it'll "self balance" by scrubbing off rubber on that heavy spot before it gets to the tire cord . . . but, the laws of physics and mother nature usually work against us, so you know that won't happen.

 

[Snowbirdxx]

To all big wheel afficionados: What about installing a Turob wheel like wheel cover instead of the flat wheel covers., It will acellerate the wheel in the air to landing speed RPM. No use on the rubber on touchdown. In cruise flight just lock the parking brake. You will only forget to open it before landing once,,, Happy holidays.

 

[belloypilot]

Would anyone following Thomas’s advice please have their GoPro running the first few landings??

Also, hard surface runways aren’t the best place to practice your STOL skills if you want longevity from those expensive donuts. Gentle wheelies might have a higher contact speed but a lot less initial load on the tire methinks. If I get the slightest sensation of a bounce on pavement I deposit another $100 in the tire replacement fund.

 

[bumper]

To all big wheel afficionados: What about installing a Turob wheel like wheel cover instead of the flat wheel covers., It will acellerate the wheel in the air to landing speed RPM. No use on the rubber on touchdown. In cruise flight just lock the parking brake. You will only forget to open it before landing once,,, Happy holidays.

Ouch! I can seriously relate to waterskiing with parking brakes on as some pundit on-line advised to do - WRONG! . . . Never-Ever, do that, verily I say unto you, for the risk is too great that you and your little plane will be smitten down by the hand of evil and forgetfulness upon your return to terra firma.

 

[Kent Wien]

I’m at 500 hours of time on my Goodyears. Almost all pavement. Seems like I have a few hundred more hours to go based on the indicators on them.

 

[Snowbirdxx]

Bumper, while I was writing this ironic Post, I thought about your locked wheel landing. When I teach in the Husky, final Check includes , step on the brakes, Check for pressure and loose parking Brake.

 

[bumper]

Thomas,

If I'da sent you even $50K for a few hours of your classes, and assuming I absorbed some of those "Husky smarts", I'd have been lots money ahead. I was self-insuring for hull, so it was an expensive lesson indeed. I've mentioned before, that evening, after my rescue, the wife asks, "So what color is the new one going to be?" Yes!! Now I remember why I married her!!

 

[Chris McClure]

I’m at 500 hours of time on my Goodyears. Almost all pavement. Seems like I have a few hundred more hours to go based on the indicators on them.

I had more than 700-800 hours on my original 26" Goodyears, much of it on pavement. They were wearing down to the bottom of the wear dimples, so I bought a new set and mounted them - I do not know of anyone around here (NC) who has not regretted buying the AKB tires because most of our landings around here are on pavement. We do have grass strips here which I use, but I am based on pavement. My Husky had about 80 hours on it when I bought it in 2006, and had the 8.50s on it. I was planning to fly out west and up to AK (which I did), so I found a set of new 26" GY's which I mounted on a second set of wheels. I have been switching them back and forth since I bought them - summers mostly on the GY's and winters mostly on the 8.50s. I now have over 1500 hours on the airframe and engine, and I just replaced the original 8.50s also (they were well worn) with a set of Michelin 8.50s. So far, so good. I still have the old 26s which I am keeping as spares. The trick with the Goodyears, as Bumper noted, is to do something to keep them from slipping and shearing the valve stem. I used rubber cement on the rims, and do not go below 15 psi if I can avoid it. On primarily pavement, I run more like 18-20 psi on the GYs. If I did all my flying off pavement, I suppose I would like AKBs, but they are significantly more expensive than the GYs and they are much softer rubber. The Goodyears are actually tubeless tires, but I do not know of anyone who has used them that way on a Husky,

I did have tailwheel problems when I first bought the Husky (multiple flat tailwheel tires), probably exacerbated by the fact that it was a Scott. The original springs were at the wrong angle as well. I replaced the tire with a 6 ply, and changed out the tailwheel springs with AKB which eliminated the flat tire problems). I then rebuilt the other stuff with AKB parts over the years as the Scott parts broke. The only Scott part left is the fork...

 

[wyopilotwyatt]

I also am a big fan of GY 26” tundra tires. Very long lasting on pavement.

 

[trapper]

I had more than 700-800 hours on my original 26" Goodyears, much of it on pavement. They were wearing down to the bottom of the wear dimples, so I bought a new set and mounted them - I do not know of anyone around here (NC) who has not regretted buying the AKB tires because most of our landings around here are on pavement. We do have grass strips here which I use, but I am based on pavement. My Husky had about 80 hours on it when I bought it in 2006, and had the 8.50s on it. I was planning to fly out west and up to AK (which I did), so I found a set of new 26" GY's which I mounted on a second set of wheels. I have been switching them back and forth since I bought them - summers mostly on the GY's and winters mostly on the 8.50s. I now have over 1500 hours on the airframe and engine, and I just replaced the original 8.50s also (they were well worn) with a set of Michelin 8.50s. So far, so good. I still have the old 26s which I am keeping as spares. The trick with the Goodyears, as Bumper noted, is to do something to keep them from slipping and shearing the valve stem. I used rubber cement on the rims, and do not go below 15 psi if I can avoid it. On primarily pavement, I run more like 18-20 psi on the GYs. If I did all my flying off pavement, I suppose I would like AKBs, but they are significantly more expensive than the GYs and they are much softer rubber. The Goodyears are actually tubeless tires, but I do not know of anyone who has used them that way on a Husky,

I did have tailwheel problems when I first bought the Husky (multiple flat tailwheel tires), probably exacerbated by the fact that it was a Scott. The original springs were at the wrong angle as well. I replaced the tire with a 6 ply, and changed out the tailwheel springs with AKB which eliminated the flat tire problems). I then rebuilt the other stuff with AKB parts over the years as the Scott parts broke. The only Scott part left is the fork...

I

I had more than 700-800 hours on my original 26" Goodyears, much of it on pavement. They were wearing down to the bottom of the wear dimples, so I bought a new set and mounted them - I do not know of anyone around here (NC) who has not regretted buying the AKB tires because most of our landings around here are on pavement. We do have grass strips here which I use, but I am based on pavement. My Husky had about 80 hours on it when I bought it in 2006, and had the 8.50s on it. I was planning to fly out west and up to AK (which I did), so I found a set of new 26" GY's which I mounted on a second set of wheels. I have been switching them back and forth since I bought them - summers mostly on the GY's and winters mostly on the 8.50s. I now have over 1500 hours on the airframe and engine, and I just replaced the original 8.50s also (they were well worn) with a set of Michelin 8.50s. So far, so good. I still have the old 26s which I am keeping as spares. The trick with the Goodyears, as Bumper noted, is to do something to keep them from slipping and shearing the valve stem. I used rubber cement on the rims, and do not go below 15 psi if I can avoid it. On primarily pavement, I run more like 18-20 psi on the GYs. If I did all my flying off pavement, I suppose I would like AKBs, but they are significantly more expensive than the GYs and they are much softer rubber. The Goodyears are actually tubeless tires, but I do not know of anyone who has used them that way on a Husky,

I did have tailwheel problems when I first bought the Husky (multiple flat tailwheel tires), probably exacerbated by the fact that it was a Scott. The original springs were at the wrong angle as well. I replaced the tire with a 6 ply, and changed out the tailwheel springs with AKB which eliminated the flat tire problems). I then rebuilt the other stuff with AKB parts over the years as the Scott parts broke. The only Scott part left is the fork...

I ran my Goodyears at 8 PSI and never had an issue with tire spinning even with aggressive braking, That was the best setting for me. They wear like iron and are the best all around tire,