No flat tailwheel tires

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Larry Mayer

Member
I have discovered a solid "Made in the USA" tire that fits the standard Scott wheel and I will begin marketing them soon. I have tested them in the Montana and Idaho back country, on pavement and on various aircraft. They are made for industrial use and are nearly indestructible. The weight is 2.2 pounds. They will initially be offered for experimental use but the Type Certificate for aircraft tires has the following exclusion.

"514.67 Aircraft tires TSO C62 a Applicability 1 Minimum performance standards Minimum performance standards are hereby established for aircraft tires EXCLUDING TAILWHEEL tires."

They will be offered for sale for $65 and I will pay shipping in the U.S.
They may be the last tailwheel you will buy and I have them is stock now.
I just don't have a website and store set up yet.
Larry Mayer
pictures@larrymayer.com
406-672-6707

The first picture shows a 200 pound friend standing on one.
 

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johnaz

Active Member
Can you give us the actual sizes/dimensions so we can compare to the Bushwheel?
Sounds nice, but need exact info to review. Will it fit ok on Bushwheel fork?
 
bumper

bumper

Well-Known Member
Not meaning to dis something I haven't yet tried, but I have some reservations. The picture of someone standing on the tire carcass with no wheel is impressive in that is shows the tire is strong - okay. But is also shows no deflection under significant weight. What that means to me, at least for off field work, is the likelihood of poor shock absorption over irregular surfaces compared to pneumatic tires.

When John Dunlop invented the first "practical" pneumatic tire back in 1888, it brought with it the "dammit I gotta flat tire". But the advantages where pretty much overwhelming enough to put up with the bother. The pneumatic tread flexes to absorb small bumps and irregular surfaces and it's lighter than solid tires. Those characteristics make for lower rolling resistance and smoother operation - um, along with the risk of flats.

One of the beauties of the wider "Baby Bushwheel" (or the pneumatic tire that Desser sells that works on the rim w/BBW spacer instead*), is flotation. If you've ever tried moving the Husky in loose sand or gravel, the BBW is your friend - - and even then it still ain't always easy to pull the tail out of the soft stuff due to the considerable weight on the tail of the dog. That's the reason I carry, along with spare tubes, a 10' length of rope with a wood "T" handle on one end. Tie that to the tail spring and you can put your back into it to save the day (maybe).

Here's a link to a previous post re the Desser tire that fits the wide BBW fork (much better wear characteristics on asphalt than the real BBW) and is conveniently covered by the BBW STC.

http://flyhusky.com/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=1636&postcount=8

And from Desser's site:

http://www.desser.com/store/quicksearch.php?type=tire&size=400-4&ply=
 
L

Larry Mayer

Member
The tires are just a little wider than a standard tailwheel tire so they fit the stock Scott fork. With weight on the they appear to deflect about like a stock tire with 60 pounds of air. My tests included airplanes up to 2600 lbs gross weight.
Bumper, send me your address and I will ship one out for you to experiment with.
 

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bumper

bumper

Well-Known Member
Larry,

That's a kind offer and appreciated, but I'll have to decline as I'm using the wider Baby Bushwheel fork with the Desser Aero Classic 800 x 4 tire, so your current tire size won't fit.

In my application the beads of the tire are forced out when inflated so they mate with the wheel halves with the BBW spacer between them. This gives essentially the same wider profile flotation footprint as with the BBW tire, but without the high tread squirm wear rate when operating on pavement.
 
Paul Collins

Paul Collins

Active Member
I have been using this solid tire for about 15 hours in the Idaho backcountry and it works great! I can imagine a wider tire in sand is better, but around here this seems to be superb. Very happy indeed.
Paul Collins
N337DP
 
Ray Etcheverry

Ray Etcheverry

Member
After having a flat at "reds ranch" in Oregon last week we ordered two. two days later they arrived fedex. They look great, going to install on Pacer and Husky.
 
Tommy2

Tommy2

Member
For the guys in AK , do you feel the larger fork and tire from BW is nessary or is the standard ok for off field ops? Thanks
 
M

Meadowlark

Well-Known Member
I'm not in Alaska. But, I had a very large tailwheel tire once upon a time. The reasoning at that time was that the little Scott tailwheel tires are crap..... And they still are. I can't even tell you how many tires I lost on Huskys before I found......

Larry Mayer's solid tire is the answer.

J/C GTF
 
N

n125hu

Member
If you want to keep using your "little" Scott, remove tire AND wheel and take it to an industrial tire repair shop and have it filled with foam. Leave the tube in the tire. This will allow some "give" instead of just hard rubber. We have done it on the old Caterpillar Challenger tractors that used pneumatic tires for idler belt(track) tensioners. No leaks, just keep on farming. It has never seemed to deteriorate either. The price is good as well. Joe
 
bumper

bumper

Well-Known Member
The real reason for using the either the Baby Bushwheel (or the AeroClassic tire and tube for the same wide forks) is for both floatation and shock absorbing. If you've ever landed in soft sand or loose gravel, the regular size Scott tailwheel can be an anchor if you are trying to turn the plane by hand. 'Course you can get in, throttle up to lift and turn - and sandblast the prop and the plane.

The wider back tire has serious advantages . . . and a bit more drag. I carry a spare tube, but have never needed it.
 
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