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Flat Tire on Takeoff

striker

Member
I experienced a flat tire this past Saturday on takeoff and thought I would share the experience so others might benefit.

I was in takeoff mode and about to let the nose rotate (RV6A) when I heard a pop and got an immediate thumping sound. I was able to shut down the engine quickly and coast about 20 yards or so and after jumping out I could quickly see the problem- the nose wheel flat as could be.

As I was standing there looking at the plane on the centerline I realized there was quick work to be done- removal of the plane and what to do about incoming traffic.

A quick call on the GNS430 alerted all traffic to the situation and the first pilot that responded made a decision to switch the active runway for himself and others- good decisive call by that pilot.

The moving of the plane was a bigger issue in that I could not see anyone around the airport and since it was not my homebase I had no tools, friends etc to ask for help. I did have a Phillips on board in an emercency kit so the wheel pants were off in a jiffy. Next I walked to some hangers and found a trash can that was on a dolly with 2 welded supports in the middle and 4 caster wheels.

I was worried the rim/tire might not stay in place so I solved that by finding a piece of plywood in the trash bin that just fit on the dolly- things were looking up. Also found some old rope which would help in tying down the wheel.

As I was walking to the plane with the dolly an individual offered to help with his pickup. After the nose wheel was centered on the plywood I sat on the back of the truck and held on to the prop for the slow ride back to the hangers.

New tire and tube will be ordered Monday AM from Vans and I will fly the plane out sometime later in the week. I am most thankful this did not happen after takeoff- the thought of landing at my home airport ( towered ) w/o the nose wheel working would have been a real test of my flight skills and a big headache for KLZU.

BTW- the nose wheel looked great on the preflight inspection.


Pete Joslin
 
Good Job!

Good job in keeping everything in one piece, and working through the problem Pete!

Any clue yet what caused the tire to go flat? When I had a flat main that was cut by the edge of the wheel pant, the slice was so razor-thin that I couldn't see it until I flexed the sidewall.

Paul
 
Pete, glad everything worked out.

If yours is typical, the leak is on the sidewall of the tube. Something about the way the crappy tire flexes causes the tubes to be chewed along the sidewall. We should all bug the various tire manufacturers into making a decent nosewheel innertube, and tire for that matter. If they hear from enough of us, they may design one.

Until that time, the innertubes on nosewheels should be changed every year or so, depending on miles. Additionally, flying without a spare innertube or two on board is asking for trouble, as they are not available anywhere.

I had three flat tires in the first three years with my nosewheel. Using copious amounts of baby powder and keeping the pressure towards the high end would seem to help. Writing this motivates me to change mine again.

An interesting statistic would be to see how many tubes Van has sold relative to flying A models.
 
Flat Tire

Thanks for the input. The front tire/tube are 2 years old right now and I had planned to change this April at annual. Now I will change all tires/tubes at the annual inspection regardless of condition. After my experience I just don't think it is worth taking a chance.

I will also report on the failure point when I find it this week.

Pete Joslin
RV6A 103.8 hours
 
Tire and tube

IMHO, I would buy an air-stop tube and a quality tire for the replacement. A good tube makes a difference.
 
Replacing Tire and Tube

FWIW:
I just replaced my RV7 "eh" nosewheel tire and tube after 265 hrs and 590 landings since 9/11/05. The original tire was a " Chen Shin " (sp?) or something like that. Anyhow the new tire is marked " Aero Classic" ( also made in china).
The new tire is just a tad bit smaller than the original and as a result it is more of a bear than normal to get the wheel halves in place.
As mentioned, a liberal amount of talc, plus inflate and deflate the tube several times.

To avoid pinching the tube, the archives suggested clamping the tire and squeezing it onto one half the wheel, However due to this new tire being slightly smaller that was nigh impossible. I had to jury rig a threaded rod and homemade large washers to pull the wheel halves together just enough to get one thread started on each wheel bolt. Then used an inspection mirror and "popsicle" stick to insure the tube was not pinched before tightening down the wheel bolts.
YMMV.
Regards,
Bernie Ockuly (L.G.I.T.W.)
N914E
Strongsville, Ohio
 
I am yet to be convinced that the RV nose wheel tire is all that bad. I am guessing there are a lot of RVs out there that have got excellent service from this tire. I presume that the tire Vans supplies is the new version of the old ?Lamb? brand. This has been the recommended tyre for the mains on the LongEze/Vari-Eze for many years and to the best of my knowledge has given excellent service. The tires are mounted on Cleveland wheels on the LongEze/Vari-Eze and maybe this combination is more compatible than with the nose wheel used on the RVs? The Ezes also run them at much higher pressure (between 60 to 80 psi from memory) which would give less flexing of the sidewall. These tyres are available in 6 and 8 ply. The ones I got with my 9A kit are 8 ply. Maybe Vans supplied 6 ply tires in the past which are likely to be more easily damaged??
It seems that flexing of the sidewalls on the RV nose tire could be a problem. Does anyone have any experience/comments running these tires at a higher pressure than Vans recommends? The tires themselves are rated at 94 psi max.
Fin
9A. Nearly finished (wishful thinking)
Vari-Eze
 
data point for nosewheel flat

One nosewheel flat due to a large Russian Olive tree thorn. Temporarily fixed with Slime and a foot pump(both of which now reside in the forward baggage--thus countering Murphy's Law), replaced tube after returning home. Like most, I run my nosewheel pressure at about 35psi. It has been said that higher pressures lead to shimmey. Don't know if this is fact because I'm too chicken to find out. My nosewheel has seen a bit of dirt, gravel, and grass in 633 hours. Light front end with Catto prop/parallel valve O-360/Odyssey battery might be easier on the tire?
 
I received my -7A finish kit a couple of weeks ago and thought it was a little curious that Van included two nose wheel inner tubes. I guess it is because they develop leaks.

Steve Eberhart
RV-7A, just mounted the tail. Now on to the sliding canopy.
 
flat tire on landing

This thread prompts me to tell my story.
A few months ago I flew a friend to MO to look at an RV for sale. This was a paved runway and when we left all tires were up.
We flew to another stop in MO and landed on a grass strip. When i let the nose down I new I had a flat and i was praying that the gear leg did not dig in and flip us over. We got the tire off and the tube out and could not find any obvious reason for the flat except a hole in the tube. Shin tube, hole in the side wall not far from the stem. The tube was about three years old and it looked like it just decided to give up. Ok put a bicycle patch on the tube and made it home. Bought a new shin tube put it in. A few days later it was flat. Now I looked this tire over with a fine tooth comb. There is No reason for this tub to be flat. The hole looked like it had been stuck with a pin. The hole in this tube was in the same area as the other hole. Now that would make you think there was a problem with the tire. I put a patch on this pin hole and put it back together. The nest day it was flat again. Another pin hole right beside the patch. I bought another shin tube and started to put it in. wait a minute if there is a problem with this tire I'm just going to mess up another tube. I put the three year old tube with the patch on it back in and it has been good since. If I can find an american made 11-4 tube, I will not buy anymore shin tubes.
 
newtech said:
I received my -7A finish kit a couple of weeks ago and thought it was a little curious that Van included two nose wheel inner tubes. I guess it is because they develop leaks.

Steve Eberhart
RV-7A, just mounted the tail. Now on to the sliding canopy.
Van thinks you are going to pinch the first tube before you learn how to do it right. I wonder how I know this.
 
casper said:
Van thinks you are going to pinch the first tube before you learn how to do it right. I wonder how I know this.
If you know this just disregard. But it might help some new builder. when you install the nose tube if you have one, put enough air in the tube to make it smooth walled. After its in the tire. powder it and bolt it up, it won't pinch. You can squeeze it together with a couple of bench dog clamps enough to put the bolts in Works for me.
 
newtech said:
I received my -7A finish kit a couple of weeks ago and thought it was a little curious that Van included two nose wheel inner tubes. I guess it is because they develop leaks.

I have never seen a tire or tube that wouldn't develop a leak... under the right (wrong?) circumstances.

The second tube is supplied so that you have a spare to carry in case you get a flat. You can buy a replacement tube or tire for your main wheels at any FBO in the country. Ask for tire or tube the size of your nose tire and they will give you that classic "your one of the nut case homebuilder guys aren't you" look.

This of course doesn't apply to RV-10 owners. All for there tires are real airplane parts ;) .
 
Finley Atherton said:
I am yet to be convinced that the RV nose wheel tire is all that bad. SNIP These tyres are available in 6 and 8 ply. The ones I got with my 9A kit are 8 ply. Maybe Vans supplied 6 ply tires in the past which are likely to be more easily damaged??
It seems that flexing of the sidewalls on the RV nose tire could be a problem. Does anyone have any experience/comments running these tires at a higher pressure than Vans recommends? The tires themselves are rated at 94 psi max.
Fin
9A. Nearly finished (wishful thinking)
Vari-Eze

Fin, are you saying that the NOSEWHEEL tire is available in 8 ply? Exactly where can one find the 11X4.00-5 that is different from the one LAMB tire listed in Van's accessories?

Generally, people have some trouble with shimmy if the nosewheel pressure is too high.
 
Ironflight said:
Any clue yet what caused the tire to go flat? When I had a flat main that was cut by the edge of the wheel pant, the slice was so razor-thin that I couldn't see it until I flexed the sidewall.

Paul


I had a flat while taxiing out to the runway a couple of months ago.
I have to confess, my tire was probably a bit on the low side. I braked and it went flat immediately. I suspect it clipped the side of the wheel pant. There was a small cut along the sidewall.
The fbo at KBKV, where I'm based, charged me $100 for the tow back to my hangar. Nice folks. I thought it was a courtesy. I now carry a spare tube. Next time I'll use a dolly system to handle the tow back.
 
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AlexPeterson said:
Fin, are you saying that the NOSEWHEEL tire is available in 8 ply? Exactly where can one find the 11X4.00-5 that is different from the one LAMB tire listed in Van's accessories?

Generally, people have some trouble with shimmy if the nosewheel pressure is too high.

Aircraft Spruce P/N 06-07500 is the 8 ply 11.4x5 tire. As I said, my 9A kit came with the 8 ply tire so I presume this is what Vans supplies??

Fin
 
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King of Flats

I purchased a 6A this summer and, after flying from Indiana back to Arizona, I got a nosewheel flat after my first landing back at home (it happened just as I was turning off the active). A few weeks later I got another flat on right tire while on the taxiway. And, then a month after that the third tire went flat as I was taxing to the active. When I finally got in touch with the original owner he said that he couldn't remember the last time he changed the tubes and suspected they were very old. I'm sure the age, along with the high temps in Arizona, caused all them to rot and crack. All of the holes were along the sidewall (one was completely blown out). Luckily, the second flat was at an EAA fly-in and the third flat was at the AOPA Expo in PSP so I had immediate access to tubes and assistance. You can bet that I'll be changing my tubes regularly for now on!
 
Tire Ply?

What are the recommendations for ply ratings on tires? I went to order new Shin 11x4x5 tires at Wicks and find the 8 ply are only a couple dollars more than the 6 ply! I've heard 8 ply is overkill but then what are the drawbacks to that? :confused:
Does anyone have experience with very very slow leaks that don't show up in the valve? I'm guessing a new tube is in order just to be sure. I do have a can of Slime but am afraid it may mask something that will jump out and bite at the wrong time, like on landing....
Would appreciate, as always, the input from experienced flyers out there.
Thank you,
Dave
 
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