Flat tyres

[rhtrudder]

Airstrip has now got bindies on it , continue to spray but I reckon they will beat me can't quite get rid of them thought of torching the plants to maybe fry the seeds, now plagued with flats , has anyone had any success with the goo you can put in the tubes ,for some reason I have some doubts. Greg

 

 

[cscotthendry]

Would you be willing to tell us where your airstrip is so we can avoid it?

 

 

[rhtrudder]

Can't do , much prefer to share my disasters with anyone

 

 

[onetrack]

What are we talking about specifically, when you say "bindies"? Local slang varies enormously, and plant seeds with spikes abound throughout Australia.

 

Here on the Left Coast, "bindies", also known as "jo-jo", is a nasty little weed that puts out horrendous numbers of little seeds, all with a tiny sharp spike on them. They hurt when lodged in bare feet, but they don't affect tyres.

 

In the W.A. wheatbelt, in the red dirt country, "Double Gees" (known as 3-cornered Jack in other states - botanical name, Emex australis) is a curse and in serious quantities, and will damage thin tyres.

 

In the rest of W.A., Calthrop (also known as Goathead in other states - botanical name, Tribulus terrestris) is the greatest curse ever, with a spikey seed that breaks up into multiple sections, that spread everywhere. They are a curse to thin tyres.

 

I note that Calthrop is also referred to as Bindii in numerous internet references. Calthrop used to be confined to the Goldfields and interior of W.A. - but it is now widespread throughout W.A.

 

When I was a kid, (over 60 yrs ago now) we could buy "Dunlop Thornproof tyres" for our bikes. The tread and carcass was heavily reinforced to prevent thorn punctures, and they were very effective, although costly.

 

Not sure what would be available by way of heavier-duty aircraft tyres today - but I would be concerned about using "run-flat" products in RA aircraft tyres, due to the fact that it makes changing tyres a very messy business, the liquid can make the tyre unbalanced at takeoff speeds, and the product is probably not certified for aviation use.

 

I've had some good success in controlling areas of Calthrop infestation by attaching sizeable pieces of thick styrofoam (from packaging) to the feet and walking over the affected area. It wasn't a large area, of course. Good job to keep the kids occupied!

 

Follow-up involved intense scrutiny of the area watching for fresh green plants, and then spraying them with Roundup before they could set seed (which is only a couple of weeks after sprouting!).

 

Cheers ....

 

 

[turboplanner]

So, you could strap a pair of styro Eskies on and walk all over the strip, or you could get someone to come in with a boom spray and roundup the whole strip area a few times.

 

 

[onetrack]

A set of Tweels could be the answer??

 

 

[rhtrudder]

I have got all the spraying gear and have done that , we own a farm , only takes a rain and they reappear, up until a couple of years ago I had never come across them but one of my boys goes away ag contracting and I reckon he carted them back , small spiky burs that stick in rubber, yellow flowers , getting good at fixing flats ,after they have dried up the seed pods are still sharp

 

 

[turboplanner]

In the process of harvesting clover seed a side delivery broom, a bit like a street sweeper is used. A cylinder of bristles rotates at an angle and the clover pods are moved down the angle to form a row which is picked up by another machine.

 

They are rare so would be difficult to buy, but it wouldn't take much to make up a 3PL frame and PTO drive the broom.

 

You could then sweep the strip before you wanted to fly, and that may be enough for the season.

 

 

[onetrack]

Yep, ag contractors are notorious for spreading weeds and seeds. Knew a farmer who had a big patch of double-gees, and he was intent on eliminating them from his farm and stopping them from spreading.

 

He had tin cans nailed to the gate posts at every gate into the paddocks - and if you drove into and out of the paddock, you had to stop and pick your tyres clean, and place the double-gees in the cans, before you left the paddock.

 

It was good thinking on one angle - but the problems are, that double-gee seeds have been proven to be able to germinate after being buried for more than 50 yrs - and the tyre-picking doesn't stop the weed seeds being transported into the paddock via strong winds.

 

It's a shame that all the airless tyre ideas have no high-speed ability. However, Hankooks iFlex might be starting to come close, it's been tested at 81mph.

 

 

[cscotthendry]

I note that Calthrop is also referred to as Bindii in numerous internet references. Calthrop used to be confined to the Goldfields and interior of W.A. - but it is now widespread throughout W.A.

When I was a kid, (over 60 yrs ago now) we could buy "Dunlop Thornproof tyres" for our bikes. The tread and carcass was heavily reinforced to prevent thorn punctures, and they were very effective, although costly.

 

Not sure what would be available by way of heavier-duty aircraft tyres today - but I would be concerned about using "run-flat" products in RA aircraft tyres, due to the fact that it makes changing tyres a very messy business, the liquid can make the tyre unbalanced at takeoff speeds, and the product is probably not certified for aviation use.

 

Cheers ....

Apparently there is a brand of tyre (supplier actually advertises on this site I think) that I'm told is resistant to the calthrop. They are heavy but strong.

As for runflats, the only kind I know of, don't contain any liquid. They have low profile sidewalls that are heavily stiffened internally. We've had two cars with them and I hate them for road use. They are rough riding, noisy and because they contain so little air when properly inflated, very critical for pressure. I'm not aware of any runflats available for aircraft.

 

 

[rhtrudder]

The tyres on my plane are a weird size very small because of the retracts, has anyone had any success with the goo

 

 

[Russ]

"Goo" in small diam tyres does not work......at high rpm, things go pearshaped. ( i've tried it )

 

leather inserts..........don't work.

 

Trelleborg 10 ply tyres......so far good. ( jab size )

 

 

[rhtrudder]

Does it send it out of balance

 

 

[M61A1]

What size are your tyres?

 

 

[gandalph]

"Goo" in small diam tyres does not work......at high rpm, things go pearshaped. ( i've tried it )leather inserts..........don't work.

Trelleborg 10 ply tyres......so far good. ( jab size )

That's disappointing Russ, The True Blue Goo seller at the Murrumbateman Field day assured me that it had been "tried and tested in ultralight aircraft tyres and worked perfectly". (his words - not mine) He also claimed that it was the only Goo insert approved by RAA for use in U/L aircraft tyres.

However, that was a salesman talking, and user experience outranks sales talk every time.

 

I had planned to buy a bottle and build a test rig using one of my old barrow wheels fitted with a tyre and tube made, it would seem, from cheese, to test its efficacy and see what out of balance problems might appear. I have a mate who enjoys building Heath Robinson devices, so I might still go ahead with that idea and report back.

 

 

[Russ]

To be fair........the brand i used ( can't remember ).......i went exactly as per instructions, and at high revs wheels became out of balance, quite badly actually.

 

Maybe.....a smaller amount might be the go ???? . After 3...4 flats, in 8 mths, i bit the bullet and fitted 10 ply tyres. Zero flats since.

 

( btw... wheel barrow tyre is bigger than jab tyre.......just sayin )

 

 

[rhtrudder]

4.00 *4 8 ply not a lot of rubber where the tread is , they don't last very long and I land mostly on grass ( and bindies ) I think the trouble with the goo is you cant patch them which would be messy when away from home

 

 

[gandalph]

Yep, wheel barrow wheels are bigger but I have some smaller barrows - like railway porters trolleys - and their tyre diameter is close-ish. Should be near enough to get an idea. It's more socially responsible to use that, rather than go and nick someone's Jab wheel. I know if I take a wheel off our Jab, my co-owner will get tetchy with me.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

My sympathies, Greg. I've spent thirty-odd years eradicating weeds from my place- until recently without chemicals. Caltrop is one of the few which survived so I started using a broadleaf herbicide. Very effective, but I have to walk the place after rains to spot spray the few survivors which grow from old bindis. Persistence pays off.

 

I have long used preseal (slime) with good results on bikes. I've used it in my aircraft tyres for a ten years without problems.

 

 

[rhtrudder]

Think I might have to go with the slime ,

 

My sympathies, Greg. I've spent thirty-odd years eradicating weeds my place- until recently without chemicals. Caltrop is one of the few which survived so I started using a broadleaf herbicide. Very effective, but I have to walk the place after rains to spot spray the few survivors which grow from old bindis. Persistence pays off.I have long used preseal (slime) with good results on bikes. I've used it in my aircraft tyres for a ten years without problems.

Slime it is then , looks like I'm stuck with them.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

I like Russ tried a green goo that had chopped up something added for my 230 and it was a disaster in that our tyres don't spend much time spinning. Constant spinning spreads the goo across the entire tyre. In a car you get to high sped by transitioning through slow speed...in a plane you go from zero and horrifically out of balance to flat out in about a meter......I thought the undercarriage and wheels might nearly have torn off the first time I used it..... 10 ply stops the ones that have about 8 to 10mm barbed thorns on the body that breaks up into individual seeds in SA.... I was told they were caltrop.... Not sure if that is what they were low ground hugging plants with small yellow flowers.....hell on feet and standard jab tyres

 

 

[rhtrudder]

I like Russ tried a green goo that had chopped up something added for my 230 and it was a disaster in that our tyres don't spend much time spinning. Constant spinning spreads the goo across the entire tyre. In a car you get to high sped by transitioning through slow speed...in a plane you go from zero and horrifically out of balance to flat out in about a meter......I thought the undercarriage and wheels might nearly have torn off the first time I used it..... 10 ply stops the ones that have about 8 to 10mm barbed thorns on the body that breaks up into individual seeds in SA.... I was told they were caltrop.... Not sure if that is what they were low ground hugging plants with small yellow flowers.....hell on feet and standard jab tyres

I think we are talking about the same weed, see barbs stuck in ag tyres all the time, got no hope of clearing it up , I reckon they could germinate on concrete. there is probably no way to stop the out of balance now that you have pointed out the speed differences , thinking back I thought we tried it in a savannah and it shook the shit out of the airframe and never really improved

 

 

[jetjr]

Other methods include using second tube, just cut inner part away and use outer as sleeve inside tyre

 

Thicker tyres 10 ply as said

 

Make sure tyres are pretty new

 

Slime and such is a worry, its landing when youll have trouble

 

Kamba M is a good selective herbicide for them, have to get when little. Roundup kills almost every thing and the catheads are better at reinfesting than anything else so it can make worse.

 

 

[Old Koreelah]

There are parallels with measles and whooping cough; the anti-vaccination crowd ensure we'll never eradicate the damned disease. Lots of landholders do nothing to control cat heads, so individual efforts to fight the plague are like pushing the proverbial uphill with a pointed stick.

 

 

[rhtrudder]

Other methods include using second tube, just cut inner part away and use outer as sleeve inside tyreThicker tyres 10 ply as said

Make sure tyres are pretty new

 

Slime and such is a worry, its landing when youll have trouble

 

Kamba M is a good selective herbicide for them, have to get when little. Roundup kills almost every thing and the catheads are better at reinfesting than anything else so it can make worse.

Using a spray that is supposed to kill the seed mixed with roundup but I think I will have to did the plants out and burn them