Have you had a puncture ?

[440032]

Had a flat tyre on landing in my Gunship Mk7 (tailwheel) on sealed runway years ago.

Knew instantly it was a flat tyre - very obvious. Nothing much happened other than a bit of a left pull at the last bit of roll out. Brake did not really help and it was not violent at all.

Aircraft was bloody hard to drag off the runway by myself with a flat tyre and we had to tow (drag it) about 600m back to hangar by car.

I carry a spare tube and enough basic tools to get the wheel off and apart, and a small bike pump. Nothing to jack the plane up, no room for that, would just wing it somehow with some local help.

 

Had a flat tailwheel tyre coming out of the 26 runup bay at Essendon years ago in a Citabria or sumthin. Very obvious again. Staggered it back to base, owner was in the back.

[skippydiesel]

41 minutes ago, 440032 said:

Had a flat tyre on landing in my Gunship Mk7 (tailwheel) on sealed runway years ago.

Knew instantly it was a flat tyre - very obvious. Nothing much happened other than a bit of a left pull at the last bit of roll out. Brake did not really help and it was not violent at all.

Aircraft was bloody hard to drag off the runway by myself with a flat tyre and we had to tow (drag it) about 600m back to hangar by car.

I carry a spare tube and enough basic tools to get the wheel off and apart, and a small bike pump. Nothing to jack the plane up, no room for that, would just wing it somehow with some local help.

 

Had a flat tailwheel tyre coming out of the 26 runup bay at Essendon years ago in a Citabria or sumthin. Very obvious again. Staggered it back to base, owner was in the back.

As soon as the weather stabilises (will it happen like it used to?) I want to start touring in my new Sonex Legacy. Your experince goes some way to reassure me but, if caught with a flat on some isolated strip (wee stop or similar) I would still like to be able do a quick repair, so that I could make it to a more hospitable location, with possible help, shelter & additional equipment if required.

I have always been suspicious of "mechanics in a bottle" but if this emergency tyre repair gets me to where I want to go, it will be well worth crippling cost😎

[JG3]

A spare tube or patch kits are useless without an adequate jack to get the wheel off. Not always easy to find a good jacking point on aircraft landing gear. Been there and caught out that way.... I've found that the pressurized magic bottles are the best way to go. Got me out of trouble once and helped a couple of others.

[skippydiesel]

43 minutes ago, JG3 said:

A spare tube or patch kits are useless without an adequate jack to get the wheel off. Not always easy to find a good jacking point on aircraft landing gear. Been there and caught out that way.... I've found that the pressurized magic bottles are the best way to go. Got me out of trouble once and helped a couple of others.

Thanks for that JG3

 

Wait a minute --- JG 3 ---any relation to P3?????😈

 

Could this be a plot??? Who/ Me? Paranoid??????

Edited June 6 by skippydiesel

[spacesailor]

There is a small ' half circle ' alloy jack , suitable for our light planes .

Jamb it under the Axel of that flat tyre, roll a little & the wheel comes up off the ground , perfect. 

spacesailor

[skippydiesel]

1 hour ago, spacesailor said:

There is a small ' half circle ' alloy jack , suitable for our light planes .

Jamb it under the Axel of that flat tyre, roll a little & the wheel comes up off the ground , perfect. 

spacesailor

Peter Anson makes a beauty at a very reasonable price

[JG3]

Yes, I know those jacks, made one myself. I've seen them demonstrated by lifting an already inflated tyre, easy. I've yet to see one that can easily lift from a completely flat situation. The much larger angles and extra amount of lift needed don't work so easily. Ask to see one tested from dead flat, on a dirt surface.....

[skippydiesel]

The Peter Anson Jack - http://www.ansoneng.com/lightweight-screw-jack/

 

I had to fabricate an adapter for my Sonex wheel axle, for the jack "saddle" to lift against but otherwise have found this little jack to be "the ants pants"

[Freizeitpilot]

On 3/6/2024 at 11:18 AM, skippydiesel said:

MOTUL 

 

Looking for informed recommendations??????

 

Motul tyre repair  seems to come comes in pack size 300, 400 & 500 ml  ($20-$30).

 

Then there are the competitors eg IPON, Michelin, Holts, SCA, Valvoline  - starting as low as $10.

 

My aircraft has 5.00-5 tyres.

 

 

I’ll just revive this thread for a moment…..

 

By chance I was in an auto parts store on the w/e and looked at a pressure pack can of SCA tyre repair stuff retailing for $7.  I noted the contents were up to 60% Butane, and it came with a warning to not expose the can to temps greater than 50C.  
 

In the aviation world, that’s interesting.  Am I too paranoid ?

[spacesailor]

I have carried one for years . off-roading , it was never used , as when the tyre was flat , it usually had a bigger hole than could be fixed without a ' patch ' inside the tyre

Two punctures on the " silver city hwy  " .

I also carried a bigger none pressurised 

Plastic-bottle of " green slime " which has suddenly ( after many years  ) split while sitting on a shelf . ( it's OK for ' bindii  type leaks ) .

spacesailor

 

[skippydiesel]

Was in my favorite mower/chainsaw shop the other day. They sell & use the slime type products.

 

Topic of slime/pressure packs came up - they said it does not work very well on inner tubes (as opposed to tubeless). They didnt know why but speculated that it somehow does not adhere as well to the tube material.

 

My aircraft tyres are tubed - I carry both green slime, pressure pack and a motorcycle patch repair kit. Contemplating ditching the slime/pressure pack and carrying a spare tube instead.

 

What thinks the Forum???

[facthunter]

Inner tubes often TEAR. so  sealant is not likely to work. You must also be able to Jack the wheel up safely. .    Nev

[spacesailor]

I agree .

if  you have split rims . Terrible having a hole in the new tube , after ' pinching ' the tube with the tyre levers .  LoL . been there done that .

spacesailor

[onetrack]

Avoid using tyre levers with tubed tyres. A bit of lube and a rubber hammer will generally suffice to install tube-type tyres.

[Freizeitpilot]

 But no one really cares about carrying a pressurised highly flammable product in their aircraft……?

[facthunter]

Some would.   Nev

[onetrack]

38 minutes ago, Freizeitpilot said:

 But no one really cares about carrying a pressurised highly flammable product in their aircraft……?

And in a can constructed to the cheapest manufacturing standards? I've seen pressurised cans explode in a car in Summer heat, that'd be disastrous in an aircraft. The can lid is merely crimped on, over a raised lip.

[Blueadventures]

7 minutes ago, Moneybox said:

I thought these tyre sealing products would only work with tubeless tyres? One landing on a flat tyre would almost certainly destroy the tube if not the tyre as well.

I’ve tried Slime on the quad bike and it just oozed green slime from the tiny hole and never worked at all. I’ll never buy that again. I did purchase a pressure pack one (I don’t know which brand) for Mrs M to carry in her quad but it has tubeless tyres. I carry a repair kit and a tiny electric compressor on my quad. For the Sportstar I’ll be buying a good brand of tyre. My trainer said he only uses Goodyear because they are more reliable and cheaper in the long run however this is on an aircraft that dose hundreds of touch-and-go landings every month.

The product I mentioned earlier in the thread works a friend has used it twice on his Nynja and he gets those big thorns on the grass strip at his club is SA.  So it does work for tubed tyres and I'd expect tubeless as well. I also carry spare tubes and a repair kit but if have hubs apart will always fit a new tube.  Mine are split half rims.

Edited August 19 by Blueadventures

[spacesailor]

I was told eons ago ,

That the thorns( in tyres ) can be sealed with the slime as it can hold that thorn in place. 

spacesailor

 

[Blueadventures]

23 minutes ago, spacesailor said:

I was told eons ago ,

That the thorns( in tyres ) can be sealed with the slime as it can hold that thorn in place. 

spacesailor

 

Slime seems to mainly work on tyres in constant revolution like cars, aircraft tyres only rotate on takeoff and landing and the slime will have them out of balance a bit I'm told. 

[facthunter]

It's said we all came out of the Primaeval slime. I've had motorcycle tyres deflate with those "fixes" and I know at one stage they were made illegal.. NOT inclined to go for them and if the Plane is so light and slow that I'd risk it I would just as likely stuff it with compacted dry grass..The only Light aircraft flat I've had is with the tailwheel.  Nev

[skippydiesel]

14 hours ago, Blueadventures said:

Slime seems to mainly work on tyres in constant revolution like cars, aircraft tyres only rotate on takeoff and landing and the slime will have them out of balance a bit I'm told. 

No experince using "slime" in anything larger/faster turning than a mower tyre - it worked well.

 

I share your out of balance concern  BUT am more concerned that the temporary fix would get me off the ground, only to later land with a flat- could be nasty/expensive!😈

[facthunter]

Could be one of the Holes in the swiss cheese that makes accidents. You are taking a KNOWN problem in to the air where there can be plenty of unknown problems already. Careful pilots make OLDER bones.  Nev