Tundra wheels

[Ben2k9]

Do tundra wheels have any impact on the speed capability of a CTLS?

[Tip]

 I’ve had two CTLSs with tundras and I would say, yes. Maybe 3 knots. I think that it’s worth it though, I got 950 hours on the original AirTrac tires. Sorry for all that’s happen to Tune and the Nashville area.

[FlyingMonkey]

FWIW, I have the non-tundra wheels and have landed on a lot of grass strips, some of them pretty rough and/or with fairly tall grass.  I'm sure the Tundra wheels would have been better, but the standard wheels have been perfectly adequate.  Don't think that you need the tundra kit to land on grass or rough-ish strips. 

On the other hand, my standard wheels had *terrible* alignment from the factory.  I would wear out six ply tires in 30 hours, and eight ply tires in 45-50 hours.  After some extensive measurement and very aggressive custom wheel shimming (IIRC 3° camber change and 5° total toe in change, which is HUGE), my wheels now track 100% true and six ply tires last me several hundred hours.  Hopefully the tundra gear factory settings are better!

I don't think you'll go wrong with either gear type, I wouldn't let that be the determining factor if I was looking at used CTs.  The speed difference might be noticeable with two CTs flying side-by-side, but in terms of real world travel times over distance you are talking a few minutes over very long flight legs.

[ibjet]

My CTSW has the big tires. And, yes, I think I don't quite get the cruise speed that it is rated for. But, I'm really happy with them, glad someone paid the extra for them. 

[sandpiper]

I have tundra gear on my CTSW which I have had for 12 years. Having never flown non tundra I don't how they differ except for the obvious. 

Old geezers, like myself, may prefer the non tundra because it sits lower and is easier to get into. On mine I have to boost myself up in order to plop my butt into the seat. The few non tundra that I have sat in I didn't need to boost myself up. Just had to turn and plop.

My plane gets higher every year. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

[Ben2k9]

I was looking at buying a CT that already had them, so was just curious about the impact. Probably worth the minor drag. 

[sandpiper]

8 minutes ago, Ben2k9 said:

I was looking at buying a CT that already had them, so was just curious about the impact. Probably worth the minor drag. 

Yes, worth it. But don't turn down a really good plane just because it doesn't have them.

[Tip]

Three of us in CTs flew to Page and back in 2015. Three plane can’t land at the same time anyway. We were always on final, base and downwind at every stop.

[AGLyme]

When I bought my plane I ordered it with the tundras, which are effectively a Cherokee Six sized tire.  FD told me the speed penalty is 2-3 knots.  Makes sense.  Landings, even not so great ones, are probably cushioned more which is why I bought them.  I like the look of the standard sized tire better but not enough to change.

[Tom Baker]

I have flown CTLS with both, but with only a few landings with the big tires. Personally I didn't like the feel of the touchdown of the big tires on hard surface. To me they felt grabby, but it may have been the partucular tires. I think for non hard surface operations the bigger tires would be great.

[GrassStripFlyBoy]

Plus and minus points with opinions here as well, won't argue for or against tundra but will share my observations for what value it has to discussion.  My strip is on clay ground, the type that when wet is as soft as pudding, and fully dry cracks with wide gaps like a dry lake bed, becoming hard like rock.  It holds water well for turf staying green year round, the grass roots are what hold it together from being a crazy mess when soft.  So that's the picture here, my feet sink in this time of year walking around, soft stuff when wet and not frozen during spring.  My old C-150 had the equivalent to CT tundra size tires, and it would take nearly 80-90% power just to taxi making some decent ruts behind in these soft seasons, in these conditions I'd only fly solo and developed a technique to pop it off having a Robertson STOL kit as well.  With a mild winter I've had a few days where I've been out in this very soft field situation with the new CT, and mine is small tire.  The lighter weight of the CT is a big plus for either tire set up.  I thought I'd have to ditch the small tires at least on mains, and would be in bad shape on this soft ground.  In reality it has worked fine, I'd have to pull the C150 with tow bar and ATV out to the runway, the CT is able to be hand pulled in what would have my Cessna stuck.  Most of my take off and landings on grass won't lead to tire wear issues.  I'll probably stick with the small tires, but do plan to pick up larger set if I ever score the tundra wheel pants, would not want to run tires without pants as dirt would fly up on plane.  On that topic I know a lot of pilots would harsh on me for keeping pants on year round.  I monitor what collects in pants and clean them out, in 20 years I've not seen anything even close to a concern.  Tire size is not as big of factor in soft field operations as I thought it would be.

[FlyingMonkey]

7 hours ago, WmInce said:

After you change your first tire out . . . you may have a change of heart along with it. Mine were a bugger. 6x6 "Monsters." But they wear really well.

That is one advantage of the smaller tires; I can change them pretty easily without resorting to clamps and such to get them off the rims.  I just use a plastic trim removal tool to pry the rim off the bead and it pops out.

[AGLyme]

Bill and Andy... I have 110 hours on the plane and fortunately the tires are holding up well.  I didn’t know about the changing process.  That would su-k on a trip away from home base.

[AGLyme]

Great tip thx !  I am planning for Sun & Spend so those clamps will make it into the toolkit.

PS; I added a spare hose clamp to the toolkit.  That’s for another story - suffice I check the coolant level before every flight.  Pro tip, checking the overflow tank level is NOT checking the coolant level...