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3 flats in one day


J L M

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Today I landed in Terrell, Tx and had a flat on one of the mains. A fellow CT owner flew over from Arlington with a tube he had. ( new , still in the plastic ) When he landed he had a flat as well. We got my tire off and found a small hole in the tube. The mechanic there said the tube looked like it had spun. The new tube was put in and installed. While we were there, we cked the air pressure in the other tires. As we were doing this, the tube that was just put in, blew out. We pulled it down again and found a 2" split next to the valve stem. The plane hadn't even rolled when this new tube failed.

we bought two tubes ( 400-6 )from the local Tractor Supply, installed them and each flew home with no other problems. What are the odds? My question, its getting time to change the tires on my SW, what should I get without changeing the wheels. Any idea what type of service I can get from the tubes bought at Tractor supply untill new tires and tubes are ordered? any info would be appreciated. thanks...

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Hi Jim,

 

Other than the Michelin Air Stop tubes the ones you have should hold up. I tell people with the 4.00-4 and 4.00-6 to keep 35 psi in them. That way you won't ever spin a tire and if you don't check the pressure often enough and it gets a little low then 29 psi low is better than 21 psi low. The front tire is by far the most likely to turn on its wheel with a little low pressure because of the force being put on it while steering.

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Jim and Opticsguy, what size are your main tires? By your notes, I'm assuming you have 4.00-6 tires. Just wondering because I think 4.00-6 is a standard wheelbarrow tire size and you were lucky that this matches your tire size. I'm thinking that I might not find a tube to fit my 6.00-6 mains as easily?

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Runtoeat, that is correct. The tire size is 400-6 and it came in a box with a picture of a wheelbarrow on it. We were laughing when we bought them commenting on a wheelbarrow tube on a $100,000 airplane. But it worked!

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Dick,

A lot of my guys carry a nose and main tube in the floor storage area. Most of them are made in Taiwan and go flat whenever they feel like it. Sounds silly but I have seen it first hand many times. Usually the valve stem comes unglued from the tube and whistles dixie. :lol:

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And just to make it more confusing, usually the tubes you can readily find are 410/350 -4 and -6 for the nose and main tires. They fit fine but technically this is for a 4.1" sidewall, 3.5" height-from-rim tire where the CT uses a 4" by 4"

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  • 11 months later...

Just curious about the legality of using a wheelbarrow tire in the CT. I'm not sure if LSA's differ from other non-experimental airplanes in that you don't need an FAA approved tube. I noticed in the maintenance manual that it specifies a brand of tire, but when it comes to the tube, it only specifies a size....meaning only the size is what makes it legal or not??

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Wheelbarrow tubes are what came on my 2006 CTSW and they are crap. Spend a little bit of money and get Airstop tubes. You'll not have blowouts and you'll only have to add air once a year at annual inspection. I learned with two blowouts early-on. A blowout at an airport with no tools and no transportation makes for a real bad day. That and be gentle on the nosegear when you land and take off.

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Wheelbarrow tubes are what came on my 2006 CTSW and they are crap. Spend a little bit of money and get Airstop tubes. You'll not have blowouts and you'll only have to add air once a year at annual inspection. I learned with two blowouts early-on. A blowout at an airport with no tools and no transportation makes for a real bad day. That and be gentle on the nosegear when you land and take off.

 

 

That's good to know. I've been flying airplanes for 15 years and have never had a flat tire until the CT. Now I'm up to 4.

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