Re: Tires/Gear Leg/Toe In
Posted: Tue Nov 28, 2023 12:21 pm
It was definitely Burt Rutan who I heard say back in the day, at an early VeriEze workshop in Mojave, "If you are thinking about putting something on your airplane (not in the plans), throw it up. If it comes back down, it is too heavy". He did not actually say (not in the plans) but that was the context of what he was saying.
The thing about the larger than Sonex/Waiex plans' use of 500-5 tires is, if they make sense for your mission, do not select Goodyear Flight Custom III tires, because they weigh almost two pounds more, each tire, then other brand (and Goodyear Flight Custom II) 500-5 four ply tires, and that heavy and quality (long wearing) tire is not needed on a Sonex/Waiex. I thought quite a bit about tire weight and decided why put more wear on the retract mechanism of my factory retractable airplane having to lift significantly heavier tires into the wheel wells.
The comment about non-native plants penetrating tires in Australia was interesting, perhaps six or more ply tires instead of four ply could withstand those conditions better. I don't know if the additional plys extend past the tread into the sidewalls though.
The thing about the larger than Sonex/Waiex plans' use of 500-5 tires is, if they make sense for your mission, do not select Goodyear Flight Custom III tires, because they weigh almost two pounds more, each tire, then other brand (and Goodyear Flight Custom II) 500-5 four ply tires, and that heavy and quality (long wearing) tire is not needed on a Sonex/Waiex. I thought quite a bit about tire weight and decided why put more wear on the retract mechanism of my factory retractable airplane having to lift significantly heavier tires into the wheel wells.
The comment about non-native plants penetrating tires in Australia was interesting, perhaps six or more ply tires instead of four ply could withstand those conditions better. I don't know if the additional plys extend past the tread into the sidewalls though.