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How long do your brake pads last?

jcarne

Well Known Member
Patron
Just finishing up my condition inspection this week and I have to replace pads due to some cracks. 185 on the hobbs. If they weren't cracked they likely would have made it to 250 hours. It got me curious, how long are you guys getting out of your pads?

P.S. The Matco Swiftline deal is awesome!
 

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I just replaced mine last week. They were shot. I'm thinking they were replaced annual before last so two years. I most always do lite braking and am happy to roll all the way to the end on landing to save tires and brakes.
 
I replace mine at each annual, they are about half used up and sometimes a few cracks. I fly about 200 hours a year.
 
I keep a log of the landings on our airplane. We have just over 1400 landings logged. I have found that 350 landings is about the time to change out the brake pads. For our airplane, that leaves a reasonable margin of brake pad before the wear gets to the rivets. I have logged up to 466 landings on a set of brake pads and the pads were worn down to just showing that the rivets were starting to touch the rotors.

We use the brakes sparingly, unless needed. Your mileage may vary with braking technique.
 
I was checking tire pressure this weekend and checked the pads .. shot and time for replacement. 151 hours since first flight, 688 landings. Tires are getting bald, too!
 
Nosewheel - brakes used all he time for steering.

Tailwheel - used rarely if tailwheel is set up correctly.

Wear will reflect that.
 
I replace em every annual. Fly bout 200 hours and average about 1 landing per flite hour. Used to keep track, but why. The Matco pad replacement is only $35. Not worth trying to make em last longer.
 
How can anybody rate their brake pads by the flight hour beats me :confused:

Yeh, probably relates more to number of landings and taxi distance. When I was flying out of 52F, the taxi distance was very short. I’m currently based at KCRG in Jacksonville. My taxi distance is much longer now and I’m sure I’ll have to replace brake pads more often.
 
Yearly

Easy, inexpensive $30, quick. Gives me a chance clean, inspect etc. Hours this past year 162. Had over 50% remaining, changed anyways.
 
Pad life….same as main tires

My pad life was the same as my main tires first time around, with about a third of the pad material left. Both were at 206 hours. I’m running Grove calipers and rotors, and I don’t have a lot of taxi runs at my home airport, maybe 4000’ feet to the run up area.

I bought the Matco rivet tool, it worked well.
 
Thanks for the great responses everyone! I mainly wanted to see if I was way out of line and needed to change my ways. Sounds like the pads are right where they should be for the most part.
 
My tires Goodyear Flight Custom III lasted 250 landings. When I changed the tires I changed the brakes. They just a were a little more than half way to limits. I think I will change the brakes every time I change the tires.
 
My tires Goodyear Flight Custom III lasted 250 landings. ...

Robert, perhaps the RV10 is different, but his seems a little low to me. I only have a sample of one aircraft, my RV-8. What kind of wear do you see?

Here's my tires both new and after 311 landings, all but a couple on asphalt.

http://www.rv8.ch/slightly-bigger-tires/

I feel I should be able to get 400 landings or more at this pace.

I replaced the pads on my right wheel recently, but the left is still original. They probably have another 50 landings, I hope.
 
Rick Aronow

Hello, I see you are at KCRG, I Am in old hangers (B4 ) Sky Harbor building a Zenith 701.There working most afternoons ! Ph # 845 464 6328 Tom Hankamp
Tomcatrv4 on vans airforce
 
Nosewheel - brakes used all he time for steering.

Tailwheel - used rarely if tailwheel is set up correctly.

Wear will reflect that.

Re nosegear:

I only need a couple jabs when taxiing out/in. Above about 10-15 knots ground speed only rudder is needed, winds depending of course. Rudders should be at full travel before touching the brakes (if one cares about brake wear).

I'd surmise one medium to hard braking on landing is equivalent to a hundred or more flights worth of taxiing for me with re to brake wear.

To answer the OP's question - it depends... I've had maybe 4 or 5 sets in 1800 hours/20 years. I've never seen cracks.

(Fleet vehicles - police, etc. - 15k miles on a set of brakes. I often go 100k or more - just depends on how hard one brakes.)
 
just piling on...

I replace em every annual. Fly bout 200 hours and average about 1 landing per flite hour. Used to keep track, but why. The Matco pad replacement is only $35. Not worth trying to make em last longer.

Yep at every annual.
Tried once to get 2.0 years out of a set.
Did not work out and at year 1.5 changed them anyway.
Then I was out of sync.

Yes, it is nice to be gentile on them, but they are pretty inexpensive AND critical on a tailwheel.
Daddyman
 
Amazed at how often so folks are changing brake pads!

On the -9A, I almost never use the brakes while turning on the ground -- full rudder deflection and planning ahead make the brakes mostly unnecessary. Same when I had the -8A.

And with tailwheel steering on the -4 and -8, same story.

I did fly with one non-RV CFI and he had no clue that he was on the brakes all the time. Similarly, when I was instructing in spam cans, lots of folks used brakes while taxiing, unneeded and unaware. I have to wonder if the RV folks with high brake wear might be doing the same thing.

I also wonder if cracked pads are because the rivets were too tight. I used to use a tool that used a hammer, but I now have a rivet tool that screws in to compress the rivets. I've rarely seen a cracked pad when I was changing them, but I did crack one or two from hammering too hard.
 
I know brake pads last a lot longer when they're not saturated with brake fluid. I landed at Sleepy Eye last week and discovered my right brake was bad. Fortunately the 250' wide grass strip gave me plenty of room to get turned around. Another advantage having the little wheel in back is I can steer with that wheel once it locks. I appreciate the suggestion to test the brakes in fight. Learn something new every day. The last time I replaced the right puck seal was 2008.
 
2-3 times...

Right Brake, 2-3 times a year. Left brake at annual. I fly 200 or more hours a year. I am based on a short strip and do a lot of short hops, so lots of landings and taxi.
 
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