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First flight of the year! ... flat tire :-)

Lycosaurus

Well Known Member
First flight of the year! ... flat tire :-(

Shirley and I went out for our first flight this year. Sunday was not the best day for ceilings, however turbulence was low and we had a nice flight.

Upon our return (CYRP), our landing was fine and we long taxied to the taxiway, but something did not seem right. Needed a little more power than usual and some strange vibration. Stopped near the threshold of 04 so as not to impede any other traffic and stepped out to check on the tires. Yup, front tire is flat. Called the FBO to let them know of our predicament and that we were going to get some tools from our hangar and attempt to inflate the tire.

A hangar neighbor Jeff offered us a dolly in case the tire would not inflate or remain inflated long enough for the taxi back to the hangar. Jeff actually took the screwdriver from my hands and eagerly started working on the wheelpant. Thanks Jeff Whaley.

After removing the nose wheel pants, we tried tire inflation and the indications were that there must be a large leak. Lifted the nosewheel and strapped it to the dolly. Used the towbar with a McGyver'd tow attachment to the trailer hitch. A slow walking pace back to the hangar ensued while being very attentive to cracks and ice on the ground (the castoring rollers on the dolly are small and hard offering no suspension).

I have the nosewheel at home now and will take a look in the next few days. The rim is fine, though the tire will need replacing due to rubbing marks. I am sure the inner tube is toast as well. Made for an interesting day... if you take a positive spin on it. Jeff and Matt were there to check up on us and offer assistance. On tow back, we had ourselves a convoy.

Edit: Jeff sent me a video of the towing back to the hangar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM3NcveWoHw&feature=emb_logo
 

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Congrats on first flight of the year Alfio! It’s a good thing the flat happened at home airport :)
 
Had my first flight of the new year today. It just so happened that I thought it was time to check tire pressure again. Glad that I did. Cold temperatures always lower tire pressures and a little preventive maintenance is always a good thing. This time of year I recommend checking pressures at least every other month.
 
Tire pressure check

Yes, checking tire pressure more often is the key. Glad it happened on home turf.
 
cause?

Hi Alfio - were you able to find the source of the flat? Inquiring minds want to know! :D
 
Hi Alfio - were you able to find the source of the flat? Inquiring minds want to know! :D

Have the wheel at home now and plan to crack it open in the next few days.

I brought back home tools and supplies for working on the wheel, as our province is in a lockdown (of sorts) for the next 28 days.
 
Hi Alfio - were you able to find the source of the flat? Inquiring minds want to know! :D

Inner tube is shredded (many tears/rips) from when we taxied away from the active runway. I do not suspect anything other than my not checking the air pressure on a scheduled basis (which I will do from now on). Running a tire on low pressure is never a good thing.

The tire itself did a good job maintaining its bead on the rim while flat, thus protecting that rim from any damage.

Note on the tire. If you replace the nosewheel tire with one that is tubeless, I found it to be almost 1 lb heavier than with the "tube required" variety. Both are 8 ply. I found that out the hard way when Aircraft Spruce (Canada) only had the tubeless variety in-stock. I returned it and bought a "tube required" one from Desser. I am keeping as much weight off the front wheel for obvious reasons (inertial moment), and also have a magnesium version of the wheel for that very reason.
 
Inner tube is shredded (many tears/rips) from when we taxied away from the active runway. I do not suspect anything other than my not checking the air pressure on a scheduled basis (which I will do from now on). Running a tire on low pressure is never a good thing.

The tire itself did a good job maintaining its bead on the rim while flat, thus protecting that rim from any damage.

Note on the tire. If you replace the nosewheel tire with one that is tubeless, I found it to be almost 1 lb heavier than with the "tube required" variety. Both are 8 ply. I found that out the hard way when Aircraft Spruce (Canada) only had the tubeless variety in-stock. I returned it and bought a "tube required" one from Desser. I am keeping as much weight off the front wheel for obvious reasons (inertial moment), and also have a magnesium version of the wheel for that very reason.

Little tears or rips in the sidewall of the tube will happen if a lot of talc/baby powder is not used when assembling the tube and tire. Much written about this topic on these forums. My theory is that the tube is gradually stretched locally to its limit, but can't slide back to its nominal position when the friction between the tube and the tire is high.
 
Little tears or rips ...

Plenty of talc was used during installation. These are not tiny rips or tears as can be seen in the photo below. Not sure if I could identify the original tear causing the deflation.
 

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