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Grove Tubeless Wheels

Av8torTom said:
No one's used the tubeless wheels/tires???
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I sold a nose wheel to a customer, very nice looking unit, not quite as nice as the Beringer but it's also a little less $$. No field report on how he likes it yet.
 
The Beringer wheel and brake set is on the RV8 project which has tubless tires. At first thought they are nice because it saves on tubes and apears to be easier to mount. The more I've thought about it though, after having two flats over the years with tubed tires no where near home, not having the ability to carry a spare tube and do a field repair is a little scary. Carrying a spare tire is bulky. I am looking at some sort of a patch kit to keep in the plane just in case. Just something to consider.
 
I've thought about carrying one of these (I run the Beringer nose wheel) but keep forgetting to grab one. You could also glue an internal patch on like they do for most auto tires but the advantage with the plug is not having to remove the tire. I've yet to see a flat on an aircraft tire from a puncture, everyone I've seen has been a tube failure usually caused running with low air pressure.

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Thanks guys - good points to consider. My experience has also been with inner tube failure and one valve stem slice from the tube rotating on the wheel (probably from being under inflated). I like the tire plug idea since the tire can stay on the wheel. I wonder how long you would wait to make sure the repair was good to be confident that the tire doesn't deflate while in the air?

Is anyone running tubeless tires on their mains?

T.
 
I will post one later when I get some time. I have pictures and everything, just need to write the info down.
 
I bought one about a month ago. So far works great. Very easy to mount the tire. The tire, wheel and axle weighed about 1/2 pound less with a multi ply (8, I think) tire than my stocker (worn tire) and matco axle. Looks like a black anodized finish, but I'm not sure. True, the Beringer looks better, but the wheel pant hides it anyway.
 
Walt said:
I've thought about carrying one of these (I run the Beringer nose wheel) but keep forgetting to grab one. You could also glue an internal patch on like they do for most auto tires but the advantage with the plug is not having to remove the tire. I've yet to see a flat on an aircraft tire from a puncture, everyone I've seen has been a tube failure usually caused running with low air pressure.

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These are great for tubeless tires. I once patched a puncture on an R-compound car tire at a local track day, and ran it for four 20-minute sessions at racing speeds. No loss of pressure even under these extreme conditions.
 
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