What are the advantages of the Grove wheels/brakes? How much lighter are they compared to the standard wheels/brakes? Since Vans chose Grove for their RV-12iST trainer, I’m assuming they hold up better in a flight school environment. How does that translate into what a typical owner can expect? Other than perhaps longer brake pad life, are there compelling reasons to go with the Grove package?
Where is the payoff? Better braking, maybe, but the tires are going to be the weak link. Lighter maybe, haven’t heard that number yet.
Yes, we've offered it on SLSA aircraft for a bit and it's now available for the RV-12iS ELSA kits as well. We will publish the relevant updated RV-12iS plans/KAI sections probably on Tuesday in the service information are of the web site.
I might be tempted to get the new rims, and disc and brakes, if the design is better. The weight savings is kind of a non issue, for me.
I am really kind of at a loss why they haven't gone tubeless on tires and rims yet on plane tires, other than the rims are magnesium or aluminum, and wouldn't handle tire iron usage very well with those 6 ply tires.
this might be a silly question.. but im younger than most of you all.. and tube tires are a completely new concept to me..
it feels like my rv12 .. and my old rv6 tires don’t hold air as good as my car tires do. is this normal? or do i have bad luck with airplane tires? or are these smaller tires more susceptible to ambient temperature changes?
I have Tire Pressure Monitors (TPM) on my main wheels and use MICHELIN AIRSTOP tubes which hold air very well. I monitor air pressure as part of my pre-flight check and notice fluctuations in pressure mainly due to ambient temperature.
Tell me about your tire pressure monitors. They sound interesting.
I have Tire Pressure Monitors (TPM) on my main wheels and use MICHELIN AIRSTOP tubes which hold air very well. I monitor air pressure as part of my pre-flight check and notice fluctuations in pressure mainly due to ambient temperature.
Tell me about your tire pressure monitors. They sound interesting.
Look here... https://vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=183562&highlight=tire+pressure+monitor
Lower weight - I think about 2.5 lbs... Edit/correction - I was going from memory and the 2.5 lbs is about what the weight Delta is between the magnesium and aluminum versions of the Grove wheel/brake set. The actual weight Delta between the Matco and the optional Grove wheel/brake set for the RV-12iS is zero.
Easier to change tires.
Less fussy for brake caliper alignment / adjustment (basically none required for Grove - Matco can be fussy at times).
Longer brake life - Not just the pads... the Matco disks seem to wear quite a bit faster than the Grove. You wont get 2000 hrs out of a set of brake disks and they are quite a bit more expensive than brake pads are.
As already mentioned, the option was originally offered just on the SLSA for the benefit of flight schools because longer brake life and reduced maint. times are financially beneficial.
I don't know whether I would spend the money on an already flying airplane, but I probably wouldn't think twice about selecting the upgrade while doing a new build.