It was a completely normal touchdown after a nice little Acro flight, with a five or six knot direct crosswind and no bumps. Touchdown was smooth, and since I had no headwind, we were going just a tad faster than normal, so I did a little braking with the tail in the air to get off at the mid-field, as usual. There was nothing odd until the tail came down, and then I start getting that galloping feeling and the thump, thump, thump that only means one thing - a blown tire! I added a little power to keep it rolling until I got off the runway - no way did I want to block the pavement on a beautiful Sunday evening with lots of people in the air - and came to rest beyond the hold-short line and clear of the parallel taxiway.
Dang, that felt exactly like when I cut a tire on the wheel pant during Phase 1, almost 700 hours ago! I shut down and crawled out. The cell phone rang - "Hey Paul, you need help out there?" Yeah - and bring some tools! The right tire was completely flat, and there was a nice white trail of rubbed-off fiberglass from the pant parallel to the yellow turn-off line and out on to the runway. Hey, at least I kept it nice and straight! That pant was going to need some work though....
The cavalry soon arrived on a dirt bike, in a golf cart, and with a truck. We quickly got the pant off, and saw that the wheel was pretty much on the ground. One guy went back for a wheel and tire from an RV that was on jacks, and I thought about the last time this happened - we just inflated the tire, it held air, and we taxied back to the hangar. I figured it was worth a try, and miracle of miracles, it worked! The tire held, so I hopped in and lead the parade back to the barn. After jacking the plane up and pulling the tire, we deflated it and split the rim. The tube looked fine, but put some air in, and sure enough, there was a tiny cut. It was about an eighth of an inch long, on the sidewall - but not aligned with the sidewall the way you'd expect if it was cut by the wheel pant. In fact, the tire showed nothing at all. It is still a complete mystery what happened - I sort of lean towards some debris inside the tire that got compressed into the tube - but how come it went a hundred hours since the last tire change, and blew on a normal landing?!
Ah well...time to order a new Air Stop tube, and pull out the fiberglass. Fortunately, the pant just wore down the bottom - it will take some structural work, but that is already setting up in the garage downstairs. Paint is another issue, but again fortunately, it is entirely in the white portion of the pant, and no other colors are involved. I'll call Grady tomorrow and see if I can get some touch-up white, or if I'll have to bring him the pant to shoot .
I'd love to take a lesson away from this that would prevent another flat, but I am in the dark on this one. Nevertheless, a flat tire once again proved to be a non-event from a control standpoint, as I am always hot on the controls on landing, ready to put in whatever inputs are necessary to keep it on the line. Don't let it get sideways, always land to give yourself the most concrete margin you can (on the centerline, or biased for wind), and fly it until all the parts stop moving.
Paul
Dang, that felt exactly like when I cut a tire on the wheel pant during Phase 1, almost 700 hours ago! I shut down and crawled out. The cell phone rang - "Hey Paul, you need help out there?" Yeah - and bring some tools! The right tire was completely flat, and there was a nice white trail of rubbed-off fiberglass from the pant parallel to the yellow turn-off line and out on to the runway. Hey, at least I kept it nice and straight! That pant was going to need some work though....
The cavalry soon arrived on a dirt bike, in a golf cart, and with a truck. We quickly got the pant off, and saw that the wheel was pretty much on the ground. One guy went back for a wheel and tire from an RV that was on jacks, and I thought about the last time this happened - we just inflated the tire, it held air, and we taxied back to the hangar. I figured it was worth a try, and miracle of miracles, it worked! The tire held, so I hopped in and lead the parade back to the barn. After jacking the plane up and pulling the tire, we deflated it and split the rim. The tube looked fine, but put some air in, and sure enough, there was a tiny cut. It was about an eighth of an inch long, on the sidewall - but not aligned with the sidewall the way you'd expect if it was cut by the wheel pant. In fact, the tire showed nothing at all. It is still a complete mystery what happened - I sort of lean towards some debris inside the tire that got compressed into the tube - but how come it went a hundred hours since the last tire change, and blew on a normal landing?!
Ah well...time to order a new Air Stop tube, and pull out the fiberglass. Fortunately, the pant just wore down the bottom - it will take some structural work, but that is already setting up in the garage downstairs. Paint is another issue, but again fortunately, it is entirely in the white portion of the pant, and no other colors are involved. I'll call Grady tomorrow and see if I can get some touch-up white, or if I'll have to bring him the pant to shoot .
I'd love to take a lesson away from this that would prevent another flat, but I am in the dark on this one. Nevertheless, a flat tire once again proved to be a non-event from a control standpoint, as I am always hot on the controls on landing, ready to put in whatever inputs are necessary to keep it on the line. Don't let it get sideways, always land to give yourself the most concrete margin you can (on the centerline, or biased for wind), and fly it until all the parts stop moving.
Paul
