Tires

[redW&blue]

How far to you let your tires go before you have them changed?

 

[con-pilot]

With one outfit I was with many a moon ago, when we could see the nitrogen inside the tire, the chief pilot said we had at least four more landings left.

Okay, on a serious note.

When I ran flight departments I would follow the manufacturer's recommendation. I'm sure we could have squeezed a few more landings and takeoffs out of the tires, but why take a chance.

Same with brakes.

One more point, tires are cheap when compared to airframes and lives.

 

[BoilerUP]

How far to you let your tires go before you have them changed?

Are they bald? Are they close to bald?

Are they showing chord? Do they have cuts?

Bottom line is if you think it might be time to replace your tires...it IS time to replace your tires.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

Most places, its chords... correct or not. At least thats what the guy paying the bills usually dictates.

The cost-cutting in aviation is truly horrendous at times.

 

[jonjuan]

Are they bald? Are they close to bald?

Are they showing chord? Do they have cuts?

Bottom line is if you think it might be time to replace your tires...it IS time to replace your tires.

What's "chord?". Time to change the wing?

 

[VGerect]

What's "chord?". Time to change the wing?

I've been known to spell it that way also :laugh:

 

[cynic]

10 years. I am cheap. VERY VERY cheap.

 

[flyguy75000]

[FONT=geneva, verdana, arial, sans-serif]:laugh:

Got a Lincoln penny? Chances are you do, since the U.S. Mint has been cranking these out since 1909. Because a simple Lincoln head penny is the perfect size, using one will make it easy to determine when to buy new tires.[/FONT]
[FONT=geneva, verdana, arial, sans-serif]It only takes a few steps to check your tire depth:[/FONT]

[FONT=geneva, verdana, arial, sans-serif]Pinch a Lincoln-head penny, from the base, between your thumb and forefinger, so that the top of Lincoln's head and the words "In God We Trust" are showing.
Place the top of Lincoln's head into one of the tire tread grooves -- try to measure in the lowest point within the tread.

If any part of Lincoln's head is obscured by the tread, you're all set -- you have a legal and safe amount of tread. However, if you can see above Lincoln's head or any of the "In God We Trust" letters above his head, then you are ready for a new tire.
Check your tires in several tread locations. Be sure to check both inner, outer and middle grooves of each tire, because tires can wear differently on each side, due to improper wheel alignment and/or low inflation. This penny trick works because the distance between the rim and Lincoln's head is 1/16 of an inch -- the minimum required tread depth. When your tire tread is lower than 1/16 of an inch, your machinery can have handling problems in adverse conditions (rain, sleet, snow). In short, bald tires are dangerous and could even get you a ticket in some states.
While checking tire tread depth is a critical technique to insure tire safety and performance, there are several others:

-Measure tire inflation pressure on a monthly basis
-Maintain tire pressure at manufacturer's recommendation
-Rotate your tires every 5,000 miles

Check your tires visually for wear or damage In the past, there were only mechanical inflation gauges, but now there are many digital gauges that range from one to ten dollars in cost. While I dearly love my circular racing tire gauge, these digital gauges are simpler to operate, much less expensive and more accurate. Many are so inexpensive that they don't have replaceable batteries, but have a five to ten year life-span.
[/FONT]

 

[AC560]

Rotate your tires every 5,000 miles

Do I have to stop between KORD and ZSPD to rotate them or can I stretch it some and still be ok

 

[paulsalem]

I replace the tires when the AMM says so.

What's "chord?". Time to change the wing?

It is cord actually, the white fabric under the rubber.

 

[Cat3C]

[FONT=geneva, verdana, arial, sans-serif]

-Measure tire inflation pressure on a monthly basis
-Maintain tire pressure at manufacturer's recommendation
-Rotate your tires every 5,000 miles
[/FONT]

not sure about other aircraft or departments but I know that our tire pressures are checked far more often than once a month - don't really think they are rotated either. I do know that they check the washer fluid and other fluid levels and a safety check of the turn signals and headlights.
YMMV

 

[can99]

we have gone through 4 tires in 30 hrs on our lear due to the bad runways in India putting deep cuts in them, the last one was yesterday on a tire just 10 hours old... the cut was as deep as the tread so off it went to the scrap heap.

We had a tire blow on landing in phuket (due deep cut most likely from take off in India), cost a charter for the pax to go to destination, a overnight for the crew (was a nice place to break down), and $4000 in AOG fees to fly in a mechanic from Bangkok.... I say keep your tires in perfect condition, can save lots of money