Flat Tire, RV6

Notatestpilot

Notatestpilot

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Aug 31, 2020
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Notatestpilot
In my RV6, while landing my left gear tire went flat. The roll out (just like a car with a flat) became bumpy but I was able to exit off on to the taxi way. I will perform a visual inspection of the gear leg and engine mount/hardware for any movements etc. Anything else I should look for? please suggest and advise.
Thanks!
 
Nothing to check for in particular. Please follow up here when you've done the post-mort on why the tube failed. Lots of the time it is due to shearing the valve stem because the tires are underinflated.
 
These smaller tires seem to be prone to flats with lower pressures.
 
I’m more concerned with the engine mount being vibrated due to the flat tire rolling down the runway.
 
kyleb said:
Nothing to check for in particular. Please follow up here when you've done the post-mort on why the tube failed. Lots of the time it is due to shearing the valve stem because the tires are underinflated.
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That’s what happened to my Glasair nose wheel. I was actually going to add air but thought, nah it’ll be fine for one flight. Blew the tire on landing and had to do some fiberglass repair to the wheel pant.
 
Velocity173 said:
That’s what happened to my Glasair nose wheel. I was actually going to add air but thought, nah it’ll be fine for one flight. Blew the tire on landing and had to do some fiberglass repair to the wheel pant.
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I have an RV-10 friend who's done it twice. Once on a backwoods strip. The -10 uses an odd tire size and it was a serious logistical effort getting him a new tube and the other stuff needed to change a tire in the wild.
 
Check your wheel pants for any small cracks that could become large cracks or breaks in the future.
 
The heavier the wheel and tire, the more energy it will take to spin it up to your touchdown speed. From zero to 70 or whatever pretty much instantaneously. Tire pressure keeps the rubber tire bead against the rim. The less pressure, the more apt to spin the tire on the rim to resist the spin start-up at ground contact. Using a tube, if the tire grabs the tube, you’ll damage the tube.

You can mark the tire and rim to check for rotation as a cause.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
The heavier the wheel and tire, the more energy it will take to spin it up to your touchdown speed. From zero to 70 or whatever pretty much instantaneously. Tire pressure keeps the rubber tire bead against the rim. The less pressure, the more apt to spin the tire on the rim to resist the spin start-up at ground contact. Using a tube, if the tire grabs the tube, you’ll damage the tube.

You can mark the tire and rim to check for rotation as a cause.
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Thanks for that, I never knew how low pressure affected the whole assembly. Appreciated.
 
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