Flat Nosewheel Tire Rant

guzziguy said:
As a general rule, if a blow out is discovered on rollout, is it better to:
1) Stop on the runway and call for help?
2) Taxi on the flat tire to a taxi way, stop and call for help?
3) Taxi to parking, stop and call for help?

Just not sure what best practice/convention requires.
Tks
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I don't know either. A few weeks ago a fellow in an Aztec had a flat on the runway after landing. He slowed down, taxied (taxiied?) onto the grass to the side of the runway, and changed the tire there.
 
Timbeck2 said:
Get off the runway if you can. DON'T taxi on a flat tire unless of course you want to buy a new wheel assembly.
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And even those cute little wheels aren't cheap. Had to replace one due to discovering a tiny hairline crack during my recent annual. Sucked.
 
Happens. Right main for me.

As far as maintenance trauma experiences with aircraft ownership go...

Have you ever been over Macho Grande? It’ll lead to a drinking problem. :)
 
A lady with a truck was pulled over on the side of the road with a flat tire and I stopped to help. The truck had large 4x4 mudder type tires on it but no spare so not much I could do .

Then a lanky farmer pulled up , said he had a portable tank of air with him and he filled the tire so that she could get 30 miles down the road to a town with a tire shop..

Trouble is there was a nail in her tire and the air was hissing out so fast it would be flat in a minute or two.

Then the strangest thing happened ..... the farmer said you need a bigger nail in your tire.

True story .... he went back to his pickup truck , rummaged around in his toolbox , found a large nail , pulled the other one out with pliers and pressed the large one in. It plugged the hole just fine and we followed her to town and the tire was still holding air.
 
A Martin said:
A lady with a truck was pulled over on the side of the road with a flat tire and I stopped to help. The truck had large 4x4 mudder type tires on it but no spare so not much I could do .

Then a lanky farmer pulled up , said he had a portable tank of air with him and he filled the tire so that she could get 30 miles down the road to a town with a tire shop..

Trouble is there was a nail in her tire and the air was hissing out so fast it would be flat in a minute or two.

Then the strangest thing happened ..... the farmer said you need a bigger nail in your tire.

True story .... he went back to his pickup truck , rummaged around in his toolbox , found a large nail , pulled the other one out with pliers and pressed the large one in. It plugged the hole just fine and we followed her to town and the tire was still holding air.
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Farmers are awesome... talk about having "life skills." On our honeymoon up in Prince Edward Island many years ago, we two freshly married, practically broke two young kids were driving around in our 1973 Olds Delta 88. We broke down on a back road and sat there for a bit, scratching our heads. This was in the way-before-cell-phones era. Fortunately, there's a lot of farming on PEI, with potatoes being an especially important crop. After a bit, an old guy (he looked old to us then... we were 21 and 22, respectively... he was probably only 50-60 in retrospect) stopped in his beatup farm pickup and offered to help. Popped the hood, had me crank the engine, smelled fuel, peered around, found a cracked fuel line near the carb, pulled out some raw metal fuel line, flare fittings, and the flare tool he always had in his truck (??!?) and built us a new fuel line on the spot. Whole thing took him about 20 minutes. He wouldn't take any money. Just sent us on our way with a smile and a congratulations on our honeymoon.Car ran flawlessly for the rest of the trip, including the drive back to Saranac Lake, NY.

Whenever I get frustrated by my fellow humans, I remember that folks like him still exist.
 
A Martin said:
A lady with a truck was pulled over on the side of the road with a flat tire and I stopped to help. The truck had large 4x4 mudder type tires on it but no spare so not much I could do .

Then a lanky farmer pulled up , said he had a portable tank of air with him and he filled the tire so that she could get 30 miles down the road to a town with a tire shop..

Trouble is there was a nail in her tire and the air was hissing out so fast it would be flat in a minute or two.

Then the strangest thing happened ..... the farmer said you need a bigger nail in your tire.

True story .... he went back to his pickup truck , rummaged around in his toolbox , found a large nail , pulled the other one out with pliers and pressed the large one in. It plugged the hole just fine and we followed her to town and the tire was still holding air.
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Surprised to hear the farmer did not carry a plug kit. I have carried a tire plug kit ever since I was a teenager and have done several side of the road plugs over the years. The 12v air compressor I have has been rebuilt at least 5 times that I can remember, and I got it used. The last time I used it was about 4 years ago on a U-Haul trailer. We came out of the restaurant to find the tire flat, so a quick plug and some air and back on the road. Otherwise we would have had to wait several hours for U-Haul to come change the wheel.

Just part of the emergency kit that I carry on road trips.
 
I've carried one of these for more than 20 years now:

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It was made in the USA. I think they're Chinese now. Too bad. Probably wouldn't last 20 years. It got used almost every day when I was working, and still several times a week now that I'm retired. It's handy to have on your belt when you've crawled into some tight spot and didn't bring some tool you need. Mine has the original leather case, and it's worn through in places where I've rubbed it on the concrete while scooting around under airplanes or cars.
 
Zeldman said:
Surprised to hear the farmer did not carry a plug kit.
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^^^ This ^^^

Especially if you tow a boat trailer or RV. Plug is literally a 5 minute operation, and if done properly you can go the rest of the life of the tire on it. But alas, it only works on tubeless tires, so not relevant to aircraft.

The OP's problem is that his wheel is on the nose instead of the tail. ;)
 
Deelee said:
haha good one! Getting my tailwheel endorsement is up next after the IR.
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You are doing it in the right order. If you go the other way around, you can get sucked into a 20 year rabbit hole of taildragger and acro tangents, and wind up never get your IR. Ask me how I know.
 
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Ed Haywood said:
You are doing it in the right order. If you go the other way around, you can get sucked into a 20 year rabbit hole of taildragger and acro tangents, and wind up never get your IR. Ask me how I know.
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that’s the plan. But your route sounds like a ton of fun!
 
I come from the dark side of aviation and we solved the flat tire issue years ago.

(sorry , couldn't resist)

hehe
 

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A Martin said:
I come from the dark side of aviation and we solved the flat tire issue years ago.

(sorry , couldn't resist)

hehe
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Love the sparks doing run-ons an asphalt at night... :D
 
I can attest that a Cessna 185 will taxi just fine on the tailwheel spring...
 
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