Interesting day... flat tire.

DesertNomad

DesertNomad

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DesertNomad
Going out for some HP training with my CFI in a 182 at our local Class-C airport. Got clearance for t/o, and as we rolled over the hold-short line, THUMP... nose wheel went flat. We stopped between the runway and the hold short line.

Unable to taxi and with temps over 100°, we shut down. We were able to push it back to the other side of the line so the runway could be used, but not the full length as we were disabled on the taxiway.

Airport ops came out and all in all it took about an hour to get it towed back to the hangar... too far away for the electric tow units to reach us... quite a lot of trouble as it was Sunday and not many people were around. I'm glad I had the tower number in my cell phone!

Also glad it was a high-wing as it provided some shade from the brutal heat.
 
Glad it at least happened prior to takeoff. Coulda been bad.

Too hot for the tire you think?

David
 
Both the CFI and I think we ran over something but since it has wheel fairings, and no mechanic is around on Sunday, we'll have to wait to see. I've never lost a tire in a plane (at least not one I was flying... had it happen on a 727 on the same runway in 1981 or so) or a car, so it took me a second or two longer than my CFI to realize what had happened.

My initial split-second thought was something with the prop or alternator belt, but it quickly became obvious there was tremendous drag and we were not moving right.
 
Exactly the reason I carry an inflated tail-wheel tire and tools. Tailwheels are more problematic and also much easier to change, but I've had enough flats on taxiways to know it's no fun.
 
Never had one blow while the plane was moving, but shortly(6 or so months) after I got my 182, my mechanic recommended that I change my left main tire. So I had him change it. The next flight I was about to get out of the plane and I heard a loud pop. When I got out of my plane, the left main had blown. The cause was there was a crease in the tube near the hub of the rim and the tube failed. The mechanic charged me for a new tube, etc. Needless to say, he is no longer working on my plane.
 
I am not sure how fast we were going... 10-20mph maybe? I am certainly glad it did not happen at high-speed and end up much worse. Had it happened on the runway itself, even at fairly low speed, it could have shut the runway down for an hour... as it was we got it pushed back over the line in about 10 minutes.

And yes we were on the primary runway and had a 737 and MD-80 waiting while we pushed it out of the way. The 737 was able to recalculate and do an intersection t/o, but the MD-80 needed the full length and had to wait for us.

What fun... pushing a C182 up a slight incline on a 100° day. :mad2:
 
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wabower said:
Exactly the reason I carry an inflated tail-wheel tire and tools. Tailwheels are more problematic and also much easier to change, but I've had enough flats on taxiways to know it's no fun.
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Why are TW more problematic?
 
wabower said:
Exactly the reason I carry an inflated tail-wheel tire and tools. Tailwheels are more problematic and also much easier to change, but I've had enough flats on taxiways to know it's no fun.
Click to expand...

Was doing just that yesterday on a freshly treated pitch black tarmac at about 1pm here in FL. Fuuuuuun :D
 
It was rather embarrassing to be pushing the C182 in the baking sun with my CFI while looking directly at the cockpit of a 737 waiting for us to get out of the way.

"do dah do dah... never mind me... just pushing our plane around". :)
 
question for the guys who had this happen...what is it like to land with a flat...both main and rear landing gears?
 
I wish I knew. The guy who owned the first one I bought many years ago had carried such a kit, said I would need it and gave it to me with the plane. I've since learned from the boys at the pool hall that doubling the suggested air pressure helps immensely, and am now running a leak-proof tube.

The plane is difficult to steer with a flat, but the rubber tire protects the wheel so I just add power and keep on trucking until I get to a good place to stop. Over the years I have accumulated a number of T/W assemblies, so having one more or one less is of no significance.


AdamZ said:
Why are TW more problematic?
Click to expand...
 
signu127 said:
question for the guys who had this happen...what is it like to land with a flat...both main and rear landing gears?
Click to expand...

It happened to me last year. Everything was normal on departure and I had no clue until touchdown. The nose-wheel started shaking fairly violently (much more than a common Cessna nose shimmy). Probably more so than one would without wheel pants as I could feel the tire flex and rub on the pant. It took me maybe 3 seconds to figure it must be flat, so I pulled the yoke all the way back and avoided braking until I got close to the taxi exit. I recall thinking was could my nose gear collapse? Could I get a prop strike? Well, I did not make it fully past hold short line. So, I was stuck on the runway environment. Uncontrolled field, and alone after 5 pm (FBO gone).

Fortunately, there was a couple of guys ready to take off who saw my landing and they shut down to help me push it off the runway. Then, I was able to run over to my hanger, get a portable compressor, drag it over to the AC, and pump air into it. It held long enough to push it over to my hangar.

It turned out that it had a pinhole in the sidewall of the tube that looked like from abrasion. Apparently, I did not run over anything like I first thought.
 
I had the rim of the metal wheel on one main tire fracture & cause the wheel to rub against the brake assembly, resulting in a flat. Happend on landing (South Texas heat....). Got a ride home & had the on-field mechanic replace wheel, tire, and tube.

Couldn't find a real cause, but the fracture looked like metal fatigue. I have a photo somewhere....

Because of the way it happened, it really didn't flatten until we had slowed and were making the turnoff - non-towered field, it took less than 30 minutes to get that side on a dolley & towed to parking. Quite glad that it wasn't one of the rural fields sans mechanic.
 
Bummer. I had a nose wheel tire go out once. I was training with my CFI and doing some pattern work. Not sure whether the tire had deflated while I was in the pattern or if it burst on contacting the runway (it was a pretty smooth touchdown). Came to a complete stop in the middle of the runway and quickly made a call to the tower who asked if we would like a tow truck to pull us back to the hangar. My CFI told me to decline the offer if we could get immediate taxi clearance. They gave it to us and my CFI puts in full flaps, gives it some power and lots of back pressure on the elevator. We basically wheelied all the way back to parking going pretty damn fast for the taxi-way, some people there got a good kick out of it.
 
Skyscraper said:
Bummer. I had a nose wheel tire go out once. I was training with my CFI and doing some pattern work. Not sure whether the tire had deflated while I was in the pattern or if it burst on contacting the runway (it was a pretty smooth touchdown). Came to a complete stop in the middle of the runway and quickly made a call to the tower who asked if we would like a tow truck to pull us back to the hangar. My CFI told me to decline the offer if we could get immediate taxi clearance. They gave it to us and my CFI puts in full flaps, gives it some power and lots of back pressure on the elevator. We basically wheelied all the way back to parking going pretty damn fast for the taxi-way, some people there got a good kick out of it.
Click to expand...

I think I would have fired that CFI, but that's just me.
 
wsuffa said:
I think I would have fired that CFI, but that's just me.
Click to expand...

Why? He got us back to my parking spot quickly so we could do the repair and get back to training...

There was nothing unsafe about it and we had clearance from the tower to do so...
 
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AdamZ said:
Why are TW more problematic?
Click to expand...
My previous tailwheel was solid rubber - I put a different one on this summer that is pnuematic. Hopefully it doesn't leave me stranded some day - sure a lot smoother.

I would guess it to be substantially less reliable than my mains though. It's a tiny tire that can get slammed into the runway running pretty high pressure (about 40 psi).
 
I picked a nail up on departure and never felt it. Landing after the lesson with CFII -the right main went flat about 2 seconds after touchdown on wet pavement. I think it being slick may have helped some as it really was a non-event other than it pulling HARD to the right. We wobbled over the hold short lines and shutdown.
 
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