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kitfoxjunky(at)decisionla
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 9:33 am Post subject: Tires

I blew a tire on my plane on the weekend.  I was waiting behind an old twin anphib while he cycled props and stuff. Something did not make him happy, so after awhile he turned tail and headed back to the hangers.  I was getting a bit irritated as I was late for a flyin.  While this was going on  I noticed the plane settle on the passenger side, and confirmed with my daughter who was riding shotgun that in fact it had gone flat. Turns out the cord was showing on one spot (hate landing on pavement more now) and air was streaming out.  Afterwards I thought of what could have been if the twin was not there and I rolled up for a quick departure. The air would have escaped en route, making for a tether ball type landing.   

 

My tires are 20" tundras that came with the plane. A local KF pilot pointed me to a web site for a supplier in Michigan.  I glanced at old posts, and did not see these guys mentioned...so thought I would share the link. They make them specifically for the Kitfox and Avids. Looks like a copy of the originals. 

 

http://www.mipowerparachute.com/Tires.html 

 

 

Gary Walsh

 KF IV  Anphib 912S

 C-GOOT

 www.decisionlabs.com/kitfox

 

 do not archive

Michel

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 966
Location: Norway

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 10:28 am Post subject: Tires

On Jun 12, 2006, at 7:26 PM, kitfoxjunky wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   http://www.mipowerparachute.com/Tires.html


	


Hello Gary, your email will enable me to kill two birds with one stone! 





I am also looking for a replacement for my Cheng Shin 20 x 7.00 - 8 

smooth tyres. My good friend Rex Shaw from this list, tells me that he 

is very satisfied with his Goodyear Softrac 18 x 6.50 - 8 tyres that 

has 4 plies (twice as much as our Cheng Shin) but they have a shallow 

tread.



He also directed me to mipowerparachute.com but their tyres are 12" 

wide and the minimal rim width is 7" From my builder manual, I 

understand that our wheels are 8" in diameter and 6" as rim width.

So, I wrote to mipowerparachute.com and a gentleman called Kevin 

Ridsdale wrote back that I should talk to our John McBean to obtain 

tyres that will fit our wheels.



So (and that is the second bird!) John, do you have something that will 

suit our Kitfoxes 3 and IV?



Otherwise, the Goodyear tyres from Rex looks like this:



http://www.goodyear.ca/tires/tirecatalog/STRAC_RSSize.html



Cheers,

Michel

_________________
Kitfox 3 - Jabiru 2200

akfotoman

Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 120
Location: Anchorage, Alaska

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:49 pm Post subject: Tires

If you are really looking to get some beefy Tundra tires try these guys in Alaska.

http://www.akbushwheel.com

Pricey but they have repair kits etc. for off airport tires. 

Another outfit up here is Floats Alaska who just got the STC for CAr-Aero tundra tires: www.floatsalaska.com

cheers,

Rob

---

_________________
Have cameras, will travel!

Rex Hefferan

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 147
Location: Olney Springs, Colorado USA "NOT a Kitpig"

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 3:56 pm Post subject: Tires

Or wider replacement rims? Those tires appear to be new rubber (wiskers 

visible) instead of the ground-off type like many of us have.

Rex

Colorado/Florida

Michel Verheughe wrote:



 	  Quote: 	
		  

 



 On Jun 12, 2006, at 7:26 PM, kitfoxjunky wrote:



> http://www.mipowerparachute.com/Tires.html

 Hello Gary, your email will enable me to kill two birds with one 

 stone! 



 I am also looking for a replacement for my Cheng Shin 20 x 7.00 - 8 

 smooth tyres. My good friend Rex Shaw from this list, tells me that he 

 is very satisfied with his Goodyear Softrac 18 x 6.50 - 8 tyres that 

 has 4 plies (twice as much as our Cheng Shin) but they have a shallow 

 tread.



 He also directed me to mipowerparachute.com but their tyres are 12" 

 wide and the minimal rim width is 7" From my builder manual, I 

 understand that our wheels are 8" in diameter and 6" as rim width.

 So, I wrote to mipowerparachute.com and a gentleman called Kevin 

 Ridsdale wrote back that I should talk to our John McBean to obtain 

 tyres that will fit our wheels.



 So (and that is the second bird!) John, do you have something that 

 will suit our Kitfoxes 3 and IV?



 Otherwise, the Goodyear tyres from Rex looks like this:



 http://www.goodyear.ca/tires/tirecatalog/STRAC_RSSize.html



 Cheers,

 Michel





 http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kitfox-List

 http://wiki.matronics.com






	


-- 

Karla and Rex Hefferan

Gypsy Bee Innkeepers

719-651-5198 or 719-651-9192

_________________
Rex
N740GP - M2/582
Colorado

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 5:14 pm Post subject: Tires

I have been using thest tires for the past couple of years.  I bought two 

sets and am still on the first ones with no obvious wear - no threads 

showing.   The vast majority of my landings are on pavement.  On the 

original Skyster rims, they look like the Bushwheel tires mentioned by Rob.



I like the looks, and the only negative is that they cost a mile or two in 

cruise, which doesn't bother me.



Sportflight has a picture at :



http://www.sportflight.com/cgi-bin/uploader.pl?action=view&epoch=1075488689



Lowell



---

janderson412(at)hotmail.c
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 5:28 pm Post subject: Tires

What is that attached to the strut Lowell? John

 

 [quote]   

From:  "Lowell Fitt" <lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net>

Reply-To:  kitfox-list(at)matronics.com

To:  <kitfox-list(at)matronics.com>

Subject:  Re: Tires

Date:  Mon, 12 Jun 2006 18:13:36 -0700

--> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Lowell Fitt" <lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net>



I have been using thest tires for the past couple of years.  I bought two sets and am still on the first ones with no obvious wear - no threads showing.   The vast majority of my landings are on pavement.  On the original Skyster rims, they look like the Bushwheel tires mentioned by Rob.



I like the looks, and the only negative is that they cost a mile or two in cruise, which doesn't bother me.



Sportflight has a picture at  :



http://www.sportflight.com/cgi-bin/uploader.pl?action=view&epoch=1075488689



Lowell



---

jdmcbean(at)cableone.net
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 5:40 pm Post subject: Tires

Michel,

        I have sold several of the King Fox treadles tires 21 X 12 X 8 and

have not heard any negative feedback.  They seem to be working fine on the

original rims.  Let me know and I'll get them ordered for you.

Fly Safe !!

John & Debra McBean

www.kitfoxaircraftllc.com   www.sportplanellc.com

"The Sky is not the Limit...  It's a Playground"



--

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:07 pm Post subject: Tires

John,



I have a video camera mounted in that housing.  The camera can be controlled 

by a joy stick mounted between the seats using 1/8" aircraft cable. 

Movement is about 180* horizontal and 45* in the vertical axis.  It has 

controls for record / pause, auto / manual focus, auto / hold aperture, zoom 

and it has a wiper to get bugs off the lens.  Mounted on the door is a 

monitor for viewing what the camerqa sees.  It has been a long project and 

is still evolving.



Lowell



---

janderson412(at)hotmail.c
Guest

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 7:04 pm Post subject: Tires

Ah...great idea Lowell, might do the same myself. No adverse effect in flight? John

 

 [quote]   

From:  "Lowell Fitt" <lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net>

Reply-To:  kitfox-list(at)matronics.com

To:  <kitfox-list(at)matronics.com>

Subject:  Re: Tires

Date:  Mon, 12 Jun 2006 19:03:31 -0700

--> Kitfox-List message posted by: "Lowell Fitt" <lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net>



John,



I have a video camera mounted in that housing.  The camera can be controlled by a joy stick mounted between the seats using 1/8" aircraft cable. Movement is about 180* horizontal and 45* in the vertical axis.  It has controls for record / pause, auto / manual focus, auto / hold aperture, zoom and it has a wiper to get bugs off the lens.  Mounted on the door is a monitor for viewing what the camerqa sees.  It has been a long project and is still  evolving.



Lowell



---

Michel

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 966
Location: Norway

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 3:13 am Post subject: Tires

Thank you for your answers, guys, but I don't know what to think.



 	  Quote: 	
		   From: jdmcbean [jdmcbean(at)cableone.net]

  I have sold several of the King Fox treadles tires 21 X 12 X 8 and

 have not heard any negative feedback. 


	


Please look at the enclosed drawing, John. I can't figure it out. Somewhere I must misunderstand something. How can a 12 inches wide tyre fit a 6 inches wheel?

PS: my drawing was done to scale. It should be pretty exact.



The Alaska tyres look great but ... they are for 6" wheels, aren't they?

Cheers,

Michel

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_________________
Kitfox 3 - Jabiru 2200

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 6:54 am Post subject: Tires

John,



Not that I am aware of.   From the beginning, I had a little yaw to the left 

needing right rudder.  It didn't seem to affect that.  I have a trim wedge 

taped to the rudder now.  A recent flight denonstrated that I have a break 

in the zoom circuit that needs fixing.



Lowell



---

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 6:54 am Post subject: Tires

Michel,  I just re-read you post,  I think the wheels are 7" across the 

beads and 8" dia.  I just did a rough measure on an extra I have.  The 

previous post shows the tires mounted.  They look puffy, but they work great 

and I like them.



Lowell

---

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 6:55 am Post subject: Tires

Michel,  the drawing is pretty accurate, but the cross section is more 

round.

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Michel

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 966
Location: Norway

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 9:45 am Post subject: Tires

On Jun 13, 2006, at 4:24 PM, Lowell Fitt wrote:

 	  Quote: 	
		   I think the wheels are 7" across the beads and 8" dia.


	


Well, Lowell, I don't know anything about tyres and I may be reading 

wrong and mixing different things. But in my Kitfox 3 Construction 

Manual from Denney Aerocraft Company, I have, in the parts list:



2  LW-27R  Wheels; main gear, aluminium, 8" dia., 6" wide.



I "think" that is what is called "rim width" in other places. And the 

King Fox tyres state that the minimum "rim width" should be 7".

Also, I would think that any tyre is smaller at the "rim" than it 

widest part. Since the Cheng Shin are 7" wide, I'd expect that their 

"rim" is slightly smaller than that.



 	  Quote: 	
		   The previous post shows the tires mounted.


	


I am sorry but I couldn't open the attachments to your previous email, 

Lowell.



Cheers,

Michel

_________________
Kitfox 3 - Jabiru 2200

jose_m_toro(at)yahoo.com
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 12:13 pm Post subject: Tires

Michel:



I use in my Kitfox McCreary Aviation Grade tires

8.00-8.  This means this tires are 8 inches wide, for

8 inches wheels.  They are 20 inches tall, are heavier

than any other tire, fit perfectly on the wheels, and

should last "forever".



Hope this information helps somehow!



Saludos!



Jose

__________________________________________________

noelloveys(at)yahoo.ca
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 13, 2006 2:29 pm Post subject: Tires

I have Armstrong 21X7-6 tires on my 'fox.   I really can't say how well they

work as I've only gotten to taxi once on wheels.  Areocet Floats make more

sense here for most of the year.



Noel



[quote] --

Michel

Joined: 10 Jan 2006
Posts: 966
Location: Norway

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:52 pm Post subject: Tires

.. a bit late, due to an enjoyable week-end:



Thanks Rob, Lowell, Jose and Noel for your answers. The more I think 

about new tyres, the more I get a headache! Here is why. Because of my 

wheel penetration skis, I can't go far away from the Cheng Shing 

20x7.00-8 dimensions. But this seems already impossible. So, I'll have 

to modify the skis too. I am now aiming at something slightly smaller 

so that the modification would be only to shorten the four legs that 

hold the skis.



But ... it's a jungle out there, guys! First, it doesn't seem to be a 

standard way of writing tyre sizes. Sometimes it says something like 

650, sometimes 5. What unit are those? And it's from the same tyre 

manufacturer and same web site.

Then there is the price. I see aviation tyres way above USD 100 and 

others as cheap as ... USD 5!



What do you make of this:

http://www.ultralightnews.ca/suspension/tirestubes.htm



Is it something we can use on a Kitfox? Do you manage to make sense of 

the type, the size and the price? I'd appreciate any help before I go 

nuts and the men in white will have to come and take me away, ha-ha, 

hi-hi, take me away, ha-ha, hi-hi!  



Cheers,

Michel



do not archive

_________________
Kitfox 3 - Jabiru 2200

lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 5:31 pm Post subject: Tires

Michel,



One last thought.  When I responded, I was not focused on the wheel 

penetration skis.  A friend that came to the fly-in here had tires that 

closely resembled the Cheng Shing, but he found a similar lugged tire and 

spent three hours sanding the lugs off with a belt sander.  They looked 

pretty good.  They have the round profile we are used to rather than the 

flat tread that he found to be a real drag - no pun intended.



Lowell



---

noelloveys(at)yahoo.ca
Guest

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 5:32 pm Post subject: Tires

An old bush pilot once described to me a system he used in soft snow.  Once

the plane was on the snow he would let the air out of the tires and put a

plate of Aluminium( I guess ) under the tire to close off the opening.  He

would then put just enough air in the tire to hold the plates in place.  He

said it worked great for soft snow.



I have composite straight skis for my plane.  The guy who owned the plane

before me used it extensively on skis.  He developed an insert for the skis

that allowed the plane to easily be towed backwards by tying the tail wheel

to the back rack of a snowmobile.  He just had to remember to remove the

inserts before trying to take off.



Noel



[quote] --

darinh

Joined: 20 Apr 2006
Posts: 327
Location: Utah

Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 7:43 pm Post subject: Re: Tires

[quote="Michel

But ... it's a jungle out there, guys! First, it doesn't seem to be a 

standard way of writing tyre sizes. Sometimes it says something like 

650, sometimes 5. What unit are those? And it's from the same tyre 

manufacturer and same web site.

[/quote]



Michel,



Try this website, I think it will clear up your confusion on tire sizes.  It has about every aviation tire size out there and it gives you all kinds of different data points on a given tire.  It even explains the three different sizing labels used in aviation.  Read through the definitions and abreviations section then go to the Tire Data section.  Hope it helps.



http://www.goodyearaviation.com/tiredatabook.html



Darin

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