I fly a Sierra retract. Can I use recapped tires? Are the Monster recaps from Desser Tire any good?
There is a lot of extra room in the Sierra wheelwells, The Monster recaps are certainly the best value in tires these days.
You will hear some retract operators caution against the use of any recaps on retracts. This is a partial OWT that had its formation in the tight wheelwells on some retract models. Since recaps are formed on used carcasses that have stretched into shape through past use, the OD of the spinning tire can be slightly larger when it enters the wheelwell. This need not be a problem on the Sierra. For one thing, good practice suggests a light tap on the brakes before retracting the gear after lift-off, if you do a prompt retraction as I do. This simply helps make sure that the centrifugal force doesn’t create precession loads on the bearings and gear structure when the wheel changes position. It consequentially makes sure the tire is not expanded when it enters the wheelwell.
Any time gear maintenance is performed, the plane must be jacked and the gear swung. This is a basic precaution against unexpected consequences. During the retract test, with the gear in the wells, the wheels should be closely examined to ensure the tires are centered in the wells, and that nothing is touching when the tire is spun by hand. If the tires do not appear centered, the adjusting nut on the top of the cushion post should be adjusted as needed to center the tire.
With these normal precautions, you’ll have no problems. The Monsters have the deepest tread of any tire, new or used. Aviation Consumer testing has determined that tread depth is the single greatest contributor to tire life, and the Monsters were well-rated in their analysis.
Some added information on the subject of tires:
Flight schools use Condors and recaps because they get as good or better useful tread life from them, in the trainee touch-and-go environment, as they would get from more expensive tires. They save roughly 50% off their tire and tube costs compared to most of us private fliers (with our low volume purchasing power).
Sidewall life and wet or snowy traction is less of a concern for flight schools. Their tires don’t last long enough for weather checking to lead to early tire demise. They run the tires until all tread is gone, because they are typically doing dry touch-and-goes all day.
Private planes that are tied down outside and flown infrequently, are better off with the best Goodyears and Michelins. Weathering is likely to be more of an issue than tread wear. Tire covers are also available to help protect against weathering.
BTW, there is no comparison between bygone-days automotive recaps and aviation recaps. I have never seen nor heard of a recap failure on a light aircraft tire, and most heavy commercial planes operate on recaps. I’m sure there have been some failures, but they have not been worthy of note in the FAA files. The FAA rules are very stringent on the reuse of aviation tire carcasses for recapping, and on the process itself. As with other repair stations, the shops have to get certified. If someone is flying a fixed gear plane on a very tight budget, with a lot of annual hours and local pattern work, they can feel pretty comfortable using reputable recaps. Florida Aircraft Tire in the Lakeland Linder airport industrial area (across Drane Field Road from Gulf Coast Avionics) is one such reliable vendor. You can even request things like Flight Custom III or Michelin carcasses, to get better sidewall life. You do have to have recappable cores, or you’ll pay more. Many people buy them while at Sun-N-Fun, and many flight schools use them. Unless you shop carefully, though, the total cost of good recaps and shipping can approach the discount price of new Condors.
Conventional wisdom says to never use recaps on a retract, due to carcass swelling and possible jamming in the wheelwell. In reality it depends on the retract airframe model and the gear centering adjustment capability; Sierras are very tolerant in this regard.
The only tire failure I have ever personally experienced was when I took one of my left-seat demo flights on an Express 2000 (fixed gear with wheel pants, and 165 KIAS on a 310HP Continental at 75%/5,500 feet at Sun-N-Fun 2001). Thank God I managed an absolute greaser landing with the nose up (all that Musketeer Sierra training, right!), and we were directed down a taxiway back to the homebuilt area. As we were trucking along at a good fast taxi in the conga line, feet off the pedals but ready, the left main just let go. No emergency, but it proved completely impossible to keep it on the pavement for very long despite heavy right braking; the left drag and yaw was enormous. Since we didn’t want to block the route anyway, I let it drift into the first open area where we could work on it.
Nothing like running around the grounds with Larry Olsen, borrowing a jack, tools, getting a tire and tube, etc., then changing it out in the Florida sun. Turned out that the tire had been allowed to wear down to the cords, no doubt due to an earlier hard braking or landing. The bald spot had been hidden during the preflight (inside the wheel pants), and due to the frequent usage the demo guy (not Larry) had not wanted to roll the plane to check the full tire surface (I should have insisted). The tube had finally actually extruded through the cords, and wore through while we were taxiing along. How lucky can a guy get. Used it all up at S&F that year.
Larry is gone now, killed last year in a fuel-flow problem accident in his PT6-powered Express demo, while heading to Airventure. Express is fortunately going better than ever under the new owners. Their website is much improved. Paula and I have often thought of building one, since I’m not working on a Glasair all the time anymore.