Thorp Air Command - T18.net

What tire pressure do you use in your mains?

I use 45 psi.

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Bob Highley
N711SH
SN 835
KLAL

Wow, Bob, that must be a rock to land. I use 32.
Cubes

I like 30 - 32 any more and it's hard not to bounce.

Lance

Depends on the tires & the weight of your bird. I think Bob flies his airplane pretty heavy. Goodyear says 28 psi for the tires that I run, & I put 28-30 in them. I get very good tire life, & they feel good at that pressure. You want the proper "footprint" on the ground for even wear.

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John Evens
Arvada, Colorado
T-18 N71JE (sold)
Kitfox 7 SS N27JE

I experimented with tire pressure and found 28-30 psi is what works best for me. With more than 35 psi I found it was really easy to bounce a bit upon landing which really increased my landing rollout distance.

Marshall

I have mine at a lowly 28 psi. I have 5X5-6ply tires. The below info would mean that the experts recommend I keep my tires at 52psi!

http://www.vansaircrafttires.com/pages/ ... 7DFAQ.html I cut and pasted the pertinent info from the link below:

The Tire & Rim Association has published general operating pressures for an Unloaded tires in varying sizes and plies. For the RV series tires, these are:
•500-5 4 Ply - 31lbs psi
•500-5 6 Ply - 50lbs psi
•15/600-6 6 Ply - 68lbs psi
•11/400-5 8 Ply - 70lbs psi

We cannot recommend any tire pressures for the RV series, you need to refer to the recommended air pressure from Van's for correct operating pressure for your aircraft. Also, verify if that number is unloaded or loaded pressure specified by Van's. When the tire is under load, ie., inflated and on the aircraft, the gas chamber volume is reduced due to tire deflection. This means, if UNLOADED pressure is specified, that number should be increased by 4% to obtain the equivalent loaded inflation pressure. As an example, if 30psi unloaded is specified, then the pressure when the tire is mounted on the aircraft should be 31.2psi. All tire pressures should be checked when the tire is cold.

The tires I use have four ribs on the cross section. I air my tires to the point that the outer ribs are just off the floor (this usually yields 45 psi. Some of you guys know Bob and I keep out Thorps in the same hanger. To do this we stagger them. By inflating to 45psi it will allow his tail to go under my wing. John is correct we do carry a lot of weight,damn those Model A engines

I just pumped mine up to 40psi. I will be interested to see the difference in feeling...

Yep, 28-30PSI for me too John, the bird is light, get good tire life at that preasure....Dan