hey guys, im looking about for some tyres bigger than i have for the drifter that are also a smooth tred. currently running 800X6 but i would like to go up to maybe a 20 inch at biggest, but something a bit more pushy. anyone know a good place to start looking that wont cost a fortune?

Is that a Lockwood drifter? 8.50x6 tires are about 18" diameter, but would be even stiffer and heavier than your 8.00's, (about 16lbs each I believe) especially if you're using the golf cart tires typically used on light sport aircraft (like I am on my Challenger). I Know mine are about the same diameter as an aircraft 6.00x6, but wider and of course with a much softer sidewall despite being labeled as 8.00x6. You might be able to find an ATV tire that size, but would need to have to tread removed, and probably have to get different wheels as well. So not cheap.

Your best option is probably an Airstreak 26", but those run about $2k a pair.

I hope someone else chimes in here, I wouldn't mind some bigger tires on my Challenger.

Phil

Dessler tires has a 4ply mini tundra 21" x 6 thar are about 100 each, I have a couple hundred landings on a set and they are holding up great.

Big John wrote:Dessler tires has a 4ply mini tundra 21" x 6 thar are about 100 each, I have a couple hundred landings on a set and they are holding up great.

Perfect! Thanks.
http://www.desser.com/store/products/21%7B47%7D800%252d6-4-PLY-AERO-CLASSIC-TL%7B47%7DTT-LSA-TUNDRA-TIRE.html

its an austflight drifter, Australian varient (actually there is now more of them out there that the original lockwoods!) dirived from the lockwood many years ago but a bit heavier and substantially stronger.

mine 800's are definatly bigger than my old 6's. they have been great but I would like a bit bigger for clay pans and longer grasses when im mustering.

Those dessers are the direction I think I will head, but they arnt available in australia and the postage is making them really expensive, so i was seeing if anyone knows of any other options and if so I would see if I could source them over here.

so I take it oyu have been happy with the dessers?

I have these at the moment

http://www.desser.com/store/products/80 ... TIRE-.html but sourced over here

DrifterDriver wrote:I have these at the moment

http://www.desser.com/store/products/80 ... TIRE-.html but sourced over here

Yep, those are the exact same ones I have on my Challenger's mains right now. I'd love to put one on the nose and use those mini bush wheels on the mains.

I've love to see some details on your Drifter. Sounds like a pretty nice back country plane.

Phil

sorry mate, only just saw this message! shoot through any questions you want to know!

Just curious about the design. How does it handle? What's the Performance? Of all the light weight planes in that category the Drifter seems to be the only one popular internationally.

Phil

Magnums are the best, although the Trojan thin rubber...... Woops sorry wrong forum .

its the dream machine mate! its really quick to!........if you have fear of speed that is.......50-55 knots.......

that said it handles like nothing else. I mean there massive over here, infact i think there is more in aus than anywhere else? there mostly famous as muster planes over here simply because there is no other plane in with its low and slow performance let alone its handling.

good bush plane to, as there incredibly strong. especially the ones made over here by aust flight. while a bit heavier, there really beefed up and super strong. thats what mine is. and i still get a take off ground roll of about 70 meters, and a landing roll of 50m.

I have a 503, but they are and even better plane with the blue top 582. there even better with that than they are with the 912, though the 912 makes them a better plane for flying 2 up. while they have a second seat and fly comfortably with a passenger, you really dont get to see the best in them till your solo. I will stick with the 503 as the performance difference isn't great, and they are just so reliable. plus if something does go wrong, there's very little that wont be an easy fix.

low rider wrote:Magnums are the best, although the Trojan thin rubber...... Woops sorry wrong forum .

zeros arnt bad either

What's the roll rate like? My biggest gripe with my challenger is that it has a strong over banking tendency, and really weak ailerons. The factory says not to bank past 45 degrees, and I can see why. At 45 degrees, add a bit of turbulence to bank further and I'm not sure I could get it level again.

Looking at Lockwood's page, it seems they only sell them with the 912 now. Apparently there was no demand for the other engines once they started offering it. I'm not planning to change planes anytime soon, but I always like to know what to look for. I see a lot of pictures of Drifters in Africa too, and that always speaks volumes for a planes reliability and maintainability.
Thanks!

Phil

Bear_Builder wrote:What's the roll rate like? My biggest gripe with my challenger is that it has a strong over banking tendency, and really weak ailerons. The factory says not to bank past 45 degrees, and I can see why. At 45 degrees, add a bit of turbulence to bank further and I'm not sure I could get it level again.

I test flew a plane for a builder that had that same tendency. In fact, it was a little scary when unexpected. It was a brute in roll and more so coming back out. Judiciously using firm opposite rudder leading, made the job a lot easier. The peddles at your feet come in handy and get worked, on those type of aircraft.

the roll rate on them is the main reason there such good muster planes. .

best explained in this video i think.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... LCqy4T0wtI
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GLCqy4T0wtI[/youtube]

DrifterDriver wrote:the roll rate on them is the main reason there such good muster planes. We are flying them at 6 feet and putting them up hard on one between trees and around cattle all the time. putting them at 90 degrees is no problem.

best explained in this video i think.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... LCqy4T0wtI
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=GLCqy4T0wtI[/youtube]

Damn it Drifter! Now I want one of those!

For comparison, in this video nearly every turn I had to use full aileron and rudder to roll out level again.

Bear_Builder wrote:What's the roll rate like? My biggest gripe with my challenger is that it has a strong over banking tendency, and really weak ailerons. The factory says not to bank past 45 degrees, and I can see why. At 45 degrees, add a bit of turbulence to bank further and I'm not sure I could get it level again.

Phil

I have over 2000 hours in Challengers and I can relate to it's tendency to accelerate an over banked condition. A couple of observations I found.
Tail winglets help...BUT they are not all created equal and they must be installed carefully. I've flown some that made the issue worse. There's a reason that the LSA and European versions have a redesigned tail section.
You can add a few degrees of dihedral to the wings fairly easily and that helps a bit. Be careful again. Challengers are sensitive to rigging issues like mismatched washout.
Most of the high thrust line pushers I've flown are prone to this feeling of over banking. The thrust is over center on a turn and pushes the nose down and to the outside of the turn. They all take some amount of top rudder to keep them on line in a turn. (a bad habit I fought hard to un-learn later) I've never flown a drifter so I can't say.You can easily see for yourself how big an effect this is by shutting the engine off and soaring for a few minutes. The Challenger does this quite well actually. The majority of the banking issues disappear on a properly rigged Challenger while soaring.
The Excalibur fixed the mushy aileron problem by using push/pull rods instead of cables. Yours should be snug.
The Challenger's light weight and light wing loading make it a fun plane but it also means it will always be bumped around by winds and thermals.
A 2 place Challenger is about as good as it gets for economical low and slow flight.

yeah by the video you can certainly see the difference but they are 2 very different aircraft. I would like to give a challenger a go, they look like they could be a really good touring aircraft. what do they cruise at?

My Challenger cruises at 60 to 65mph with the fat tires, and 70 to 75 on skis. I imagine with the tiny stock tires and wheel fairings it would do the advertised 80mph.