Looks GREAT! Nice work!

Here’s the latest with the paint finished. I never planned on being a painter but necessity has made it happen to a degree [emoji848]

WOW! That looks fantastic! Way to go!

Kurt

What a thing of beauty! (and utility too!) This thread makes me happy and gives me hope
-DP

This is awesome. Congratulations, kudos on the hard work, and thanks for sharing along the way. To think that it started out as two halves of two 170's is wild now that it's done.

-asa

Thanks guys, it is crazy to think. Have about 37 hours on it now, flies nice and straight feels good on the controls and gets off the ground nicely with the sportsman leading edge.

Looks great. Congrats.

That’s a nice looking 170!

Great looking plane and love the tires on it too!!

I scroll through this thread every other week to help keep me motivated on my project.

That is a great looking 170! Great job and congrats.

I think those are 10 x 10 Alaska Bushwheel wheels. What are those tires?

180Marty wrote:I think those are 10 x 10 Alaska Bushwheel wheels. What are those tires?

29 x 11 x 10. Lots of footprint, lots of Angle of incidence, and they will wear forever on a plane that size. You can order them buffed down to remove most or all the tread, and lighten them up some. Only Dow side is they’re heavy and kinda stiff....but for many surfaces they work fine and they are a lot cheaper than Bushwheel’s.

MTV

Does anyone ever run 850x10 Airtracs?
Little smaller than the 29" x 10's, but I bet a little lighter too.
Get some added AOA with less downside, and maybe less cost to boot.

mtv wrote:Only Dow side is they’re heavy and kinda stiff....but for many surfaces they work fine and they are a lot cheaper than Bushwheel’s.

MTV

I would caution anyone from running this setup. As MTV says, they are freaking heavy... Even shaved. I just installed a set of 8.5x10's on a customers 185 and even this setup is heavy (42lbs each side.) If memory serves, shaved 29s on AB 10" wheels are 51lbs ea side. GarAero adapters a bit heavier. By contrast, a set of 29" ABW are 38lbs ea.

Another thing that no one really considers is just what kind of detriment 50lbs will have on an old gear leg. To me, this is a bridge too far.

On a 170, the 8.5x10 is a nice setup (for heavy pavement options) provided one is running 180 gear. For early and "lady legs" they are too heavy and will shake the heck out of the bird.

RE: your rebuild... Looking good!!!

Bigrenna wrote:

mtv wrote:Only Dow side is they’re heavy and kinda stiff....but for many surfaces they work fine and they are a lot cheaper than Bushwheel’s.

MTV

I would caution anyone from running this setup. As MTV says, they are freaking heavy... Even shaved. I just installed a set of 8.5x10'a on a customers 185 and even this setup is heavy (42lbs each side.) If memory serves, shaved 29s on AB 10" wheels are 51lbs ea side. GarAero adapters a bit heavier. By contrast, a set of 29" ABW are 38lbs ea.

Another thing that no one really considers is just what kind of detriment 50lbs will have on an old gear leg. To me, this is a bridge too far.

On a 170, the 8.5x10 is a nice setup (for heavy pavement options) provided one is running 180 gear. For early and "lady legs" they are too heavy and will shake the heck out of the bird.

RE: your rebuild... Looking good!!!

Not sure where you’re getting your info, Greg. Here’s the info on the buffed 29x11x10 tire from Airframes:

Buffed Airhawk tires balance the unbeatable off-airport capability of an Alaskan Bushwheel with the on-airport capability of standard aircraft tires. Along with a sturdy sidewall, these qualities make Airhawks ideal for pilots with heavier aircraft who have unavoidably long taxis on pavement when they head out and come back from flying. Buffed Airhawks are also the lighter version of these dual-purpose "crossover" tires.

Specs:

Dimensions: 29" x 11" x 10"
Weight: 27 pounds

Desser lists their buffed 29s At 21 pounds each (not counting tube weight).

And they list the “unbuffed version at 28 pounds each.

I’m not sure why the difference between ABWs weights and Desser’s, but I’m guessing that ABWs weights include the tube and Desser doesn’t.

While 29 inch Bushwheel’s list at 31 lbs each. So, basically it’s a wash between the Bushwheel’s and the 29 inch Airhawks.

Now, if you buy the Goodyear 29x11x10 tires, I’m sure they are a lot heavier, but they’re also higher ply rating.

I’ve run these buffed 29s on a couple planes and also 8.50 x10 tires on a few and they work just fine. If I were doing a lot of pavement work, but still needed a big tire, I’d sure consider these.

MTV

mtv wrote:Not sure where you’re getting your info, Greg. Here’s the info on the buffed 29x11x10 tire from Airframes:

MTV

I know you prefer the "read the internet" technique, but I get my info from weighing them when I install them. Perhaps you have found a way to run the tyres w/out any wheels?

As I said, I cant remember exactly the weight of the 29 set-up, but they are indeed heavy. Its been about 18 months since I mounted a set of buffed 29s. Usually I take a pic of the tire on the scale, but for the life of me I cant find the pic...

Real-world weights are not always as promised... So if the tires/tubes are aprox 30lbs, and the AB 10" wheels/rotors are 17-18lbs, and you are at sea level running our heavy air, you are damn near close to 50lbs.

Even at 45lbs thats a ton of tire to hang on an old gear leg.

Bigrenna wrote:

mtv wrote:Not sure where you’re getting your info, Greg. Here’s the info on the buffed 29x11x10 tire from Airframes:

MTV

I know you prefer the "read the internet" technique, but I get my info from weighing them when I install them. Perhaps you have found a way to run the tyres w/out any wheels?

As I said, I cant remember exactly the weight of the 29 set-up, but they are indeed heavy. Its been about 18 months since I mounted a set of buffed 29s. Usually I take a pic of the tire on the scale, but for the life of me I cant find the pic...

Real-world weights are not always as promised... So if the tires/tubes are aprox 30lbs, and the AB 10" wheels/rotors are 17-18lbs, and you are at sea level running our heavy air, you are damn near close to 50lbs.

Even at 45lbs thats a ton of tire to hang on an old gear leg.

So, you’ve figured out a way to fly an airplane without wheels?? Cause at least in my experience, I’ve always found that wheels are pretty handy. Now, those 10 inch wheels do weigh a little more than a 6 inch wheel, but, not THAT much.

As to Internet “data”, I’ve found that Airframes’ information is pretty accurate on items I’ve used. Desser....not so much.

MTV

mtv wrote:Now, those 10 inch wheels do weigh a little more than a 6 inch wheel, but, not THAT much.

As to Internet “data”, I’ve found that Airframes’ information is pretty accurate on items I’ve used. Desser....not so much.

MTV

They are double the weight, 16lbs vs 8lbs.

My Airhawks are 52lbs a side on my scale.

I’ve been flying with them on instead of my bushwheels this winter, they shake out there on the gear leg a LOT more. It was/still is a bit unnerving.

Prosaria wrote:

mtv wrote:Now, those 10 inch wheels do weigh a little more than a 6 inch wheel, but, not THAT much.

As to Internet “data”, I’ve found that Airframes’ information is pretty accurate on items I’ve used. Desser....not so much.

MTV

They are double the weight, 16lbs vs 8lbs.

My Airhawks are 52lbs a side on my scale.

I’ve been flying with them on instead of my bushwheels this winter, they shake out there on the gear leg a LOT more. It was/still is a bit unnerving.

Are these buffed or stock?

ANY big tire will shake a lot on a Cessna gear. I’ve run a 185 with these tires and really didn’t care for them, mostly because where I was running them, they weren’t needed....working really solid gravel bars, etc.

But, I for one would never put a big Bushwheel on a Cessna gear either, unless I REALLY needed them, and if that were the case, I might start thinking about a different airplane.....but that’s me.

But—-worried about weight on Cessna gear, and consequent gear shake? Greg is going to have a shock when he gets those C-3200 wheel skis installed on his 180.

Try installing a set of C-3600 retractable wheel skis out there. Now, you’ve got 6 inch wheels, brakes calipers, (small) tires AND about 65 or so pounds of ski hanging on each gear leg. Now you’ll see some gear shake. And on skis, you’re beating the crap out of that gear. Ski flying is about as hard on the gear as anything out there.

I ran this setup all winter on a 185 for at least twelve winters, with no problems.

A fellow I know ran the same setup on an older 185 and had a gear leg break at the axle mount. After that, he had his gear dye penetrant tested every year before the skis went on. I think that was a bit of overkill, but having the gear checked every few years probably isn’t a bad idea with this much weight out there.

I also ran AWB 2500 wheel skis on my C-170B which had early 180 gear. Similar weights on those skis, and never broke anything, but gear shake? Oh yeah!

So, my point is, if you don’t really NEED those big tires, I sure wouldn’t run them. They no doubt cause stresses on the gear and gearboxes. But understand that these gears were tested by the manufacturer and in the field with significantly heavier loads out there, and in REALLY rough conditions, and frankly, gear breakages are pretty rare.

MTV