I am not complaining, first off, it costs 40 bucks and the tires are off anyway, with the skis on. My third coat, HERCULINER being the brand of choice (fuller bodied then other brands it seems, available anywhere) Two coats a couple days apart, uses up the can, which is the idea, the stuff doesn't store well once opened, I have a feeling. I don't bother with putting it where the worst wear isn't, way down on the sidewalls. I also, after the initial application, don't bother anymore with the whole Zylene cleaning process, just soap and water and a rinse. This stuff is real sticky, especially to itself.

Not for certified aircraft of course, or for those worried about their insurance company seizing on an unimproved mod to dodge a claim.

I seem to be getting about 100 hrs between coats, and I don't reapply until most of it is worn off. That's with less then 10 asphalt or concrete landings last year, even at airports I almost always land on the median or the gravel alongside the runway lights and of course as slow as possible. A bigger faster plane landing on hard surfaces all the time would no doubt have different wear patterns. I also give a lot of thought as to how and where I am going to taxi when at an airport, as little as possible is the goal. Kind of like protecting some expensive gloves with some cheap ones, I plan to continue this, there is no downside other then the 40 bucks every 100 hrs., and the tires definitely are protected a bit better. Most important , it makes me FEEL better when landing in rocky shale, like I'm doing all I can to save the tires. This glop and as low as pressure as possible short of the tire folding half on sidehills (been there) seems to be the way to go for me anyway. When and if I do wear out the tires or get a flat, I'll then limit my flying to only paved and towered airports. Ha ha.

Did you start doing this because you noticed significant wear on your Airstreaks, or did you just start in order to prevent wear? I am interested in their longevity and would like to put them on my taylorcraft, but not if they won't last very long. Are there any wear indicators on the Airstreaks?

CG
In the 100 hrs, any idea about how many landings?

MontanaT-craft wrote:Did you start doing this because you noticed significant wear on your Airstreaks, or did you just start in order to prevent wear? I am interested in their longevity and would like to put them on my taylorcraft, but not if they won't last very long. Are there any wear indicators on the Airstreaks?

I noticed no problem with general, over all wear, it was a few very isolated rock cuts that really got my attention! Some of my favorite nearby sites are not only rocky they are embedded rocks not just laying on the ground. Some areas look similar to those parking garage barriers that slash your tires if you don't pay. Having a (rightfully so mostly) great feeling of being able to go anywhere and do anything with the 29's lead me to be a little ignorant in how I was using them. I now pay much more attention to what happens after the landing, no more just stomping one brake and pivoting it around on what could be some bad sh*t, now I get out and cherry pick how I am going to turn around, police the area as it were, and quite often just pick up the tail (great having a light plane) and move it by hand for the takeoff.

This greater attention on my part and the bedliner, have had the desired result, I may never wear them out! I really would hate if others took this to mean they aren't any good without bedliner, not the case at all, they are just gooder in the rocks, and like I said it makes me feel better to use it! Frankly it seems to be working even better then hoped, NO further rock cuts anyway.

Think of a toy balloon with just enough air to be kinda round, then another balloon blown up super tight and large. Now, poke both of them into a sharp rock, which do you think will burst first? That is somewhat the way it was explained to me by someone who's opinion I respect, so no more "high" pressure for me, 6 or 8 lbs being what I consider high. 4 lbs, maybe 4.5 is as high as I go, 3 and even less is even better as long as I make the hill side turnarounds quick and don't try and park while sideways as then they can fold in half. No pictures of that but it happened, at 2.5 psi, no harm done though.

A takeoff area

A landing area, I made a point (pun intended) of missing the big ledge, but smaller ones were present, not a problem aired down.

Bighorn wrote:CG
In the 100 hrs, any idea about how many landings?

No idea, a lot, many of my flights are less then an hour with 3 or 4 landings. Others are 5 hrs non stop. Really hard to say, but ALL as slow as possible.

I presume that balance is not an issue on these? Does the bedliner flow to the bottom of the tire at all when applied or is it thick enough to not flow? Really interesting idea for tire protection!

That's genius! I should try that on my stockers in conjunction with a tire balancer. Mine came new as big black eggs. Definitely incentive to check your harness, loose items, and land slow.

I'm definitely putting this mod in my "for the future" toolbox!

Thanks for the info. This sounds like a really good idea. I will try it when I get mine mounted.

That's a damned good Idea CG. One could certainly add considerable service life to the tires. To address the question about the product running or sagging, or maintaining an even coat while applying. It might be a good idea to have them on a device that spins them during application. Im wondering if there is a side benefit to the textured surface. Just like a golf ball, it may reduce drag a smidge.

Sidewinder wrote:That's a damned good Idea CG. One could certainly add considerable service life to the tires. To address the question about the product running or sagging, or maintaining an even coat while applying. It might be a good idea to have them on a device that spins them during application. Im wondering if there is a side benefit to the textured surface. Just like a golf ball, it may reduce drag a smidge.

The texture is enough to maybe help if landing on slick grass and braking, and yeah it did occur to me that maybe it does do that golf ball thing and is less drag, but I wasn't about to bring that up! Maybe I'll start claiming it improves the cruise!

As to the balance, I just made a half ass effort when brushing it on to do it evenly, just like painting anything else. Any balance issues at the speed I land and takeoff at are no big deal, and in fact I have not noticed any problems with that, if they are there they are minor and I can't tell anyway.

Think of the tires as expensive (easy enough to do) hand made Italian shoes, and the bedliner as cheap galoshes you use when you know you are going to be walking in slimy mud. When they wear out you buy another pair, meanwhile the shoes are still looking good! Any disadvantages of the galoshes are offset by the protection they offer. It may or not be worth to do, depending on how much mud you walk in. I got the idea on a Super Cub site BTW.

courierguy wrote:The texture is enough to maybe help if landing on slick grass and braking, and yeah it did occur to me that maybe it does do that golf ball thing and is less drag, but I wasn't about to bring that up! Maybe I'll start claiming it improves the cruise!

The good news is that if you dimple your tires like a golf ball, it might help a tiny, tiny amount: http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythb ... nimyth.htm

The bad news is that your tires are currently more like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNKMOqpfM20