My recently purchased 180 came with 700's and I'd like to upgrade to a set of 850s. I do like getting where I'm going as expeditiously as possible and am based on a paved airport so I think I'll steer clear of the bigger tires for now. That said the 700s are starting to get a little small for the strips I've been eyeing.

Questions is do the treads really make a difference in rocks getting kicked into the tail on the 850s or is that more directly related to the actual tire size?

Mat, how are those Desser 4ply tires holdin up? I do like the price and weight. Do you think they'll last on pavement?

BL:

I have the 8.5 x 6s on my 180 and I run the Desser retreads. They seem to wear better than the new ones and are also cheaper (even considering the charge for shipping my old carcasses). Have had no real issues with rocks.

I normally send them my old carcasses to be retread, so I don't know if they have retreads on hand if you don't have a pair to send them? But even if they don't, would be a good solution for you when the first pair wears out.

Turnaround time has been good.

Good luck with the new 180. They are great birds!

L

I've read all the threads and links. I'm still on 6.00-6 with McCauley wheels.

I think I'll be waiting for the Grove/Desser STC. I'm on amphibs all summer anyway. I'd have to come south of the snow and play on the desert airstrips in winter!

Beringer Aero sure makes nice stuff. If only.....

To 'Gunny' and or 'Lenny' (or anyone else with field approval for the GY26 inch tundra tires.)

Thanks for your efforts in trying to get the field approval for the GY26's for your wagons.

I am now seeking to do the same, and I see on this thread that 'Gunny' mentioned that 'Lenny' had obtained the approval.

Can either of you please let me know if you are willing to share your F337 approval for the GY26 inch tundra tires, as well as any previous F337 approvals that you might have. The more the better, so as to convince the San Jose FSDO to approve the same for my wagon.

Thanks in advance - you can reach me directly at [email protected]

Skyhopper

http://www.flyskyhoppers.com

skyhopper wrote:To 'Gunny' and or 'Lenny' (or anyone else with field approval for the GY26 inch tundra tires.)

Thanks for your efforts in trying to get the field approval for the GY26's for your wagons.

I am now seeking to do the same, and I see on this thread that 'Gunny' mentioned that 'Lenny' had obtained the approval.

Can either of you please let me know if you are willing to share your F337 approval for the GY26 inch tundra tires, as well as any previous F337 approvals that you might have. The more the better, so as to convince the San Jose FSDO to approve the same for my wagon.

Thanks in advance - you can reach me directly at [email protected]

Skyhopper

http://www.flyskyhoppers.com

Just forwarded you an email with 5 FA's. Unfortunately mine hasn't been approved yet (4 months later) and my tires went bald waiting, so I shifted gears and am now running the Desser smooth 850's. I expect mine will get approved, but I couldn't wait any longer this time around. Maybe next time I need tires...

-asa

skyhopper wrote:To 'Gunny' and or 'Lenny' (or anyone else with field approval for the GY26 inch tundra tires.)

Thanks for your efforts in trying to get the field approval for the GY26's for your wagons.

I am now seeking to do the same, and I see on this thread that 'Gunny' mentioned that 'Lenny' had obtained the approval.

Can either of you please let me know if you are willing to share your F337 approval for the GY26 inch tundra tires, as well as any previous F337 approvals that you might have. The more the better, so as to convince the San Jose FSDO to approve the same for my wagon.

Thanks in advance - you can reach me directly at [email protected]

Skyhopper

http://www.flyskyhoppers.com

Skyhopper-

I wish I could say, sure, here it is. But as I said somewhere in the middle of this thread I gave up on getting the FA for GY26's. The local FSDO basically wanted me to complete an STC application with testing and all sorts of stuff. I was never totally convinced that I wanted GY26's and the prospect of spending all that money/time only to see if they met my mission was a hill to great to climb for me. Zane has several FA 337's for GY26's on this site. Here in North Texas that proved to be insufficient. Good luck. I'm waiting for Desser.

gunny

Gunny wrote: .....I gave up on getting the FA for GY26's. The local FSDO basically wanted me to complete an STC application with testing and all sorts of stuff. I was never totally convinced that I wanted GY26's and the prospect of spending all that money/time only to see if they met my mission was a hill to great to climb for me. .....

There is a "tundra tire worksheet" that was developed in Alaska for oversize tire approvals.
As I recall, it includes flight testing at max fore and max aft CG.
IMHO requiring much more than providing previously approved 337's which included this worksheet info is
reinventing the wheel, considering how many skywagons are running around with 26" GY's.
But that seems to be one of the things FAA does best.

Well, 19 months after submitting a previously approved 337 to the FAA for 26" blimp tire field approval, I finally got my 337 approved! Now I have to decide if it's worth spending the money on it.

Congrats, JRC. I submitted my 337 for goodyears back in May and haven't heard anything other than that "there are no issues so far". In the meantime, my 800's wore to be bald so I had to pull the trigger on something. I put on a set of the 850 dessers 2 days ago and so far am happy with them. They are 1lb lighter per side than my Condor 800's (12 lbs vs 13 lbs), including tubes. I will be based on pavement so I'll see how they wear.

-asa

Hello all,

I'm in the process of purchasing a skywagon with some 8.00's on it now and I had some questions about them.

What are the limits of the 8.00 as far as backcountry goes, how much more do you really gain with 8.50's?
Whats the speed loss?
How different is the over-the-nose visibility on the ground? (I'm a measly 5'7")
Weight difference?

Thanks!

Av8or2Skier wrote:Hello all,

I'm in the process of purchasing a skywagon with some 8.00's on it now and I had some questions about them.

What are the limits of the 8.00 as far as backcountry goes, how much more do you really gain with 8.50's?
Whats the speed loss?
How different is the over-the-nose visibility on the ground? (I'm a measly 5'7")
Weight difference?

Thanks!

Questions like this may involve a bit of "investment bias" considering I chose to spent money on the upgrade therefore I want to see good results when I evaluate them.

I was in the same boat, bought mine with 8.00's. Told myself I wouldn't upgrade/change until I wore those out. For me the gain in backcountry capability came from softer sidewalls, lighter tires, and no treads on the dessers to throw stuff. It was a win/win/win when you throw in the cheap price. All of these perks are specific to this tire though, not the 8.50 size in general. The size difference does help I guess but I mean it's not a huge difference, a couple inches maybe. I did not notice any speed loss when calculating true airspeed. I figure my resolution on that calculation is 1-2mph so I imagine the change is in the noise. I did not notice any visibility change, however I'm 6'4" so that's never been an issue. I saved 2lbs going to the Desser 4 ply 850's from Condor 6ply 800's. Today is Thanksgiving so I fully expect to gain those 2 lbs back.

I'd take a hard look at the Superhawk's. They stand a little taller. I really like mine. I'm out a KFTG if you want to come have a look at them.

Jim

After 9 months, I got a call from the Denver FSDO and then another call from my IA telling me that my field approval for 26" Goodyears was approved and is in the mail to me. It was submitted with 5 other previous approvals on 180's. The delay was pure FAA work overload and nothing technical. They never requested any further info or anything like that.

-asa

ASA-

Congrats, Denver looks like the FSDO to use for GY26's.

gunny

asa wrote:After 9 months, I got a call from the Denver FSDO and then another call from my IA telling me that my field approval for 26" Goodyears was approved and is in the mail to me. It was submitted with 5 other previous approvals on 180's. The delay was pure FAA work overload and nothing technical. They never requested any further info or anything like that.

-asa

Congratulations. Nice to hear someone getting something approved.

Thanks. I put my approved 337 up in the BCP knowledge base for anyone to use to help them out.
-asa

Asa-

Did you submit anything else besides the other FA's with your application?

gunny

Gunny wrote:Asa-

Did you submit anything else besides the other FA's with your application?

gunny

The IA I got to do it submitted 4 other approvals from 2006-2015. Two of these were completed by him and approved by the same FSDO inspector and had the exact same wording. The others were from other IA's/FSDO's. He also included a copy of AC27.733-1 even though it's been superseded, as well as a couple pictures from the installation on another airplane. Hope this helps. I can email you the whole package if you PM me your info.

Thanks,
Asa

Has there been any more feedback or info on Desser 31's on a 185? I think this is the setup that I am most interested in. Hoping for an STC but may go for a field approval if thats the only way. Heard of anybody getting one?

Gunny wrote: Asa- Did you submit anything else besides the other FA's with your application? gunny

There used to be a "tundra tire worksheet" which was part of the field approval process for oversized tires, mainly used in Alaska.
I used to have a sample but it got lost when my last computer took a dump.
It had a section to fill out re change in CG, making sure it was still in the approved envelope with extreme fwd and aft loadings.
Also something about maintaining mimimum prop clearance, loded up and in level attitude with the wheels on greased plates.
Also a box to check that you'd flown it at extreme fwd & aft CG limits.

Anybody here got a copy of that worksheet?