On the 4th of July I went airport hopping, and on my rollout after an uneventful landing, my left tire went flat. It wasn't a blowout - just a rapid leak (from full to flat in < 100 feet). I was able to keep the plane going straight, but once stopped, I wasn't able to taxi unless I wanted to go around in circles. The airport management (it was a paved field) wouldn't let me remove the plane from the runway until they got the blessing of the FSDO, and that took several hours on the 4th. Apparently an accident had been cleared by the airport management several months earlier without FAA approval and that caused quite a ruckus. Anyway, once approval was granted, it wasn't too big a deal to get a dolly under the flat tire so the plane could be pushed to transient parking. There weren't any mechanics on duty that day either. When the flat was fixed after the weekend, there was no problem with the tire, the tube had just developed a leak in its sidewall. It was not in an area that could have been pinched by the tire bead against the rim, so the cause of the failure remains a mystery. The mechanic thought it was just a defective tube. My big question is what do folks carry with them to deal with this possibility when flying in to remote strips? Do you carry a can of flat fix? We used a forklift and some heavy nylon webbing to lift the flat high enough to put a dolly under the wheel. You wouldn't have either a forklift, or a dolly at a backcountry strip, so what is the remedy if/when you get a flat in the boonies?

It is easy to make a lightweight tapered rectangular sleeve lined w/ teflon or nylon, etc., w/ a vertical rod or pad to jack against, that takes care of the jacking problem, always keep in the plane. Have a heavy iron one at the hangar. That takes care of the most difficult problem of being at an airport w/o appropriate jacks, thus hurting the aircraft. Slime works for 'Goathead' leaks, however, kind of messy. A spare tube, tools, even a patch kit, plus a bicycle pump or 'spare tire in a can' are pretty lightweight and take care of most situations.

The folks at Alaskan Bushwheel turned me on to "Stan's No Tubes." This stuff is hands down the best IMO...use it in the Bushwheels, motorcycles, grader, baaco, ATV's, and trucks. highly recommend the product. You can find it on their website, price seems steep but a little goes a long way. Here's a link:

http://alaskanbushwheel.com/index.php?p ... Itemid=116

SK:

Do you apply it the same way you do Green Slime, through the valve stem?

88H, yes you deflate the tire and pull the valve stem then use a syringe type injector that comes with product. No Tubes requires significantly less juice than Slime does, also cleans up easily with water.

88H wrote:SK:

Do you apply it the same way you do Green Slime, through the valve stem?

It can be applied that way. No Tubes is really good stuff, slime is no comparison.

Few years ago when I was a poor college kid I had a car that was terrible in the snow and almost required snow tires. The bead on the snow tires I had rotted over the summer so they wouldn't hold air. I didn't have the money for new snow tires so I put on the old ones and tried to get by but they would go flat in minutes. Put in some no tubes and didn't have to add any air for the entire winter. Best flat protection I can think of.

Save $4 per quart (no syringe though) by buying Stan's Notubes directly from..... Stan:

http://www.notubes.com/Sealant-C14.aspx

Or your local bike shop. Every decent bike shop has this stuff in stock, but you won't find it at WallyWorld.

Don't forget a plug kit. For certain size holes, you will need a plug in addition to the sealant.

No Tubes sounds like good stuff. I'll keep it in mind. Thanks!

I have no first hand experience, but in putting together my trip saver kit this spring, I have:

jack pad
hydraulic jack
Spare tubes w/ talc
A can of fix a flat
A small portable air compressor that plugs into my cigarette lighter. I've been told that not only can it be used for this, but also for charging your nose strut in a pinch, allowing you to deflate your tires after you arrive at your first dirt strip and inflate them again before heading back to asphalt, and a primary/backup for inflating your mattress. 1 pound, lots of uses.

I need to get a patch kit still though.

Years ago I saw a backcountry flying show that showed a tip for getting out of a pinch. I always wondered how it would work. They took the tube out and stuffed the tire with grass, weeds, brush...whatever they could to fill it and make the tire take form, then put it back on the rim. Of course they didn't demo it. Anyone ever do this or heard of it being done? Seems like in a pinch it would at least get you home.