have an american champion explorer 7GCBC, want to do some back country flying, want to install tundra tires...

any thoughts on:

26" vs. 29"?
tubeless or tube-type?
the goodyear 26" vs. alaskan bushwheel 26"
should i go to a bigger tailwheel also?
any and all info/comments appreciated, thanks.

Consider that whatever you end up getting, you'll probably wish in the end that you had gone bigger.

Invariably when I fly something that has 26's I wish they were 31's. If I'm in something with 31's I wish they were 35's.

Get the biggest tire your pocketbook and aircraft will allow.

i'd consider doing some back-country with the stock tires first...
big radials are VERY different, and not always the best...
they do look way cool....
you have a very capable bird, and the stock tires will work pretty good...

All of the AK Bushwheels are true tundra tires. Much time on the pavement will lead to premature wear, so stay in the weeds with them as much as possible. The 26" Goodyear is not really a tundra tire and is much smaller than a 26" AK Bushwheel, but will wear like iron, on or off - road. There are also some heavier 10" wheel options out there, too.

Figure out what best suits your mission and what you can afford. There's lots of choices.

gb

varadero88 wrote:have an american champion explorer 7GCBC, want to do some back country flying, want to install tundra tires...

If you want..... Get the 31's, you'll love them and find a use for them too. Whether it's plastic surgery, or Bushwheels. Always go big

I think tire size should be determined by mission. Personally I have been into many of the old mining strips in SE Utah, and many of the Idaho Backcountry strips, and haven't been on any that the 8.50's with lower pressure didn't work just fine.

The bigger you go with tires, geneally you are adding more weight, and drag in flight, so you pay a couple penalty points there. Also with the bigger tires you are putting extra stress on gear boxes, gear legs, axles, brakes, etc.

If you are landing in river bottoms and places with unforseen obstacles, then you probably should go as big as you can afford. But sofar, I haven't seen anything called an airstrip, that the 8.50's weren't just fine on.

I did run the Goodyear 26's for awhile, and liked them alot, but ended up feeling that they were a little overkill for 'MY Mission".

Another thought, most of us are probably just doing this for fun, so do whatever gives you that "warm fuzzy feeling".

Hope ya all had a good Thanksgiving

Gary

"... Also with the bigger tires you are putting extra stress on gear boxes, gear legs, axles, brakes, etc."
...Gary...not sure about this...big tires with lower air pressure, I feel there is less stress on the airframe, gear and such...Big tires for off field operations are like insurance...

I also would stay away from tubed tires...spinning a tire with a tube in the backcountry can be a challenge...

Ron
Copper Center Alaska

Do any of you new guys know how to do a search? We beat this subject to death.

Just call Wup and order a set or 29s put them on and go flying, and yes don't forget the baby bushwheel for the tail

Welcome by the way

J5

A couple factors that will add to the stress to the landing gear when you have a larger, heavier tire is the fact that you have lengthened the "arm" of the gear leg, so that whatever resistance your tire makes contact with is going to have a greater effect on the landing system.

Braking with also have the possability of transferring more stress because of this longer "arm" and the fact that you have a larger rotating mass that you are trying to stop, and greater traction from the larger footprint of the tire. Depending on the effectiveness of your brakes.

On pavement your tires will take a bigger bite because of this added weight, and larger mass to set in motion.

Don't get me wrong, I like big tires, but I feel that practically speaking, you should use the smallest, large tire that will let you accomplish your mission safely, for both you, and your plane.

I also have the Baby Bush Wheel, and think it is great. The ability to run the tailweel at a lower pressure and having the larger footprint and diameter are a big advantage on rougher strips, and in the dirt.

Gary

Not sure what the GW is for your GCBC but the AkBushwheel "AirStreak" version is lighter than their standard bush wheels. I bought a set of 26" and only have a couple of landings on them. I would have gotten the 29" if they had been available at the time. I had 8.50's on first and they were a good tire, went to the 26" Goodyear tire..WAY too hard for my Champ! Maybe would be fine on the GCBC but the sidewalls were pretty stiff even with very little air pressure in them but them I worried about spinning the tire on the rim and tearing off the valve stem. This was the reason I got the BW's. Big difference....feels like landing on marshmellows!! I've only had 10-15 landing with them on but they are soft.
May be interested in selling because I would like the 29". I fly out of my farm and darn pocket gophers seem to attack my strip at night.

Welcome to the site!

This has been beat to death on every site that has anything to do with flying in the sticks, but since that was your first post maybe you just haven't noticed.

Since like most of us your are probably flying for the fun of it, just analyze where you fly and buy the tire that will do the most for you. Buying the smallest tire you can get by with will be buying the tire that will do the least for you, unless your goal is speed. In which case you failed by not buying a Lancair....

The goal in an off field tire is decreased rolling resistance coupled with increased shock absorption... plain and simple

The idea that bigger tires will hurt your airframes is fundamentally flawed. The loading that will damage your airframe is not sustained load, but shock loading. At that instant, the tire is in compression (a lot in a Bwheel) not only shrinking that "arm" but also dampening the shock. One landing on rip rap size gravel in an all metal plane with and without B wheels will teach you this..Two landings will have you getting out of the non equipped plane... or fixing it.

Wup will correct me if I am wrong here, but I believe the sidewall is much stiffer in the 29" vs the 31" B wheels. In a plane as light as yours this is not good...I would think towards either 26" B wheels or 31" B wheels. If Your flying takes you into the sticks regularly. Notice I said the sticks and not "back country airstrips" Which for the purpose of this conversation could be called a dirt, gravel, or grass airstrip...

If you will be more of a sunday morning to the local dirt strips type (and there is nothing wrong with that) then 8.50s will be all you will need and more. They will also keep your pocket book happier.


Does anyone know what exactly happened to the guy who landed the maule in the sand and got stuck? I don't... but I do know he borrowed a set of Bwheels to get out...Ironically when I briefly spoke to him after that event he said he still wasn't sold on Bwheels...
Take care, Rob

Rob wrote:Welcome to the site!



Wup will correct me if I am wrong here, but I believe the sidewall is much stiffer in the 29" vs the 31" B wheels.
Take care, Rob

The side walls are the "same" construction wise but the difference comes in the hieght of the sidewall (makes it feel stiffer) and the extra ply in the caseing for the upgross to 3600#

I think ABW sez that the new airstreaks are for light airplanes- 1650 & below. Wup, my 150/150TD has a gross of 1760, would it not be legal to install the airstreaks then? What aircraft are approved on the airstreak STC?
I'm also curious why the name "airstreak" was used- wasn't that the name of a state-of-the-art bushflying tire from some years back?

Eric

hotrod150 wrote:I think ABW sez that the new airstreaks are for light airplanes- 1650 & below. Wup, my 150/150TD has a gross of 1760, would it not be legal to install the airstreaks then? What aircraft are approved on the airstreak STC?
I'm also curious why the name "airstreak" was used- wasn't that the name of a state-of-the-art bushflying tire from some years back?

Eric

"Airstreak" Was the old name of an earlyer Tundra tire we used it to make sure that there was a very defined line between the Light tire and the Standard tire(Bushwheel) so we would not have people trying to put Lighter tires on a higher gross AC. The STATIC load rateing on the Streaks is 850# each so a total of 1700#. People have put them on per the STC and Placarded down the 60# when on "Airstreaks" but that is up to your FSDO office if you can get around that or not.