hamer wrote:

mtv wrote:Goodyear says the 6 ply 8.50 x 6 tire weighs 12 pounds, not 20.

MTV

When you guys mentioned "goodyear tire" I assumed you meant the blimp tires since those are smoothies. The GY 850s have tread IIRC.

In each of my posts, I noted "Goodyear 8.50 x 6 tires". I also noted in one of my posts that, while smooth tires help to reduce the amount of junk that's tossed at the horizontal stabilizer, you'll still get some of that even with smooth tires.

The Goodyear 26 inch blimp tires are indeed heavier, and there are very few approvals for those tires on fixed wing airplanes.

MTV

I run Goodyear 26” Blimp tires on my C180 (with a Field Approval). I run the Desser’s on my Citabria’s.
60% pavement, 35% dirt, rock strips, 5% grass.
I pipeline patrol with all these aircraft.
The Goodyear’s wear like iron. I have well over 700 hours on them now and still have a long way to go. This is best tire for C180 as far as I’m concerned, for what I do.
The Desser’s on the Citabria last about 500 hours before they are gone.
Same kind of flying on both.
They are both good for what I do as they are smooth. They throw less rocks, debris, etc.
Having said that I can’t imagine running the Desser’s on a Skywagon. Too light a tire for what I do. I doubt the would last 200 hours.

I ran smooth 850's on my C180 and honestly don't think it's worth it, looking back. At this point I'd go 850 GY, 26" GY, or bushwheels. I have since lived on a gravel strip and watched many planes land. I personally don't think the tread on the tires makes rocks measurably worse if at all. From what I've seen, I'd estimate that 99% of all rocks hitting stabilizers,etc are thrown at the instant the wheels touch the gravel, all at once. If a trike, you get a second burst when the nosewheel touches down. These rocks can be heard hundreds of yards away. The lone rock or whatever that gets stuck in the tire tread, in my mind, is negligible.

I have 8.50 Goodyears on my 170, and think they are about perfect. I have been tempted to go to 26s but not keen on the weight, and I cant find a way to do it legally in Canada. I'd run 29s if the budget was not an issue, but it is.

I just got them retreaded for the second time by Wilkersons, awesome service, $150 a tire. $50 more if you want smooth. The last time lasted about 700 hours, but I do a lot of landings, 95% pavement. I swapped sides once in that time as I seem to have a lot of camber when light. 180 gear.

They are significantly taller than the 8.50 Airtracs I use while they were away.

As far as approval goes for mounting the Desser smoothies on a C180--
there is a 3/26/2013 letter from the FAA to Atlee Dodge approving the use of 4-ply 850x6 ties on C180, 182,185, & 170 series aircraft.
However, it specifically approves "original main gear wheels", which hardly anyone runs these days--
I'm not sure if it's technically applicable to Clevelands.

http://www.fadodge.com/wp-content/uploa ... ations.pdf

Does the 26” Goodyear just use a 8.50 tube?

slow18 wrote:Does the 26” Goodyear just use a 8.50 tube?

Yes.

Fish scale says 9.27 lbs for desser 8.50.

asa wrote:I ran smooth 850's on my C180 and honestly don't think it's worth it, looking back. At this point I'd go 850 GY, 26" GY, or bushwheels. I have since lived on a gravel strip and watched many planes land. I personally don't think the tread on the tires makes rocks measurably worse if at all. From what I've seen, I'd estimate that 99% of all rocks hitting stabilizers,etc are thrown at the instant the wheels touch the gravel, all at once. If a trike, you get a second burst when the nosewheel touches down. These rocks can be heard hundreds of yards away. The lone rock or whatever that gets stuck in the tire tread, in my mind, is negligible.

Not sure I'd agree with 99 %, but I agree that you're probably pretty close. I really think the attraction to smooth tires is a bit overplayed, particularly since in fact most folks land on pavement a lot anyway.

MTV