Friday 24 November 2017

New tyres

As I was about halfway through my Oshkosh adventure I noticed that the main gear tyres were wearing prematurely. 

I was surprised as I only had about 120 hours on the aircraft and 50 of that was on grass. Even so the main gear tyres were bald on the inside edge. (Those 70 hours do not represent a lot of take offs and landings either as most legs of my journey were quite long).

I decided to carry on with the rest of the trip and monitor them closely. I didn't have any problems with them but was keen to replace them as soon as I got home.

As the rims on the Twister are so narrow - at 4 inches - there are not a lot of options out there for tyres.

I went for the Aero Classic 6 ply and they seem a good option. These are a proper aviation tyre - unlike the factory supplied SAVA brand, which on further discovery I found out are not even rated as a proper aviation tyre (at least not in the U.K. anyway).

I guess the SAVA tyres would be okay if you were only flying off grass but even so I would recommend an upgrade to the Aero Classic. 

BTW the Aero Classic also come in an 8 ply version but that tyre shape is very squared off at the edges and I don't think they would suit the Twister as the main gear splays out at an angle that demands a rounded edge on the tread.

The difference in price is staggering though - Aero Classic are £78 each and the SAVA are £25 each. You get what you pay for I suppose.

Look at how bald and worn the inside edge of the factory tyres is compared to the new Aero Classic on the right.