Sport Pilot Talk

Hey Guys:

Here's the small airplane tire video I just cranked out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqpfFhJ ... sIcQaBCQ_A

Sorry about the bad-humor ending! (My better half said "Stop ruining your videos with that kink of crap!" But, I never listen--or learn.)

Rich

Hi Rich,

Nice well done informative video and you're absolutely right that too many don't balance their tires on their aircraft. I find all tires out of balance on aircraft so I just do them all.

Are you going to be at your hanger Sat AM? I have a wheel that needs balancing.

Fantastic training video, Rich. Thanks for your efforts, and also for providing the Harbor Freight catalog number for the wheel balancer. (Do you have their p/n for the copilot?)

Are you going to be at your hanger Sat AM? Roger that, Jim.

Do you have their p/n for the copilot? Roger that, drseti, but be advised they can be dangerous! Last year, filming what will eventually no-doubt become my most outrageous video (if I don't hurt myself, first), one blew up next to me--as I ascended from sea level to 10,500 feet on my way to Lake Tahoe. Thus, you'll need a doctor's prescription...

PS: If any of you decide to fork for one of the Harbor Freight balancers shown in the video, check first to be sure the cones that come with it (for centering to your wheel) will work with your wheels. Otherwise, you will be doing some time-consuming (and expensive) machining of cones that are are the correct size. Also, take a 20% coupon with you (widely available) and get the balancer for $40.

drseti wrote:Fantastic training video, Rich. Thanks for your efforts, and also for providing the Harbor Freight catalog number for the wheel balancer. (Do you have their p/n for the copilot?)

For the copilot I think you will need to shop at a different kind of store.

If more passengers flown by LSA pilots were like Rich's co-pilot, there would be a lot less whining about the 1320# MTOW limitation in LSAs.

Rich, I just picked up that motorcycle tire balancing frame at Harbor Freight. $40 with coupon. Thanks for the heads-up. Still looking for the copilot...

Keep you eyes open, drseti. Out here, those co-pilots are common, at freeway on-ramps, with their thumbs out...

PS: Check that axle that came with the balancer for straightness. Some folks have complained that they got a bad one--right out of the box.

drdehave wrote:Check that axle that came with the balancer for straightness. Some folks have complained that they got a bad one--right out of the box.

Thanks, Rich. Having read the reviews on the Harbor Freight website, I did check it on a surface plate, and it was true. But, the axle was about a millimeter too long, as also reported by others. A grinding wheel took care of that rather quickly.

The cones fit the bearings of both my nosewheel and mains quite well, and balancing was effortless. However, it left me with a question about tire markings. I always thought the red dot was adjacent to the light side of the tire, so should be aligned with the valve stem. Doing that with a Michelin, I found I had to add three weights 180 degrees away from the stem. Is it possible that in this case, the dot is maybe on the heavy side, and should be aligned away from the stem?

PS - right after I used a 20% off coupon to buy my balancing stand, the new AOPA Pilot arrived, with a 25% off coupon in it! So, I wasted $2.50...

Balance marks should be heavy side of the tube and light side of the tire. Over the years I have seen a few that were not even close.

I don't have to worry about red dots--as the utility trailer tires I use don't have them; however, I did have to add three 1/2-ounce weights to one of the mains--which looks pretty ugly.

But it made it smooth...

Tire mounting procedures. Complements of Desser Tire and Goodyear.
http://www.desser.com/tiremountinginfo.php