Tire options for CTLS

[ABQ CTLS]

I bought a new CTLS a year and a half ago. It now has 250 hours & 2700 landings. The tread is quite worn on the outer right tire & I'd like to replace it. Rather than just getting another 4.00-6, I'd like to see what's available to be able to land off runway. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

[paul m]

I bought a new CTLS a year and a half ago. It now has 250 hours & 2700 landings. The tread is quite worn on the outer right tire & I'd like to replace it. Rather than just getting another 4.00-6, I'd like to see what's available to be able to land off runway. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome.

 

 

2700? That's alot of touch and go's.

[ABQ CTLS]

Roger,

What if I were willing to fly without wheel pants? Would that open up more possibilities for a wider, taller tire?

Gregg

[ABQ CTLS]

If I put 600-6 on the mains, will I need to change out the front tire?

Thanks, Roger, for your time.

Gregg

[ABQ CTLS]

I spoke to JOJ here & he told me his CTsw has the large mains with the original front tire. He's happy with that set up.

Gregg

[Mick]

Resilient Technologies (of Wisconsin) has marketed an airless tire for ATV's and Hankook has developed a prototype airless tire for passenger cars. They have a honeycomb-type composite design with a rubber tread. No air, no low pressure, no worry about stem pull and no flats. Can't wait for the aircraft version that will fit our planes.

[Tom Baker]

The tundra tires fit inside the wheel pants. I have them on my CTLSi.

 

Was your airplane ordered with tundra tires, or did you replace them. The 600x6 tires will not fit inside the wheel pants on my CTLS with the small tires.

[coppercity]

FD has a set of wheel fairings for the Tundra option to allow room for a 600-6 tire. If your CTLS came with the smaller 400-6 wheel fairings you purchase a new set of Tundra wheel fairings or go without. There is no need to change the front tire on the CTLS as it came standard with a 400-6 nose tire and is adequate for both main tire sizes. The older CTSW's with the smaller nose tire were the issue upgrading to larger mains.

[ABQ CTLS]

1) When you change to the Tundra tire be sure you get the correct stem on the inner tube for that tire. My wheel required the stem with a 90° bend.

2) Also, when you're putting together the two sides of the wheel - try not to PINCH the inner tube as the inner tube tries to bulge towards the center. To do this (after we ruined one expensive inner tube) I used 3 deep throated wood clamps to squish the sidewalls of the tundra tire together so that I could get the bolts started & tightened that hold the two halfs of the wheel together.

 

And finally, as to the inquiry about how many landings I usually do per hour, it's over forty. And that includes warm up & taxi time. Each landing is a separate downwind, base & final with contact with the runway unless I'm doing teardrops at idle. Updated totals now: 320 hours & 4500 landings. On one of my rare trips away form the airport I did go out to Lake Powell for Roger's October Fly-in.

[FastEddieB]

And finally, as to the inquiry about how many landings I usually do per hour, it's over forty. And that includes warm up & taxi time.

 

???

 

60 minutes in an hour.

 

60/40 = 1.5

 

Each complete pattern and landing in 1.5 minutes - and you said over 40 and to include warmup and taxi time.

 

So less than 90 seconds for each pattern and landing?

 

Doesn't sound possible - or am I totally confused?

[ABQ CTLS]

These are done at daybreak when I'm the only one flying. Just me & the guys in the tower. Remote airport, nothing around but flat empty desert.

[ABQ CTLS]

Max speed is about 65kts. I leave the flaps at 15°. Full stall landings (predominantly calm winds at daybreak). Front tire still looks new, it usually only contacts the runway for the last landing of the day.

[S4Flier]

Assume around 6k feet for the runway length, short final of let's say 1.5K feet and upwind of 1.5K feet gives 3nm for the full pattern. 40 times around gives 120nm. So you'll need to average 120kts. Changing to where the pattern never extends beyond the runway still gives a total of 80nm and an average of 80kts.

 

Hmm -- I'd like to see the unedited GoPro video

[ABQ CTLS]

Work it the other way & you'll get an idea of the distances involved. Also, some of the time I'm using two runways. But it is a touchdown averaging 75 seconds.

[ABQ CTLS]

Sometimes it is emergency maneuver practice involving teardrops at idle from 350'. Back and forth on the same runway multiple times. Those take longer because the runway is 7000'. Those are about 2 minutes.

[FastEddieB]

 

Hmm -- I'd like to see the unedited GoPro video

 

I was thinking the same thing - it would be educational.

 

I have a lot of time instructing. I fly pretty tight patterns, and traffic permitting, insist my students do as well.

 

I think on a good day, we'd squeeze in maybe 10 or 12 touch and goes in an hour. 40+ is damn impressive.

 

I may dig out some raw video and see what a trip around the pattern takes me in the Sky Arrow.

 

Still, love to see a sub-1:30 pattern!

[ABQ CTLS]

s3flyer, send me your phone number & I'll call now

 

greggalias1@mac.com

[FastEddieB]

Found one:

 

 

 

My feet were really asleep that day!

 

In any case, I took off about 1:00 in. Not a regular pattern, since SOP, wind permitting, is to take off south but land north due to the runway slope. Took off on 19, very quickly began a left turn overfly the airport, immediately entered a left downwind for 1, and even flying a modified base for trees, looks like it took around 4:00 overall.

 

1:30 or less would be impressive and I'd still like to see it!

 

[ABQ CTLS]

55 to 65kts; base & final are at idle. Kinetic & potential energy (speed & altitude) at the numbers on downwind mean I won't have to depend on my engine for the rest of downwind base & final. I like to slip to lose speed while close per the runway. Pull the nose up while slipping (maintaining tracking right down the center line) & speed bleeds away. Settle down in alignment with runway in the mid 40's

At altitude I practiced slipping at speeds approaching stall. I wanted to know how my plane handles at low speeds so that I am not surprised by something bad close to the runway. In a slip with 15° of flaps at speeds approaching stall my plane's nose porpoises up & down uncontrollably (it does not do this with 0° of flaps). I can comfortably slip my airplane close to the runway to decrease the speed without having to stare at my indicated airspeed (which may be wrong due to the nose high, non-aligned attitude).

[ABQ CTLS]

Every time I touch down, the axis of my aircraft is aligned with the runway. Irrespective of the wind, I'll roll on one side or the other of the main gear wheels. Of course, with a strong crosswind, you can't only put down the opposite wheel. In calm wind I've put it down on one side, kept contact with only that wheel while rolling that wheel of the airplane from one side of the runway to the other and back. With 4500 landings in my CTLS I've gained a pretty good feel for the aircraft. It's not like I've never made mistakes, either.

The gentleman figuring out distances starts off with an incorrect assumption as to the length of my crosswind & base. I don't measure my distances but I do keep track of time & numbers of landings.

[ABQ CTLS]

In two years and almost 2 months I've flown 320 hours in my CTLS. My wife thinks I'm nuts cause I rarely leave the airport perimeter. The airport, as I said, is in the middle of nowhere, completely flat, no trees. Nobody to hit, no buildings but hangars & the tower. If I have to set it down in the dirt then I may damage the gear. I don't worry about other aircraft because I'm in class Delta and the tower has positive control. None of my turns or pitch excursions bust any FARs.

I travel frequently to California where I rent a 1946 Champ. I've got 110 hours in that tailwheel with over 1000 landings. The most difficult thing I do in the Champ is roll the tail wheel along the runway but not let the mains down. To do this (& keep it in that nose high attitude with only the tail keeping contact), the power must be constantly adjusted because the elevator is useless at raising the nose while the tail wheel is rolling along the runway.

[FastEddieB]

 

It might be a fun experiment to try. Start the timer the second your wheels touch down and see how quickly you can make a complete circuit until touchdown again without endangering yourself or someone else or violating multiple FAR's.

 

I thought about trying this in my Sky Arrow.

 

It would be at Copperhill, with about 3,000' of runway.

 

I don't think I've ever tried to do a "minimum time" circuit. To be safe, I like to be at about 500' before turnng crosswind, and to fly a standard pattern altitude. I also consider it poor form to turn to crosswind before the runway end - because other planes will not be expecting it. I normally fly a tight pattern anyway, and can do it fairly consistently with no power from abeam the numbers and substantial slipping on final.

 

If the rain holds off today, I might head over to the airport with the GoPro and try tweaking a few parameters (turning crosswind earlier, lower pattern altitude) to see what I can come up with. I'm not sure to what end, but now I'm just curious.

 

 

 

 

[FastEddieB]

don't worry about other aircraft because I'm in class Delta and the tower has positive control.

 

To be clear...

 

...your airport has a tower? Or are you in the class Delta of another airport?

 

I missed it if you already said.

[ABQ CTLS]

My situation is unique because my airport is class Delta and importantly, as I mentioned above, the whole area is flat. Not even a tree in sight. No houses, no people. I watched the video of the pattern in Georgia by FastEddieB above. The runway is in the middle of a forrest. No place to land easily except that runway.

Near my airport a C-172 made an emergency off field landing due to engine problems. There was no damage whatsoever to his plane. Nice flat hard packed dirt.

[procharger]

Looks like somebody needs to use a chain saw cool runway