P-51 - Tailwheel Tire Blowouts / Replacements

[sdennison]

Red Tail uses 90 psi. We've blown 2 tires, one at oshkosh, and one moving the aircraft 2 feet, straight line (no side loads) in our hanger!

Define "blown". Like the sidewall image?

[51fixer]

Rich, by new do you mean new to the mount? How "old" was the "new" tire?

What I'm getting at is how aged is the rubber? How long can a new, old stock tire be stored and not get "brittle" so that after a few landings, the side walls do what you have pictured?

My question is to educate me as I am "igorant" about such things.

Thanks,
Scott

This 51 is a resident at our hangar this summer.
They annualled it here in later July.
The tailwheel was new tire, tube and rim. Can't get much newer than that. The tire was one they had recently received from Desser. How long they had it I don't know.
The tire hadn't been around for ages or anything like that.

I run 10 ply T/W tires at 75 psi and 14 ply at 85 psi.
Rich

[51fixer]

Red Tail uses 90 psi. We've blown 2 tires, one at oshkosh, and one moving the aircraft 2 feet, straight line (no side loads) in our hanger!

Define "blown". Like the sidewall image?

Blown is blown up- Pow like in an explosion.
The photo is a tire showing that it would soon go pow.
Rich

[B-25 MM Jim]

Like that.... This was taken today. It's a 14 ply tire, set at 90 psi, had MAYBE 5 landings on it.

[John Dupre]

Makes you wonder how they won the war.

[mlenoch]

The tailwheel tire issue was discussed at this recent OSH Mustang safety forum. Many of the operators said to keep their 14 ply tail tires at 100 to 110 PSI. None expressed a problem at this pressure value. It was mentioned to beware of the Vietnam tires.
FYI,
VL

[snj-5]

So does Desser have an "official" return / replacement policy on these?
Or are they just waiting for operators / owners to call in and replace them on a case-by-case basis....???

Thanks,

Bela P. Havasreti

[B-25 MM Jim]

Nothing official I know of, but I am just following instructions on shipping it back.

[snj-5]

Okeydoak, thanks.

Bela P. Havasreti

[sdennison]

Wow, that's huge bead failure. Are all 51 tailwheels split, two piece design?

If the bead chords can't stand the 90 psi pressure and loads not having been stretched over a rim, that's a huge problem. Is there any continuity in serial numbers on the failed tires?

I could only imagine that there was some issue with the chord material or process in manufacture of these.

Hope you guys can get this one sorted out.

[mlenoch]

I have only seen two piece / split tail wheels on Mustangs.
VL

[planeoldsteve]

Isn't the same tire used on the T-6?

Steve

[ZRX61]

Isn't the same tire used on the T-6?

Steve

Yup.

[bdk]

What is the correct pressure for a T-6 tire? Channel tread and S.C.?

[sdennison]

So, T-6's seeing the same failure? Split rims or solids?