OSH - Airventure 2006

Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:17 pm

Has anyone noticed the worn out tires on the B-1B and fluid dripping here and there. What was up with all that? I don't think they have enough tires to safely land one more time...

Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:12 pm

That's shock and awe.

People who see the B-1 are in shock and awe at how badly mauled they look.

:lol:

Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:42 pm

Tom Crawford wrote:Has anyone noticed the worn out tires on the B-1B and fluid dripping here and there. What was up with all that? I don't think they have enough tires to safely land one more time...

In the Navy there was a certain number of "layer" of the tire that could be worn before it was needed to be replaced (I think it was 3). That was safe and there was no problem with that.

No the retreads they used for Nose Gear was a differetn sorry. They made great FOD on the Cat shots.

TIm

Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:45 pm

can you say budget cuts..............lol. Naw, probably a working bird. USAF I am told gets all the goodness out of the tires. I got a couple of them that I work with. Was normal practice to run them until the cords show.
You got to remember, not all military aircraft look like the p-51's you see at oshkosh. back in ww2 i am sure there were some leaks here and there on them too..

Anyone got pics of the silver DC-3 thats there. Its either 700CA or 922CA. Mary Lou or Pricilla............worked on them both. Its nice to see them out and about and not in the hangar sitting in plb

Fri Jul 28, 2006 6:02 pm

On the F-4 you can run the nose tires down until you see the red cord. I've never seen the red cord, we change them long before it shows. Mains are 26 ply, so whats a few layers between friends ! :lol:

Good thing it was dry and HARD, Dave. Those hard little tires would probably sink into the mud so fast it would make your head spin ! Hope they parked you on the pavement.

Fri Jul 28, 2006 6:24 pm

Taken at Oshkosh in 05

Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:00 pm

Here are some random shots I took earlier this week.

Bela P. Havasreti

Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:01 pm

I understand the multiple plies but this is "Oshkosh" for crying out loud, taxpayers are everywhere. Maybe the crew wants us to feel sorry for them and call our congressman to authorize a larger tire budget. Who knows. Chord showing like that is pretty scary....

Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:04 pm

Maybe its like the regional airline thing. " They'll give them all the gas they want but they gotta buy their own tires ! " :shock:

Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:23 pm

Tom Crawford wrote:I understand the multiple plies but this is "Oshkosh" for crying out loud, taxpayers are everywhere. Maybe the crew wants us to feel sorry for them and call our congressman to authorize a larger tire budget. Who knows. Chord showing like that is pretty scary....

Haven't seen it, but some of the surprise factor is that here we are over-used to 'toy' and recreational aircraft which are almost always better presented. 'Working' aircraft, whether airliners, cropdusters or military tend to be a lot rougher than we are used to, because they are used.

Sat Jul 29, 2006 5:13 am

Tom Crawford wrote:I understand the multiple plies but this is "Oshkosh" for crying out loud, taxpayers are everywhere. Maybe the crew wants us to feel sorry for them and call our congressman to authorize a larger tire budget. Who knows. Chord showing like that is pretty scary....

No, cords showing on the tire is not scary...it is NORMAL. The tire is DESIGNED to wear that way. There is nothing wrong with the tire, other than it looks bizarre to someone who doesn't know how they work.

Could they put a new set of tires on the B-1 to take it to an airshow? Yeah, probably...but that's no guarantee they won't still look like that after the first landing. In the T-38 the design life of the tire is something on the order of 20 landings. The cords start showing after about 4 or 5 landings. If I were taking a T-38 to OSH for the show, and I left Moody with new tires...I'd probably still have cords showing when I touched down because of the gas stops on the way to getting there.

More importantly...these are warhorses. There is a war on...remember? These airplanes are getting a LOT of use. There is not time, manpower, or effort to be wasted sprucing a jet up to look pretty for an airshow (unless that's your specific job in life, like the Thunderbirds or the Demo Teams, or whatever).

Sat Jul 29, 2006 5:15 am

RickH wrote:On the F-4 you can run the nose tires down until you see the red cord. I've never seen the red cord, we change them long before it shows.

In both the F-15 and the T-38, it is not permissible to have cords showing on the nose tire. On the mains (in both jets), you can wear the tires down to the red cords.

Sat Jul 29, 2006 9:03 am

I've been watching for the red cords on the Cessna - none yet.

Guess I'm good for another hunnerd landings . . . :rock:

Wade

Sat Jul 29, 2006 11:52 am

When you pay the price for a military 6.00 X 6, you get the red cord. When you pay the price for a civilian 6.00 X 6, you follow your conscience on tire replacement.

Aircraft tires serve a different purpose than automobile tires. The stresses on aircraft tires are different than what you'll find on auto tires.

Sat Jul 29, 2006 10:22 pm

Here are some of my OSH pics. You can find more at:

http://www.stickandrudderphoto.com/photography.php

Enjoy!

Chris