“Tires are the silent partners in every journey we take.” – Bobby Fischer
I’ve experienced two tire blowouts in my life. The first was in my 2009 Pontiac Vibe a few years ago. I was traveling south on I-35 in Oklahoma, on cruise control at the 70 MPH speed limit, when I hit something in the road. Less than a mile later, the right rear low-profile tire blew.
The wildest ride of my life followed as I disengaged the cruise control, the car jerking left then right across both lanes, narrowly missing a car that passed on my right. I came to an abrupt stop on the right shoulder of the interstate, thankfully upright, intact, and with no damage to the car. I suspect angels were involved!
An Oklahoma State trooper pulled up behind me, as the car I narrowly missed had pulled over in front of me. Both asked if I was OK. Although stunned, I shook off the shock and responded Yes, I was fine. We all inspected the situation and came up with a plan:
- The spare was located and installed.
- I drove to the next exit with the officer following me, to a tire shop, he suggested
- A new tire was located and installed
- I was on my way in less than an hour
I enjoy my Vibe, but I am not a fan of low-profile tires. This experience reinforced that opinion. I was most grateful for the help the Oklahoma Highway Patrol provided.
Tire Blowout Number Two
This one was less dramatic in its occurrence, but the resolution took almost a week. It involved my 1961 Forney Aircoupe airplane. I was doing pattern work at a towered Class D airport. On the rollout of my fifth landing, I heard a POP, then a slight pull to the left. As I turned left to exit the runway, the airplane came to a stop and would not move. Upon inspection, I realized the left main tire had blown and the tube deflated.
I informed the tower controller, who closed the runway and called the fixed-base operator (FBO) for a tow. The FBO installed a dolly under the blown tire and towed the plane to the ramp. The correct tire was not available on site. I made arrangements to secure the aircraft until I could get a tire. I was not at my home airport, so friends flew me home.
It took three days to get the tire and tube. This provided time for a rain system to pass and get a plan in place. As the pilot in command and aircraft owner, changing the tire is one of the maintenance tasks I am allowed to do. However after:
- consulting the operating manual,
- talking with my mechanic and
- contacting my airplane group on Facebook,
- as well as some YouTube videos
I knew I needed help to get this done. So I coordinated with the kind folks at the airport where the plane was, assembled some tools, packed up the tire and tube, and headed, with my spouse, via car, to change this tire. It was now six days after the blowout. Who said flying was faster? No such thing as an aviation version of AAA!
The Tire How To….What I Learned
The operating manual listed six simple steps to remove the tire and the same six in reverse to install the new one. The good news was that steps one and four were already done!
However, there was some conspicuously missing information for my situation.
First. How does one safely jack up an airplane? I had seen my plane on jacks during its annual inspections, but had never done this myself. My Ercoupe FB group was helpful, providing this picture:
Second. Along with a variety of tools, I had to gather a variety of solid steel rods to fit into the knuckle. This allowed the floor jack to safely elevate the right main. Jacking the airplane up with the dolly in place proved to be tricky, as the dolly was a bit oversized for this little plane.
Third. The onsite help was wonderful. Not only did he provide the jack, compressor, and tools I didn’t know to bring, but he also brought the expertise to get this done safely.
This included:
- Using talc to sprinkle inside the tire before inflating the tube so the tube will seat smoothly in the tire.
- Lining up the valve stem in the hub properly
- Safety wiring the brakes back on – NOTE: the operating manual instructions had you change the tire on the airplane. This avoided the need to disconnect the brakes. Both my mechanic and the on-site help preferred removing the hub to change the tire.
- Repack the wheel bearing, which falls out when the hub is removed. Another detail not mentioned in the operator’s manual!
We had arrived back at the airport around 2 PM, and I was in the air headed home by 5. Not bad. Still, six days to sort out a tire? That’s just part of airplane ownership at the grassroots level.
Ideally, these kinds of things are dealt with at the annual inspection, but in this case, like my Vibe’s blown tire, things can go wrong in between maintenance.
Thankfully, in each case, only time and some cash were lost. That’s a good day any day.
What “How to” lesson stands out to you this past year? Let me know in the comments!