Tire Delimma: 8.50 or 8.00 ?

[jon s blocker]

Craig, it looks great! If you are using grass strips you'll really notice a difference. What is the weight difference? Ground speed difference with GPS? Looking forward to seeing you at the Red Neck Fly-in. Jon

[CraigH]

Jon,
I've got the W&B data at the house, but if memory serves me correctly I only gained 6 lbs.

Haven't flown any speed checks with the larger tires yet, but when I flew with the 600 tires and pants removed I couldn't tell any difference. Might have been 1-2 mph, but nothing measurable. I'm supposed to make a fly-in at Ennis this weekend, and will do a speed check on the way.

I'm hoping to make the Red Neck fly-in. Probably won't be able to stay the entire time, but will try to pop in one of the days.

FYI - I haven't had any problems with the tires rubbing the brakes. Looks like about 1/4 clearance and so far no rubbed spots on the inside of the tires.

[GAHorn]

Yep sure do like the looks alright. Not sure I would have sold the pants though. I also must complement you Craig on the ease you seem to have posting pictures.

Yeah. Most of the one's I've seen posted made the bellies look oily.

[johneeb]

Yep sure do like the looks alright. Not sure I would have sold the pants though. I also must complement you Craig on the ease you seem to have posting pictures.

Yeah. Most of the one's I've seen posted made the bellies look oily.

Thats what happens when you put those big tires on, more of the belly shows.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

George that's anti-corrosion treatment on the belly.

[CraigH]

Jon,
From what I can tell there is not more than 5mph difference on my GPS ground speed. Fying a 2pt course at 2450 rpm I was indicating 105mph either direction and my GPS was reading 125mph one way and 95mph the other. From what I can tell from previous mesurements my ASI reads approx 10-15mph slow at cruise speeds.

I'll have to fly a little more to get used to the new landing picture. In a wheel landing, the mains touch just a second before they used to with the smaller tires. However, the plane seems to 3pt much easier with less tendency to bounce - probably because of the slightly higher AOA.

Overall I'm very happy with the results, and actually prefer the new look. Best of all, this pic was taken after 1.2 hours of flying and not a drop of oil on the belly.

[GAHorn]

(The following posted for another member, who is computer illiterate.)
"Well, you see, that actually makes sense, Craig. You see, with the larger tires the aircraft's speed has actually dropped somewhat (even tho' the airspeed indicator is not sensitive to notice.) This allows the oil droplets to fall out of the cowl opening towards the earth a bit farther before the fuselage comes along behind. Therefore the oil continues on it's downward path before the fuselage can hit them." - Cliff Clavin, cast member of "Cheers"

[CraigH]

Made another run to Ft. Worth and back for some turkey yesterday. Per the GPS, groundspeed over a 2 way course is averaging about 112 mph. Certainly not a speed demon, but very stable. Flew the whole way without touching the yoke except when it was time to enter the traffic pattern at KFWS.

Caught a tailwind on the way home and acutually manged 147mph groundspeed for awhile while in a 300fpm descent. The landing characteristics in the 3pt attitude really seem to have improved with the larger diameter tires.