Static Aircraft – What to fill tyres with?

I’ve heard of sand being used, although I don’t know anything about the subject.

I seem to recall that B-17 ‘Shoo Shoo Shoo Baby’ had its tyres filled with silicone rubber, but if you want to try that, you’ll need very deep pockets!

Steve

Rivet and the others recommending the stands are absolutely correct.

All of the materials I have read make it clear that stands are the only way to go…the only additional recoomendation is once on stands fill them with an inert gas like nitrogen. Helps preserve the tire.

The recommendation to go with clampps on the oleos is also right on the money.

Tom H

BAPC Log Book has a tyre-filling article by Newark Air Museum and the company mentioned is Vacu-Lug at Grantham.

Whilst filed tyres can flat spot the process can be beneficial from a health and safety perspective, especially when filling old high pressure tyre like those found on Vulcans and Lightnings.

See post #77 on the thread below.

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=59233&page=3

Hi Roy,

It’s not just a case of taking the weight off the tires, the undercarriage oleo legs also need to be considered. As already stated one solution is to manufacture custom designed clamps that take the weight off the legs, this together with maintaining the correct tire pressures (using a nitrogen walk round kit) will help maintain the important bits in usable condition.

Number two solution is to use aircraft jacks, to lift the whole airframe slightly off the ground, I would still use the walk round kit to keep the tires correctly inflated.

Regards

WF

Yep I go along with axle stands – fixed to the ground. It is also important to protect the rubber from UV rays from the sun by keeping the tyres painted with a proper rubber paint.

I think Duxford have done research and carried out tyre filling – Chris Chippington (have I got his name right?) and maybe Newark AM also. I remember reading many years ago about a two-part product that was mixed and poured into the tyre before it expanded.

Roger Smith.

Hi Roy
I totaly agree with rivet, axel stands are by far the best idea, but, if the aircraft is displayed outside, especialy on an exposed airfield, beware of the wind!
The 747 at Bruntingthorpe was blown through over 90 degree, with the tow tug attached recently, and the Supper Guppy had it’s towing arm sheared in two by the wind a few weeks ago, again attached to a tug, but it didn’t move!
The thing is, that a static airframe, often without an engine (or two) and with empty fuel tanks will move around very easily in the wind, and if the axel stands are not firmly attached to the ground, it could partly or totaly fall / jump off, causing further damage.
The problem with foam filling the tyres, is that you cant see what it is doing to the rubber from the inside out and could do more harm yhan good, and if it is put into a tyre with the aircrafts weight on, it will form a core shape with a flat spot permanantly moulded in, great untill you try to move the aircraft! Also, as stated by others, foam may not support the weight of the aircraft, and since the tyres only take there correct profile when properly inflated, how will you inject the foam under surficiant pressere to reproduce this?
The best answer, is either dry air or nitrogen if available, and cover the tyres with some sort of fabric shield, those metalic blankets that you see around runners shoulders after a race are great, and move the aircraft a small amount on a regular bassis.
The only better answer is to get the aircraft inside out of the elements, but that will need a Lottery Grant!!!
Best wishes.

I would think the wheel stands would be best, just take the bulk of the weight off the tires. Test drove a car, that had sat in a garage for a year, for a friend looking to buy it. The thing went thump, thump, thump down the road. Flat spotted the tires. They bought the car and after a few cycles of heating them up the lumps mostly went away. Rubber does have a memory!

I’ve used builders expanding foam in tyres, but light loads only, I would think that a heavy A/C will cause the foam to deform, and the tyre with it creating the same problems as loss of air pressure.

Best thing to do is make a stand to fit the bottom of the axle/leg to take the aircraft weight so the tyre is just touching the ground, this will then stop the tyre deforming, This should really be done on any aircraft that is going to be stood for some time.

I’m sure this has cropped up before, but I can’t find it.

I understand there are products out there which fill the tyres of static display aircraft with a kind of foam which takes a lot of the strain off the tyres.

Can anyone elaborate on this or point me in the right direction?

Thanks,

Roy.

Builders expanding foam?