35" vs 31" Bushwheels

[gander]

On the exp. side of things i think the 10 inch wheel is better than the 6 and a 12 would be even better. Rubber is heavy and you are stuck with what the molded for shape,( no way to lighten up) with a larger wheel you can use various materials ,wall thicknesses to lighten the set up on the wheel side. The bushwheel wheels are way over built in my opinion as are most certified aircraft parts at the penalty of weight. If we are only talking about super cubs. I had a person who builds race car wheels look at what we use for aircraft tires both 6 and 10 inch and he laughed and said " i have seen car tires with less material in them" I told him welcome to aviation everything else moves forward we stay in the dark ages. I am not knocking bushwheels any way with this post just stating some facts, bill has done tons to improve things in the aviation world. his hands are tied by the feds.

[aktango58]

Gander,

Rubber allows give, (unless using Gar-aerro), and cusions the impacts in rough terrain. So by using larger wheels you would limit the size of rocks/holes the plane could pass over without damage I would think.

Race cars, well, off road wheels would be ok, but last time I watched a track race, even street indy cars, there was not many 10" rocks on the road....

And look at how much rubber they have outside of the rims!

[Ak]

31-33 inch Airstreak for supercubs is what we need. Something that's soft like the old tires but better quality that wont weather check so bad are quick.

[gander]

run a lower pressure, i am not saying go with a 19 " wheel. Offroad buggys are much heavier and jumping going 100mph over the desert they need more tire pressure. Alot of these style buggys are running spun aluminum wheels that weigh less than our 10 inch aircraft wheels. You cant tell me a 10 or 12 inch wheel on a 35 inch tire would not roll over large obstacles with 3 lbs. of pressure in them. My point was with more wheel you would have a better advantage to lighten the whole unit vs being stuck with more rubber.

[wirsig]

My build partner and I are using 10" weld mini sprint wheels w/ disk brakes along w/ shaved 4 ply 29" Airhawks. I think we're weighing in around 29-30 lbs. There's alot of neat products in the sprint racing world to cross over to experimental AC.

[JohnnyR]

Thread resurrection!
I would support this with my wallet. Too bad the sidewall contacting brakes is an issue. Wish there was a lighter version of wheel-tire combo for the 35’s

I think that what they need to build for us guys that are torn, is a lightweight 33" bushwheel, that will fit on our 6" wheels. I think I would definitely buy a set of those, no matter what my wife said. ABW, can you help us guys out that can't make a decision. PLEESEEEEEEE.