I just landed at St Simons Island (KSSI) and had a flat. This landing and the prior landing were smooth although this one was a little fast. They have just cut grooves in the KSSI runway giving great traction but also spinning the tires instantly up to 90.

The right tire still had 44 lbs psi of nitrogen. I assume that the left (before the flat) had the same pressure. Neither of the tires looked low prior to the flight.

The flat was the same type that I have had in the past. The inside of the tube right in the middle there is a very small leak. I am bringing the tire home and will have it examined under a microscope to see if we can see what caused the problem.

I got the tires and tubes directly from Desser. They are about 1 year and have about 120 landings.

Remember that my calculation show that my empty weight has approximately 400 lbs on the mains and nose. When at 1,900 lbs gross, there is about 320 lbs on the nose and 790 lbs on the mains. The Desser tires are rated for 500 lbs at 70 psi.

I am thinking that the tube is slipping/rubbing against the tire at pressures below 40 psi causing the small holes in the side of the inner-tube. I use talc on the tube. This time I also used talc on the tire to seat it on the tube. The tire seated very easily but I am not sure whether this will cause slipping in the future.

Can anyone help me with a recommendation as to the tire pressures that they are keeping in both the mains and the Nose.

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Lorn H. 'Feathers' Olsen, MAA, ASMEL, ASES, Comm, Inst
DynaComm, Corp., 248-345-0500, mailto:lorn@dynacomm.us
LNC2, FB90/92, O-320-D1F, 1,700 hrs, N31161, Y47, SE Michigan