How Aircraft Tires are Maintained for Extreme Heavy Landings

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Fluctus channel. The aviation industry takes the safety of the flying experience very seriously. And when it comes to safety, aircraft tires within the landing gear systems play an important role in ensuring smooth and safe aircraft operation. Landing gear systems help absorb the shock of landing and provide the necessary traction for braking and stopping the aircraft. In today's feature, we will learn how these gigantic aircraft tires manage the landing impact and the meticulous process of maintaining these wheels to ensure optimum functioning. Aviation engineering and maintenance facilities are equipped to carry out the removal, maintenance, inflation, and installation of aircraft tires. Aircraft are capable of being maneuvered through tight turns that place high pressure on tires and when subjected to such conditions, the tire can experience external damage to the sidewall, internal damage to the casing structure, or bead unseating with consequent pressure loss. Tires must be removed and serviced before treads wear out, and operators need to mark the damaged areas prior to deflation. Maintenance personnel deflate the tire by removing the valve cap and valve core, pointing the venting pressure in a direction that will cause no harm. This process begins with positioning a hydraulic jack to lift the tire. With a clever bit of engineering, the system actually uses nitrogen from the tire itself to lift the wheel off the ground. Once clear off the tarmac, the bolts holding the tire hub cylinder in place are all manually removed one by one. Then the cylinder is pulled out, separating the tire from the wheel assembly, and a special carriage is moved into place to remove the tire itself. After the internal assembly is evaluated for damage, the process is reversed to install a new tire. Giant aircraft tires are reinforced, tested for speed and pressure, as well as the ability to handle a load of hundreds of tons. They're made to withstand hitting the tarmac at extreme speeds up to 165 mph. Aircraft tire tread pattern enhances performance in the dry, as well as during wet weather conditions. The wheel is designed to roll down smoothly on the runway while keeping in firm touch with the tarmac. Aircraft tires are made of conductive rubber compounds blended with nylon fabric, which toughens the tire for increased durability. The number of wheels required for an aircraft increases with the size of aircraft for proper weight balance. Brakes also play a very important role in keeping the massive aircraft from running off the runway. Manufacturers test brakes extensively. To certify the airplane, we make sure that the airplane can stop on the runway at its highest takeoff weight and its maximum speed. We grind the brakes down to the thinnest that they can ever be. We deactivate one of the brakes to simulate that there's a failure. We go to extreme lengths to make sure that the test is the absolute possible worst case scenario. There are many types of landing gear systems with wheels being the most commonly used. Some aircraft are designed to operate on water and are equipped with floats. These floats, or pontoons, are mounted underneath the fuselage of seaplanes to facilitate water landings. Ski landing gear, on the other hand, are designed to accommodate operations on snow and ice. This is common not only on small private planes flying over icy areas like Maine and Alaska, but also on larger aircraft like the C-130. Known as the LC-130, this model is specifically designed to provide cargo and airlift support to scientists working in Antarctica. The hydraulic retractable skis are extremely useful on unpredictable and icy surfaces where traditional wheels would be ineffective. The CH-47 Chinook helicopter is also another aircraft that has put skis to good use over the years. Despite the weight of this helicopter, its special airglass skis allow it to land in mud, sand and snow with minimal penetration into the surface. They are also configured in a special four-way non-retractable pattern that helps with weight displacement and prevents the skis from interfering with the helicopter's winch system. Though tires have seen a fair amount of technological advancements over the years, they have not seen any extensive radical transformation. In most cases, they consist of a rubber shell built around an inflatable. However, French company Michelin, one of the leading producers of tires in 2005, announced their TWHEEL airless tire technology. The TWHEEL is an entire wheel unit with a central steel hub surrounded by special high-resistance poly-resin spokes. These spokes take the place of the air in a standard tire, absorbing impacts and supporting heavier weights while allowing for a much smoother overall ride. The multi-directional thread of the TWHEEL offers better traction control while preventing extensive turf damage. These tires are projected to last two to three times longer than more traditional tires. The outer treads are made of cable-reinforced rubber that can be molded to suit the intended purpose. Additionally, the airless design completely eliminates pops and punctures, aiding to control maintenance costs. On the other hand, aviation enthusiasts may recall when landing gears looked radically different in the past. The U.S. military once equipped its 1946-made B-36 Peacemaker strategic bomber with tank treads instead of tires. The goal was to see if they could reduce the pressure on the landing gear and allow for easier landings in more diverse conditions. All in all, aircraft tires are efficient, robust, and support the aircraft when it is parked, taxiing, taking off, or landing. Future landing systems will definitely vary, but for now, the aircraft wheels are helping the world to fly and to land safely. That's the end of this video. I hope you enjoyed it. Make sure to subscribe to this channel so you don't miss any of our new content. See you next time!