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Thread: 35" bushwheels

  1. #1
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    Default 35" bushwheels

    Hello,

    TLDR questions:
    Are 35's a good idea for hard off airport on an FX?
    1.75" vs 1.5" brakes on 35's and 31's?
    Any other options that are a good idea with 31's/35's?
    BBW + Acme stinger a good idea to offset weight with 35's, or overkill?

    I talked to the sales team a little bit about this but I was wondering if I could get feedback from other owners or more input from the staff. I have an FX3 slot for next year.

    I understand that 35"s are not a factory option for the FX series for engineering reasons.

    I am probably going to take delivery on 8.50's because I need the 8.50's for my summit wheel penetration skis. However, I am planning to keep a separate set of wheels with tires mounted for summer use. I am trying to decide between 31's and 35's for this. I could feasibly take delivery on 31's and get the 8.50's later, but I figured it would be more economical to take the 8.50's from the factory. With the 2000 lb max gross weight of FX3, it seems like 35's are not prohibitively heavy and provide a substantial margin of safety/capability in rough takeoff & landing spots, or on sand/tundra (which are indeed surface I do plan to land on).

    Are there any landing gear options that could serve to mitigate any potential risk to running 35's?

    I am definitely getting safety cables. I do plan on taking the airplane off-airport quite, at least once I get some experience. I am based at an airport with a gravel runway, however it is a 1/2 mile pavement taxi to get to it (wear consideration). I also need to decide if the 1.75" brakes are necessary instead of 1.5"s and whether I should go with the Acme stinger + baby bushwheel. I feel the beefier tailwheel setup could have center of gravity benefits especially were I to run 35's. Main landing gear suspension will be some form of Acme's latest offerings.

    Thanks in advance. Locked in a hotel with nothing else to think about.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: 35" bushwheels

    Yup, board to death in a hotel room, been there done that. No fun.

    I cannot directly answer your question, but will say my 26" bush tires have gotten me anywhere I wanted to land. It seems that the weight of the large tires are almost prohibitive for me, uses up a lot of weight (EX-2).

    Anyhow, I'm sure you know of SuperCub.org, it's a great resource and I believe tire size has been discussed to death. Might find some info over there if someone does not chime in here.
    Last edited by aeroaddict; 05-31-2021 at 08:55 AM.
    Dan Arnold
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    Senior Member Andy's Avatar
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    Default Re: 35" bushwheels

    Seems to me that 35 inch tires are perfect for those that:

    1. Want to reduce the aircraft useful load
    2. Think the FX-3 is too fast and needs more drag
    3. Don't want to see anything over the nose in 3 point attitude

    Based on some very experienced pilot input in discussions on SuperCub.org there are very few people who go places that 35 inch tires are needed. I'm happy on 26 inch BushWheels but I don't go to places no airplane has ever been before. (Did enough of that with glider land-outs)

    I think the brake choice depends more on whether you want to be able to do full power static run-ups rather than stopping performance for landing roll.

    Takeoff tire wear on a paved runway must be almost zero. Makes no sense to taxi half a mile to gravel if the paved runway is closer.

    I need the mod that allows me to dial in a lower density altitude. It's getting hot in Arizona.

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    Default Re: 35" bushwheels

    https://youtu.be/M6L_e7B8HDU

    Quote Originally Posted by Narwhal747 View Post
    Hello,

    TLDR questions:
    Are 35's a good idea for hard off airport on an FX?
    1.75" vs 1.5" brakes on 35's and 31's?
    Any other options that are a good idea with 31's/35's?
    BBW + Acme stinger a good idea to offset weight with 35's, or overkill?

    I talked to the sales team a little bit about this but I was wondering if I could get feedback from other owners or more input from the staff. I have an FX3 slot for next year.

    I understand that 35"s are not a factory option for the FX series for engineering reasons.

    I am probably going to take delivery on 8.50's because I need the 8.50's for my summit wheel penetration skis. However, I am planning to keep a separate set of wheels with tires mounted for summer use. I am trying to decide between 31's and 35's for this. I could feasibly take delivery on 31's and get the 8.50's later, but I figured it would be more economical to take the 8.50's from the factory. With the 2000 lb max gross weight of FX3, it seems like 35's are not prohibitively heavy and provide a substantial margin of safety/capability in rough takeoff & landing spots, or on sand/tundra (which are indeed surface I do plan to land on).

    Are there any landing gear options that could serve to mitigate any potential risk to running 35's?

    I am definitely getting safety cables. I do plan on taking the airplane off-airport quite, at least once I get some experience. I am based at an airport with a gravel runway, however it is a 1/2 mile pavement taxi to get to it (wear consideration). I also need to decide if the 1.75" brakes are necessary instead of 1.5"s and whether I should go with the Acme stinger + baby bushwheel. I feel the beefier tailwheel setup could have center of gravity benefits especially were I to run 35's. Main landing gear suspension will be some form of Acme's latest offerings.

    Thanks in advance. Locked in a hotel with nothing else to think about.
    Dave Embry
    "You only live once.......but if you do it right.........once is enough."..

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    Default Re: 35" bushwheels

    Thanks fellas, I do like to land in places that no other airplanes have. I figured having the set of 8.50’s and a set of bigger tires for quick swaps would give me the best of both worlds - long trip with just flights between airports - put on the 8.50’s and enjoy the 135 mph TAS. Local adventuring within a few hundred miles of home? 31/35’s.

    I know I’m no Greg Miller (Mauleguy of big rocks long props fame), but he advocates pretty strongly for 35’s as a safety feature for those landing off airport, claiming the risk of damage from inadvertent rocks and potholes is greatly reduced. Additionally, the floatation on soft surfaces such as tundra and sand appears to be a big benefit. I realize they’re a +30 lb payload hit over the the 31’s, but that’s the beauty of an 850 lb payload in a 2 seater. I have flown a PA18 on 35’s and found it to be great fun, and visibility wasn’t much worse than my spirit of St. Louis esque 182 with an 8.50 nose wheel.

    Maybe I will stick with the 31’s though. I feel compelled to respect the manufacturers recommendations, even if EAB allows me not to. Anyhow, just having some fun thinking about this stuff. This is the fun part!

  6. #6
    Senior Member Andy's Avatar
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    Default Re: 35" bushwheels

    Quote Originally Posted by Narwhal747 View Post

    I know I’m no Greg Miller (Mauleguy of big rocks long props fame), but he advocates pretty strongly for 35’s as a safety feature for those landing off airport, claiming the risk of damage from inadvertent rocks and potholes is greatly reduced.
    Relative to what though? How do you objectively compare the advantages of 35 inch tires with all their disadvantages. What do you compare those advantages with - 26, 29 , or 31?

    Sounds like you have far more off airport experience than me so I'll be interested to hear what you decide.

    I couldn't stand to watch the linked video again and don't remember what he uses on the Kit Fox. Isn't it 26 inch?
    Last edited by Andy; 05-31-2021 at 05:58 PM.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Dan L's Avatar
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    Default Re: 35" bushwheels

    I have 31s on my EX and have made many off-airport landings with them. I never wished for 35s for the reasons already stated by others. I have been a backseater in two different PA18s with 35s and though they seem to roll over most anything, I considered them more than I needed.

    I started with 1.5” Grove brakes and used them for several years. Wanting more braking power I swapped them out for 1.75s and have been pleased with the improved stopping power. I brake on almost every landing.
    Flying Carbon Cub EX #11 since 2011

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    Default Re: 35" bushwheels

    I see no real disadvantage in 35s. I’ve had them on(2) SS. And a FX3. Flew them on a EX2. You lose no speed on a SS from 31” tires. It’s 2 MPH slower then 31s on FX3. I enjoy the the safety margin they provide when landing somewhere new and end up in a bull hole,old orange grove where they dug the trees out or soft marsh that you thought was hard. Angle of attack makes up for the extra weight on take off. Landing a little longer hard to stop them. You really need to put Beringer wheels and brakes on it if you really want to be able to stop. 1 1/2” brakes won’t even slow you down and the1 3/4 just aren’t enough when you really need them. There’s very few times you can’t find 150’ of grass next to a runway or taxi way to land. Just avoid pivoting on one tire they’ll last a long time and that’s in any bush wheel. I ran a set of 31s on 4 different cubs before they showed cord. My 35s probably have 6-700 hrs on them now and on a second airplane. Only down fall is I can’t just jump up on the tire to fuel the plane. You really need to have 3x3 gear to run them which comes on the FX3. I don’t care much about seeing over the nose or little extra weight, not sure what that is when you use the Beringers. After flying them this long can’t imagine anything else on my personal cub.
    But that’s just my opinion.
    Chuck
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    Default Re: 35" bushwheels

    Quote Originally Posted by Springloaded View Post
    I see no real disadvantage in 35s. I’ve had them on(2) SS. And a FX3. Flew them on a EX2. You lose no speed on a SS from 31” tires. It’s 2 MPH slower then 31s on FX3. I enjoy the the safety margin they provide when landing somewhere new and end up in a bull hole,old orange grove where they dug the trees out or soft marsh that you thought was hard. Angle of attack makes up for the extra weight on take off. Landing a little longer hard to stop them. You really need to put Beringer wheels and brakes on it if you really want to be able to stop. 1 1/2” brakes won’t even slow you down and the1 3/4 just aren’t enough when you really need them. There’s very few times you can’t find 150’ of grass next to a runway or taxi way to land. Just avoid pivoting on one tire they’ll last a long time and that’s in any bush wheel. I ran a set of 31s on 4 different cubs before they showed cord. My 35s probably have 6-700 hrs on them now and on a second airplane. Only down fall is I can’t just jump up on the tire to fuel the plane. You really need to have 3x3 gear to run them which comes on the FX3. I don’t care much about seeing over the nose or little extra weight, not sure what that is when you use the Beringers. After flying them this long can’t imagine anything else on my personal cub.
    But that’s just my opinion.
    Chuck
    Thanks Chuck, great info as always! Beringer wheels brakes sound really nice but I’m afraid the 10” diameter brake discs would complicate my winter time swap to 8.50’s for the penetration skis. Might still be worth it depending on the level of pain involved with swapping the rest of the brake parts (calipers) in addition to the wheels, but I really have no knowledge. There is also the risk of a nose over, I don’t know if running the stronger brakes with 8.50’s increases the chance of that, granted that is a pilot issue. I guess nosing over on skis might be harder to do anyhow!

    The beringer system does look intriguing! At the very least I will probably order the 1.75” HD brakes I’m case I do go 35” ABW.

    Is there any advantage to 1.5” axles vs the usual 1.25” cubcrafters axles when running these big tires over rough stuff?

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    Default Re: 35" bushwheels

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy View Post
    Relative to what though? How do you objectively compare the advantages of 35 inch tires with all their disadvantages. What do you compare those advantages with - 26, 29 , or 31?

    Sounds like you have far more off airport experience than me so I'll be interested to hear what you decide.

    I couldn't stand to watch the linked video again and don't remember what he uses on the Kit Fox. Isn't it 26 inch?
    I think you might need an accelerometer like @turbopilot has in his dynon avionics package to scientifically and objectively quantify the advantages of 35’s. Breaking things on rough fields is a legitimate concern, for instance I had a mixture adjustment screw black out on landing in the 182 a few weeks ago, causing this:



    There is gulley/ditch in the strip that I hit at about the 00:24 mark that is very difficult to see from the air. Yes, iit just came out of a carb overhaul so possible maintenance reinstallation issue, but this was on 8.50’s all around with an airglas heavy duty nose fork on what passes for a “strip”. Apologies for the poor video quality, friend filming from the right seat. I have read a few issues with light speed ignition wire connectors coming loose on our cubs, I would hate to have that happen in a remote place due to insufficient shock absorption.
    Last edited by Narwhal747; 05-31-2021 at 10:37 PM.

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