Stuck in grass

Any DA40 related topics

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Davestation
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Re: Stuck in grass

Post by Davestation »

alanhawse wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:12 am If anyone knew what the perfect solution was I would sure like to know
I don't have a perfect solution - we use a straight stem inflator but it has a locking end for one handed operation and that makes it harder to get through those small fairing holes.

You may have good luck with one of these though:

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/pages/to ... -03064.php
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Rich
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Re: Stuck in grass

Post by Rich »

alanhawse wrote: Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:12 am If anyone knew what the perfect solution was I would sure like to know
It looks to me that the problem is the hole placement in the fairing is suitable for the valve location of the Cleveland 40-77 nosewheel, but not the Beringer. The Beringer valve stems are farther out, close to the rim of the wheel. Enlarging/elongating the access hole a bit toward the rear of the fairing is what's needed, so you can get a straight extension onto the valve stem. Use of such an extension is the standard approach with the Cleveland wheels.
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gcampbe2
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Re: Stuck in grass

Post by gcampbe2 »

I removed the front wheel fairing for two reasons:

1) The issue being discussed: It is virtually impossible to check the tire pressure with the front fairing on. My hat is off to those who are able to accomplish that feat.

2) I found I was impacted by the wheel corking issue that has been discussed at length on other threads. Basically my front wheel would often offset at an angle after takeoff causing the need for constant right rudder at 75% cruise and also resulting in a shudder when the front tire contacted the runway on touchdown. Removing the fairing has eliminated both of these problems and resulted in no loss of cruise speed (I assume because the increased drag from the corked noise wheel was offsetting the gain from the more aerodynamic fairing).

I'm going to reach out to Diamond on the tire inflation issue and see what guidance they provide on recommended inflation pressures. My assumption has been the the placards are the recommended inflation pressures. I will update this thread with any feedback from Diamond.
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Rich
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Re: Stuck in grass

Post by Rich »

Both problems solved. NOTE: Cleveland wheel.
N40XE Nosewheel Inflator.jpg
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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chili4way
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Re: Stuck in grass

Post by chili4way »

gcampbe2 wrote: Mon Jun 20, 2022 11:26 pm The different plys do explain the discrepancy in inflation pressures.
It could, and maybe not. My friend's plane has Flight Eagle LT / 505T08-1 / 10-ply on the nose and Flight Eagle LT DDT / 156E06B1 / 10-ply / 15X6.0-6 on the mains. I think is probably what you have, too. (Please confirm; also check your DMs.)

I heard back from Diamond Canada Customer Support on Friday that they needed to check with engineering about the differences in recommended inflation pressures.
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Re: Stuck in grass

Post by dmloftus »

I've always kept mine 5-7psi above the recommended pressure. I had a tire go on a rental DA40 at Palo Alto several years ago that nearly put me into the grass. I'd rather be a bit over than under. I've heard that rupture pressure on most tire/tube combos is above 150psi which would take a REALLY hard landing to exceed. I would probably go to 10psi above standard if I were planning to encounter a grass strip.
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Re: Stuck in grass

Post by krellis »

dmloftus wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 1:31 am I've always kept mine 5-7psi above the recommended pressure. I had a tire go on a rental DA40 at Palo Alto several years ago that nearly put me into the grass. I'd rather be a bit over than under. I've heard that rupture pressure on most tire/tube combos is above 150psi which would take a REALLY hard landing to exceed. I would probably go to 10psi above standard if I were planning to encounter a grass strip.
I’ve been operating off a grass strip for over 15 years (DA20, DA40, C-140, RV-7 and RV-10). Your suggestion is counter to my experience. Lower pressure is generally better on softer surfaces I believe.

As an example - the C-5A had a capability to deflate the tires (all 28 of them) in flight to permit landing on unimproved surfaces. I think this was only demonstrated a couple of times, but it increased the size of the contact patch and lowered the psi loading on the runway surface.
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Re: Stuck in grass

Post by dant »

I've never landed on grass but have been eyeballing camping airports and so starting to entertain the idea. Does everyone remove wheel pants before using unimproved strips? Does everyone bring small boards to place under the wheels when at rest to prevent sink?
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Re: Stuck in grass

Post by dmloftus »

krellis wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 11:32 am
dmloftus wrote: Mon Jun 27, 2022 1:31 am I've always kept mine 5-7psi above the recommended pressure. I had a tire go on a rental DA40 at Palo Alto several years ago that nearly put me into the grass. I'd rather be a bit over than under. I've heard that rupture pressure on most tire/tube combos is above 150psi which would take a REALLY hard landing to exceed. I would probably go to 10psi above standard if I were planning to encounter a grass strip.
I’ve been operating off a grass strip for over 15 years (DA20, DA40, C-140, RV-7 and RV-10). Your suggestion is counter to my experience. Lower pressure is generally better on softer surfaces I believe.

As an example - the C-5A had a capability to deflate the tires (all 28 of them) in flight to permit landing on unimproved surfaces. I think this was only demonstrated a couple of times, but it increased the size of the contact patch and lowered the psi loading on the runway surface.
Your point makes sense, but only if you remove the wheel pants. If you operate the tires underinflated on a DA40, a hard landing will allow the tires to contact the wheel pants and damage them. That is what happened to the rental aircraft when I had a blowout in Palo Alto. That’s why I keep mine a bit higher.
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Re: Stuck in grass

Post by alanhawse »

Rich wrote: Wed Jun 22, 2022 7:24 pm Both problems solved. NOTE: Cleveland wheel.

N40XE Nosewheel Inflator.jpg
How did you make that hole?

That is definitely what I need to do.
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