Blown Tailwheel Tire

[n85ae]

Taxiing out for takeoff, and thought I'd hit a bad section of asphalt. turns out my Tailwheel tire
popped.

2.50/2.80-4 on a Maule

Got it apart this weekend, and no punctures, etc. tube had simply let go out the side, I partially inflated
it and see a lot of similar looking cracking.

My thinking is I simply hit "old age", it's about 17 years old, and the tire still has a bit of tread. needless to say
I replaced both.

Any thoughts on Maximum tire/tube life? This year I replaced a bunch of o-rings, and seals at annual, so it
seems there must be a max lifetime of around 15 years on rubber parts.

Jeff

[PapuaPilot]

Wow, I don't have any idea how you got over 15 years on this. My plane is only 5 years old and I am on my second tire and tube. My original tire tread wore down to the point that some goat-heads punctured through the tire and got the tube.

Tires should be replaced under several conditions like if the tread is worn, cord is showing, the rubber is getting old/cracked. For tires like yours that don't get physically worn out it is UV exposure and ozone that will eventually cause them the rubber to start cracking. Surprisingly there is no age limit for aircraft tire and tubes in storage or in use.

I found this from Goodyear:
https://www.goodyearaviation.com/resources/pdf/aviation-tire-care-2020.pdf

[n85ae]

Airplane is hangared, and never sits in the sun I pretty much only do three point landings unless
I'm practicing wheel landings, I mostly fly off pavement ... Guess I'm just lucky ... Second set of
main tires which are 6.00x6

Curious, there's a bunch of "Utility cart" tires in the exact same size, that look the same for about
50% the price ... I wonder how much, if any different they are?