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Thread: Herculiner on tyres

  1. #11
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    Default Re: Herculiner on tyres

    Agree with alexM, I've used the GY 26" (blimp) tires, the 8.50 smoothies, 26" and 29" AkBushwheel Airstreaks. They all have their advantages/disadvantages.

    The 26" goodyears, are heavy but almost bullet proof. Their downside on these weight of airplanes is they are very stiff and not much cushioning affect. When deflated, they can slip on the rim and bust the valve stem.

    I currently have the 8.50 smoothies on a couple different planes. Awesome all around tire if you're not worried about the fellow flyers making fun of your tiny tires.
    They're quite durable, especially if you land on pavement more than grass/dirt. Best advantage....cheapest 'bush' type airplane tire. Also very light if you can run them tubeless.


    The Airstreaks are excellent tires for pure off airport use. The 26" where perfect for my use. I upgraded to 29" just because of tire envy. Didn't need them and they are heavy! I'm thinking they added 35 lbs to my EW. Might even have been more. They definitely grab when landing on paved runways, you can feel your wallet lighten on every landing. LOL If you not quite perfectly aligned with the runway, you will know!!

  2. #12
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: Herculiner on tyres

    Quote Originally Posted by alexM View Post
    I think Trent did a video showing a small contraption that looks like a motorcycle wheel balancer, and they dip the tire in a tray and keep it rotating so it coats evenly.
    I did some searching and found this:

    Trent made a video about whether he thought tundra tires are worth the cost...




    ...and someone with the YouTube name "Steve K" posted four videos on applying Devcon Flexane 80. No tray, but they do use the contraption you mentioned.







    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  3. #13
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: Herculiner on tyres

    Well, this subject turned into a rabbit hole...

    Here's a video from Devcon that shows using Flexane 80 to cast a roller wheel (at 2:13 in the video), so it would appear the stuff is fairly sturdy when cured. (Recommend sound off; there's no speaking and the soundtrack is painful.) From a cursory search, it looks like Flexane would cost $80-100 per tire.




    Finally, a YouTube channel called Project Farm tested a number of roll-on bed liner products. If you watch the video closely, you can see that many of the liners cure to a hard finish and flake when damaged, while two of them (Herculiner and Durabak) seem to stay flexible. Herculiner runs ~$20/qt and Duraback ~$50/qt (Amazon prices).

    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  4. #14

    Default Re: Herculiner on tyres

    I didnt even realize there was a thread on this - I too just coated my ABW with a few coats of herculiner after the suggestion from a few others up here that did the same. Great to see that there is more interest in this than just the local guys that ive been speaking to as we (AvDES LLC) has some exciting things to discuss on this topic:

    AvDES LLC will be offering a tire rotisserie as a product for doing exactly this. We have just finished with the prototyping phase and have began movement into the initial production run for release to market. Finger crossed we will have the production run completed in time for this late summer / fall as we plan to have a booth at Osh 2022.

    Big things that the AvDES Tire Rotisserie offers:

    - tire is removed from aircraft - no worries about flinging this stuff all over your plane during application
    - tire is left mounted on wheel - other similar systems require removal of tire from the wheel - our system will allow you to leave the tire mounted to the wheel to minimize downtime
    - currently system is designed around aircraft that are on 6" Matco wheels - currently working with wheel manufacturers to offer adapters depending on the wheelset of the aircraft.

    If there is any interest in learning more about the product please feel free to reach out. Patent paperwork is being finalized now and we should be able to begin showing this thing off soon!!!

  5. #15

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    Default Re: Herculiner on tyres

    Quote Originally Posted by Eric Page View Post


    ...and someone with the YouTube name "Steve K" posted four videos on applying Devcon Flexane 80. No tray, but they do use the contraption you mentioned.
    Since I have not used the Flexane, I cant compare it to the Herculiner in terms of how it wears but I watched the video and the flexane is definitely more complicated than the Herculiner to apply.

    As an aside, here is my "Tire Kiln" used to cure the Herculiner faster when the temperature is in the 50s. I just use my cowling and a portable heater set to about 90F. Of course, unless you want fireworks in your hangar its best to wait until the solvent has evaporated before using the kiln

    IMG_4099.jpg

    The white little box inside the cowl is the portable electric heater. The metal on top of the cowl and behind the cowl is to make the kiln less drafty so it can maintain 90F.

  6. #16

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    Default Re: Herculiner on tyres

    Quote Originally Posted by AvDES LLC View Post
    AvDES LLC will be offering a tire rotisserie as a product for doing exactly this. We have just finished with the prototyping phase and have began movement into the initial production run for release to market. Finger crossed we will have the production run completed in time for this late summer / fall as we plan to have a booth at Osh 2022.
    Wow, if you could come up with a process that could be used on certified aircraft to apply a flexane like product then that would be a goldmine! Exciting development.


    For little guys like me, its a lot more work to take a tire off than to re-tread it in place.

  7. #17

    Default Re: Herculiner on tyres

    Quote Originally Posted by 3kdscf View Post
    Wow, if you could come up with a process that could be used on certified aircraft to apply a flexane like product then that would be a goldmine! Exciting development.


    For little guys like me, its a lot more work to take a tire off than to re-tread it in place.
    100% agreed! Currently the system in development was focused around experimental aviation and the re-coating of tires on these aircraft - I am in conversation with an IA and likely will be approaching the local FSDO this coming week to discuss the implications of owners completing this type of work on certified aircraft - I in NO way want to **** off the FAA or have them breathing down the companies neck! Ill let you know what they say!

    For the time being, looks like the production unit should be available to start discussing within the next few weeks - once the patent paperwork it finalized - GAME ON!!!

    For those that plan to attend any of the fly-ins this year (fingers crossed that this includes Osh 2022), were hoping to have a booth set up, at the very least we will have a few of the products with us for anyone that bumps into us and wants to check out the goodies or chat about design, function, the weather, etc. Looking forward to running into a lot more of y'all in these upcoming fly-ins!

    Also figured a sneak peek wouldnt hurt considering the proprietary portion of the system is completely out of view - this current system allowed me to place a coat in about 8 minutes across a 29" ABW and is built to accommodate up to a 35" tire - ENJOY!

    IMG_3459.jpg

    Nick

  8. #18

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    Default Re: Herculiner on tyres

    Update on my Herculiner retread. I bought my 26" Airstreak 2.0 tires 11 months old and they have about 200 hours on them. I put the first application of Herculiner on after about 50 hours and applied Herculiner two more times, each time when I had worn thru the herculiner showing parts of the original tire.


    As far as I can tell, I will be able to retread indefinitely making these pricy tires more affordable. Here is what the tires look like right before another re-tread ...

    6317D47B-59B6-4FE3-8F49-4F1CB824027B.jpg

  9. #19
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    Default Re: Herculiner on tyres

    Quote Originally Posted by AvDES LLC View Post
    100% agreed! Currently the system in development was focused around experimental aviation and the re-coating of tires on these aircraft - I am in conversation with an IA and likely will be approaching the local FSDO this coming week to discuss the implications of owners completing this type of work on certified aircraft - I in NO way want to **** off the FAA or have them breathing down the companies neck! Ill let you know what they say!

    For the time being, looks like the production unit should be available to start discussing within the next few weeks - once the patent paperwork it finalized - GAME ON!!!

    For those that plan to attend any of the fly-ins this year (fingers crossed that this includes Osh 2022), were hoping to have a booth set up, at the very least we will have a few of the products with us for anyone that bumps into us and wants to check out the goodies or chat about design, function, the weather, etc. Looking forward to running into a lot more of y'all in these upcoming fly-ins!

    Also figured a sneak peek wouldnt hurt considering the proprietary portion of the system is completely out of view - this current system allowed me to place a coat in about 8 minutes across a 29" ABW and is built to accommodate up to a 35" tire - ENJOY!

    IMG_3459.jpg

    Nick
    You still recoating ABW’s?
    Dustin Dickerson

    Building 7ss STI x 2
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  10. #20

    Default Re: Herculiner on tyres

    Quote Originally Posted by Shadowrider View Post
    You still recoating ABW’s?
    yessir ABW’s are what my KF is sitting in and I’ve gone through 2 recoats without issue. We at AvDES no longer offer the service of coating, but we’re working out the final manufacturing details to get the TireCure (trademarked) on the market to allow for owners to recoat on their own. I cannot go into much more detail here as we are not yet setup as a site sponsor and it would be disrespectful to the owner of this site to advertise here without being a sponsor.

    thank you for your interest and happy flying!
    nick

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