Trading Weight for Performance: Bigger Tires + Carbon Fiber Mods on My Plane

Описание: Adding big tires to a plane usually comes at the cost of added weight. To compensating for the added weight I replaced the existing aluminum floor with carbon fibre and was able to lose the exact weight that was added by the bigger tires.

Here's why I wanted big tires,

You can land almost anywhere
In the event of an engine out you have more options and less likely to flip over on landing
Smoother ride on rough strips
Absorbs hard landings better
Added ground clearance means less likely to ground strike prop
Lifts the nose to increase angle of attack on takeoff helping to take off in less distance

why you wouldn't want big tires,

Adds drag which means more fuel burn or slower cruise speed
Adds weight which lengthens takeoff roll
Costs much more than standard tires
These tires wear faster on hard surface runways because of softer ply, meaning higher maintenance cost

This plane was abandoned and forgotten in a barn. It's a very low hour skyraider 1 built in the year 2000. It had a 50hp 2 stroke rotox considered to be the "high horsepower' option for the plane in its day. It's very closely related to the Kitfox or Avid aircraft which is a slightly larger 2 seat version.