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Why Plane Tires Don't Explode On Landing - YouTube
Channel: Tech Insider
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If you dropped a watermelon at 170 mph,
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it would be a mess.
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Strap over 500,000 pounds to its back
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and it would be, well, nothing.
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But airplane tires manage
that impact every day,
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without incident.
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They're made to withstand
hitting the pavement
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at extreme speeds,
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all while supporting an
entire commercial jet.
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Don't think too hard about it
next time you're in the air,
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but 45 inches of rubber
is the only thing standing
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between you and the tarmac during landing.
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So, what makes them
tough enough for the job?
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If you've ever driven down a US highway,
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you've probably seen
shredded tires along the way.
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Semitruck tires aren't supposed
to explode, but they do.
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Airplane tires?
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Not so much.
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There are a few differences
between the two.
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First of all, a semitruck
isn't falling out of the sky
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as part of its route.
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Those tires don't need to be made
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to withstand the same
high speeds and weights.
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Airplane tires, on the other
hand, need to be reinforced.
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Brandy Moorhead: They're
made with a combination
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of proprietary synthetic rubber compounds,
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which are paired with
aluminum steel reinforcements
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and nylon and aramid fabrics.
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Narrator: That's Brandy.
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She's in charge of
Goodyear's aircraft tires,
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and she told us that
airplane tires are inflated
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twice as much as truck tires
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and six times as much as a car's.
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That's because the higher the
pressure, the firmer the tire
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and the more strength it
has to support the plane.
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And when they're inflated,
it's not with regular air.
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Airplane tires are filled with nitrogen.
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Brandy: Nitrogen is an inert gas,
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so high temperatures and pressure
changes have less effect.
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Narrator: Plane tires are subjected
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to the most rigorous
conditions of any vehicle tire.
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When Goodyear develops
a new airplane tire,
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it starts with a prototype.
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Then the tires are tested
beyond their breaking points.
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They're tested for speed, pressure,
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and the ability to handle
a load up to 38 tons.
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So they have to be made very
differently than other tires.
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Instead of the blocky design
seen on a lot of car tires,
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plane tires get groovy.
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Brandy: That blocked pattern
enables different maneuvering
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and different characteristics
of ride and handling,
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which are required by an automobile,
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as opposed to just an
aircraft that takes off
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and lands on a runway.
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The reason we have grooves
in an aircraft tire at all
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is because we need to evacuate water
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if we were to land on a wet surface.
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Narrator: Commercial jets
usually have around 20 tires
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and touch down about 500 times
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before they have to be retread,
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which can be done seven times
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before the tire's no
better than scrap rubber.
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And tires at the nose of the plane tend
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to have shorter life spans than the rest.
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It takes two mechanics up to an hour
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to change a single tire.
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They raise the tire only 5
centimeters off the ground,
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which doesn't feel like
enough room to fit a thumb,
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let alone change a plane tire.
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The mechanics take off the hubcap
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and reduce the tire
pressure from 200 to 30 psi,
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which reduces the risk of it exploding
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as the bolts and nuts holding
it on the plane are removed.
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A sleeve protects the axle,
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and a lifting tool pulls the tire off.
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The axle sleeve is then greased,
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and the new tire is slid smoothly on.
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And then things move in reverse.
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Nuts and bolts, tire reinflated
to 200 psi, hubcap back on,
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and the whole thing is
gently lowered 5 centimeters
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back onto the ground.
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So, what happens after 500
landings, seven retreadings,
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and uncountable "This is
your captain speaking"s?
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A lot of the tires get recycled
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into playground mulch and even other tires
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for farming equipment.
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Those tires will be made
from old plane tires,
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but not like them.
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There's no need.
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Because if a farmer is using their tractor
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the same way they'd use a plane,
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well, they're doing it wrong.
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