Tire making 101
 

I am in the process of building a Airworld ME-262 for twin P60 power. I am pretty happy with the kit so far, but I was a little disappointed that I couldn't find a set of tires that were even close to scale for this thing. A 4" tire looked a little small on it, a 4-1/2" tire is too large to fit in the wheel well, and nobody seems to make a 4-1/4" tire. Even if they did, I would seriously doubt I would ever be able to find one that was a wide as it needs to be to look scale (inch and a half).
So after reviewing this old thread from RCU: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_19...tm.htm#1909503
I decided to make my own tires and wheels.





1. I Started with a chunk of aluminum with a slightly larger diameter than the tire needs to be, and about half the width.
2. Turned it on a lathe until it is exactly like you want it (When you screw up fill the offending area with JB Weld and body filler then turn it to the correct size).
3. I didn't get any pictures of it, but I cut the treads by mounting the plug on a rotary table, then rigged a fence at the correct angle and cut a groove every 10 degrees with a hacksaw blade. Once one side was finished I reversed the angle on the fence and repeated the process.
4. Next I mounted the plug on a parting board (formica on plywood in this case) with a centering pin.
5. I added a suitable containment vessel (aka cool whip tub) around the perimeter.
6. Fill with molding RTV silicone and allow cure.
7. Next I mount the rubber mold half (with plug still installed) on another parting board with centering pin and two alignment pins in line with tread design.
8. Then I did a sloppy lay up of fiberglass around the entire thing.
9. Once cured, I removed the entire assembly from parting board, trimmed the excess fiberglass, and removed plug.
10. Repeat steps 4-9 for other half of tire mold.
11. I Filled both halves of mold with Urethane rubber and allowed to partially cure (after several attempts I decided that 1.5-2.0 hours worked best with the rubber I was using), then I joined the two halves with all three locating pins in place, and clamped edges with spring clamps.
12. After curing for 16 hours I separated the mold and had a new tire!

RE: Tire making 101
 

For the rims I started with the Intairco brakes that I already had, and some 2 1/2 inch round aluminum stock.
After using a sawzall, a lathe, and a milling machine w/a rotary table I ended up with what you see here.
I still have a little more machining to do on the wheels (bushings and 10 screws to hold the two halves together and the tire in place) and I need to make the dummy brake hub for the inboard side, but so far I am pretty happy with what I've made.
Not exact scale, but as close as I will ever get.

RE: Tire making 101
 

Outstanding Effort!

RE: Tire making 101
 

Outstanding ability

RE: Tire making 101
 

VERY NICE !!!!

RE: Tire making 101
 

Outstanding!!! Whats next steel belted radials?? Awsome job!!

RE: Tire making 101
 

No, but helium filled with kevlar belts might be a good idea! :D

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys.

I'll try to post more pics tomorrow or the next day when they are finsihed and mounted on the plane.

RE: Tire making 101
 

I've been wanting to try this for some time, thanks for showing your excellent work!
Paul

RE: Tire making 101
 

Watch out Glennis, there's a longhorn on the lose. NICE JOB.

RE: Tire making 101
 

Some folks just use whatever they can find that will work...and settle for it.

Some folks have the knowledge of the tools used...but don't use them.
Some folks have the knowledge of the materials needed...but don't use it.

But every once in a while, someone comes along who has the knowledge and the desire to make the best possible representation that he can.

Thanks Kevin for being one of the latter and shring with us your excellent workmanship!

Any plans for expanding your selection? Good FW and Me wheels are always needed!!!

Happy New Year!
Rob / katchmarek

RE: Tire making 101
 

Nice work, Kevin. What is your US source (and cost) for the urethane rubber?

Mike

RE: Tire making 101
 

Now that work is impressive. I especially am in awe of your ability to get the tread lines lined up so perfectly. Thanks for the details and the photos. Great work!
BC

RE: Tire making 101
 

http://www.smooth-on.com/

Kevin, great work and thanks for taking the time to share. I wish there were more of these type of threads here in the Jet forum. I'll just keep watching as every now & then a good one comes along....such as this one!!!

Ronnie

RE: Tire making 101
 

Very nice, Kevin! Anxious to see at at Waco.

RE: Tire making 101
 

Great job Kevin, keep us posted on your build too. Its one my fav jets.

V..

RE: Tire making 101
 

Great work - Very cool

All the best

Greg Anixter

RE: Tire making 101
 

You’re always my hero bud.

EXCELLENT WORK and keep us updated.


Best Regards

Ben

RE: Tire making 101
 

phew! i feel much better knowing there was a sawzall involved in the mix!

RE: Tire making 101
 

Great work and talent.
Thanks for sharing.
jef

RE: Tire making 101
 

Yup, that's exactly where I got the stuff. After ordering from them I found on thier site that there is a distributor right here in Dallas, so hopefully I can get the stuff locally next time.

Patrick,
I would think that you know me well enough to realize that I can't build anything without the use of a sawzall! ;)

Actually the sawzall was for cutting the rough block from the billet stock (since I don't have a metal cutting bandsaw), but I found that I could actually make some fairly accurate cuts with it. :D

RE: Tire making 101
 

Hi Kevin
Your work on the tires & wheels are outstanding . How much fuel are you planning on carrying and where ? The Airworld kit is a great platform for a twin with the wing being one piece,keeping the fuel plumbing air tight , and IMO your choice of JetCat P 60s is ideal. I had one with the 7/8 pound manual start wren 44's but at 23 pounds with 86 ozs of fuel , needed to be flown at 100%.
Semper Fi
Joe
PS if you need any special pictures of the 262 let me know as I have access to a 262b2(Two seater) Hi

RE: Tire making 101
 

Well I didn't quite managed to finish the wheels this weekend, but I am close.
I got all the holes drilled and tapped for the tire screws (managed to hand tap twenty 2-56 holes without breaking the tool off :D )
I got the dummy inboard brake drums machined. These will do double duty as the wheel collar too.
I also drilled some lightening holes in the inboard sides of the hubs, and machined a little "dead weight" off of the outboard halves.
To complete the wheels hubs I just need to make and install the bushings.

I have made a total of three tires so far.
The first I tried to use backer rod (sold at Home Depot for backing up caulking) as a filler to keep the weight down. It was a disaster because after I joined the mold halves the ring of backer rod floated to the top of the mold and carried large air bubbles with it.
The second time I decided to just make a solid tire. It came out looking ok, but it was extremely heavy.
The third try I used some blue foam rings (one in each mold half) that I machined on the lathe as filler. I wasn't sure how big I could make the filler rings and still maintain a decent outer thickness of rubber, and as a result the foam rings ended up being relatively small and the tire only came out about an ounce and a half lighter than the solid one.

I finally realized today that I can use the first tire (disaster) by sectioning it and using it as a guide for making the foam filler rings, so hopefully the next tire will be lighter.

Pics of the progress on the rims: (with the full scale again for comparison)

RE: Tire making 101
 

The tanks were the first things I made when I got the kit.
Four tanks, 40oz each.
I will be using quick disconnect fuel fittings between the fuse and the wings. The two ECU's will mount in the center of the wing, fuel pumps will go in the front of the wheel wells, fuel and propane solenoids will be mounted in the engine nacelles, and the ECU batteries will be in the fuselage.
At least that is the plan right now, things may change with balancing needs.
I am hoping to minimize the number of connections I have to make for assembly at the field.

Here are the kevlar tanks I made for it:

RE: Tire making 101
 

Sweet Kevin............Spot on.:D


David Hudson

RE: Tire making 101
 

Hi Kevin
Looks like your on the right track using the wing saddle and conformal tanks with 80 ozs /per of fuel those JetCats will be purring:D The airframe can take the added fuel weight,although I would hesitate on landing with anywhere near full tanks..looking forward to seeing the "Swallow"airborne.
Semper Fi
Joe