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ENGINES & COMPONENTS | AIRCRAFT AIRFRAME & ACCESSORIES | HOW DOES TIRE PRESSURE
MAINTENANCE IMPACT AIRCRAFT SAFETY?

How Does Tire Pressure Maintenance

Impact Aircraft Safety?
Making sure that the aircraft tires are properly inflated is a crucial part of preflight and routine
service checks which can go a long way to maximizing tire utilization and minimizing risks to
safe operations.

LEE BARTHOLOMEW MARCH 20, 2015

Figure 5: Pressure Monitoring Action Chart

MICHELIN AIRCRAFT TIRE COMPANY

With good reason, aircraft safety concerns are paramount in maintenance operations. No one
wants to see loss of life, injuries, or serious property damage as a result of poor aircraft
maintenance. Aircraft maintenance manuals have very detailed, step-by-step procedures, tool,
and parts lists. Certified inspectors must sign off on work cards, validating that the mechanic
completed the job and completed it correctly. These procedures and checks and balances are

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all designed to insure the aircraft remains safe to operate. Making sure that the aircraft tires are
properly inflated is a crucial part of preflight and routine service checks which can go a long
way to maximizing tire utilization and minimizing risks to safe operations. At Michelin, we are
committed to aircraft safety and we are proud to share our expertise with pilots, A&P
mechanics, and the FAA.

Aircraft tires are not the same as passenger car or truck tires. As a result, their care and
service requirements differ. Figure 1 below compares key parameters between a passenger
car tire and two aircraft tires of about the same dimensions:

Figure 1: Comparison of Car to Aircraft Tires

Car Tire Aircraft Tire Aircraft Tire

(Typical) (737 NLG) (F-16 Blk 40 MLG)

Size P205/75 R15 27x7.75 R15 27.75x8.75R14.5

Outside Diameter 27.2 inch 27 inch 27.75 inch

Selection Width 8.1 inch 7.75 inch 8.75 inch

Max Inflation 35 psi 200 psi 320 psi

Max Load 1,598 lbs. 9,650 lbs. 21,500 lbs.

Speed Rating 106 mph 225 mph 259 mph

Operation Continuous Intermittent Intermittent

Temperature Equilibrium No Equilibrium No Equilibrium

Note that although the tires are dimensionally similar, they differ significantly in rated inflation
pressure, load, and speed. Additionally, the passenger car and truck tires are able to operate
continuously because they reach thermal equilibrium while aircraft tires do not. An aircraft tire
which taxis continuously at rated load and 40 mph will continue to heat up until the tire fails.
The failure to reach thermal equilibrium is a consequence of the high deflections (the difference
between the unloaded and loaded tire section height) at which aircraft tires operate. High
inflation pressure and high deflection rates – 2.5 times greater than a car tire – allow relatively
small tires to support the high loads of an aircraft.

Because aircraft tires operate at such high extremes of pressure, load, and speed, their care
and service is critically important. The most important action an operator can take to prevent
tire-related events is to maintain proper tire inflation pressure. Failure to keep aircraft tires
properly inflated can lead to very serious consequences. The most serious of these is the
structural failure of the tire. If the tire operates underinflated or overdeflected/overloaded, the
nylon cords which form the structure of the tire go in and out of compression as the tire rotates.

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This weakens the cords – much like a paperclip which is bent back and forth – until eventually
the cords break. If enough cords break, the entire structure will eventually fail. Figure 2 shows
what a compressive break in an interior ply looks like. This particular break damaged the inner
liner, allowing air to migrate through the tire to the atmosphere.

Another serious consequence of under-inflation is the thrown tread. Overdeflection increases

shear between components in the tire as it rolls in and out of contact and deforms. This results
in a more rapid build-up of heat within the tire than would be evident if the tire were properly
inflated. At some point the excessive heat will cause the rubber to revert, or reverse cure. This
reverted rubber is like grease with no strength or adhesion to contain the structure. This can
allow the tire to decompose, throwing the entire tread or pieces of it. In addition to destroying
the tire, thrown treads often result in expensive aircraft damage. Figure 3 is an example of
reversion.

How can an operator know what the proper pressure is for their tires? Aircraft tires are
designed and tested to “rated” conditions. These rated conditions are specified by industry
standard’s bodies like The Tire and Rim Association (T&RA) and The European Tyre and Rim
Technical Organisation (ETRTO). However, most aircraft are not operated at the rated limits.
This means that an operator must consult the aircraft’s Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) or
Pilot Operating Handbook (POH) to find out the recommended operating pressure range.

In order to ensure that an aircraft’s tires are properly inflated, Michelin recommends checking
the inflation pressure, with a calibrated gauge, before the first flight of the day or before each
flight if not flown daily.

Why is it important to check the pressure every day? Because of the high pressures and
extreme temperatures at which aircraft tires operate, they do not hold air perfectly. In fact, an
aircraft tire can lose up to 5 percent of its pressure in 24 hours and still be perfectly
serviceable.

Why check the tires before a flight rather than after? It’s important to check tire pressures when
they are cold if at all possible. Michelin recommends checking a tire’s pressure no sooner than
three hours after it has last rolled. Tires that have rolled under load recently heat up, making it
very difficult to determine what the proper pressure should be.

Why is a calibrated gauge important? Pilots and mechanics may think that they can identify
under-inflated tires by looking at them, hitting them with a bat, or looking at the wing height. In
fact, it is impossible to look at tires and tell if they’re underinflated because, on a two-wheel
gear, the properly inflated tire assumes more of the load than the under-inflated tire and both
tires deflect the same amount. In Figure 4, the tires on the left are both properly inflated at 203
psi; one of the tires on the right is at 203 psi and one of them is at 121 psi. Can you tell which
one is underinflated?

Because the consequences of having improperly inflated tires can be so severe, the
acceptable limits of operation are narrow. The chart in Figure 5 shows Michelin’s

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recommended actions when checking air pressures. (Although most AMM’s and POH’s have
the same recommendations, if there is a difference between the AMM and POH and these
recommendations, follow the AMM and POH.)

The target pressure range is between 100 and 105 percent of the AMM-defined operating
pressure. Michelin recommends always servicing the tires to the top of that range –
105 percent. If the pressure is found to be between 95 and 100 percent of operating pressure,
service the tire to 105 percent; this is considered normal pressure loss. If it is between 90 and
95 percent, the pressure loss is no longer normal. Service the tire to 105 percent, make a log
book entry, and recheck in 24 hours. If the pressure is again found to be in the 90 to
95 percent range, remove the tire and troubleshoot the reason for the pressure loss. If the tire
has operated at less than 90 percent of the targeted operating pressure, it is no longer
serviceable and must be removed. Tires that have operated under these conditions have been
overdeflected to the point where the structure of the tire may be compromised. Finally, if a tire
has operated at less than 80 percent of the operating pressure, it must be removed from
service and so must its mate (on dual-wheel gears). In this case, the mate is most likely
damaged as well.

Finally, when servicing tires, it is important to think about ambient temperature change. For
every 5 F (3 C) change in temperature, there is a corresponding 1 percent change in tire
pressure. If, for example, a tire is serviced in Miami where it is 85 F and the plane flies to
Minneapolis where it is 25 F, a tire which was serviced to 100% of operating pressure, will be at
88 percent in Minneapolis (after cooling for three hours). If a mechanic checks the pressure in
Minneapolis before the plane returns to Miami, the tire will be unserviceable and need to be
changed. This is another reason Michelin recommends servicing the tires to the top of the
acceptable range (105 percent of operating pressure). If this same tire had been serviced to
105 percent in Miami, it would have been at 93 percent in Minneapolis and still serviceable.

Improper tire pressure maintenance can have serious consequences for aircraft safety. One
relatively easy way to help avoid those consequences is to check tire pressures regularly and
service them as necessary. Following these three actions is a good way to make sure you get
the most value out of your tires and contribute to the safe operation of your aircraft:

1. Perform daily pressure checks with a calibrated gauge.

2. Target the highest pressure recommended in the AMM or POH (105 percent of operating
pressure).

3. Compensate for ambient temperature changes.

Michelin has partnered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAASTeam) to offer pilots and
mechanics an online aircraft tire maintenance course which reinforces the concepts discussed
in this article. This course, The Impact of Tire Maintenance on Aircraft Safety is available free
at www.FAASafety.com. In addition to this course, Michelin has several other ways to get
valuable information on aircraft tire care and service: Download Michelin’s Care and Service

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Manual from www.airmichelin.com and install Michelin’s Aircraft Tire App from iTunes or
Google Play (search “Michelin Aircraft Tires”).

Lee Bartholomew joined Michelin in 1987 as an industrial engineer and in 1995 he joined its
aircraft tire division. He has held a number of engineering and management positions in the
aircraft tire division including green tire design and industrialization engineer, plant controller,
production manager, and bias tire developer. In 2013, Lee joined MATC’s marketing and sales
group as a customer support engineer. In this role, he provides technical customer support to
Michelin’s regional and general aviation customers in North America. This technical support
ranges from capturing usage, auditing maintenance practices, conducting tire care and service
training, and problem solving.

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