How do you check the air pressure?

Guest Discussion
1

So how are you guys checkingand replenishing the air in you tires.

I find it takes about 1 hard hour to do it. The hole in the fairing is too small for my fingers and I can use pliers to get the cap off, but then no air adapter fits into the hole or up through the bottom of the fairing so I have to remove the farning.

You are on the ground/floor with lots of holes to re-align and this takes effort and a lot of time.

Any special tools or tricks you guys have found, or are you just not checking and plan on leaving to the annual (nota good idea)?.

2

So how are you guys checkingand replenishing the air in you tires.

I find it takes about 1 hard hour to do it. The hole in the fairing is too small for my fingers and I can use pliers to get the cap off, but then no air adapter fits into the hole or up through the bottom of the fairing so I have to remove the farning.

Worst comes to worst, you could replace your tires and tubes with the newly marketed aviation tires/tubes that supposedly don’t leak air through the pores. Did you ask Cirrus this question?

3

So how are you guys checkingand replenishing the air in you tires.

I find it takes about 1 hard hour to do it. The hole in the fairing is too small for my fingers and I can use pliers to get the cap off, but then no air adapter fits into the hole or up through the bottom of the fairing so I have to remove the farning.

You are on the ground/floor with lots of holes to re-align and this takes effort and a lot of time.

Any special tools or tricks you guys have found or are you just not checking and plan on leaving to the annual (nota good idea)?.

Go to your friendly RV store and get a stainles flex valve extension about 6" long with bicycle valve and cap on end… line up your stem… screw it on with a little guidance from below then check press and add air as required…works great and keeps them at 53/40.

4

Click here for an interesting photo series depicting someone else’s solution on another aircraft.

5

I made my first try at checking and adding air, limited to the nose wheel on my SR22.

My Air tank, from Sears, has a straight connection and I found it worked well. That is after I lined up the stem and hole and got the cap off. The hole definitely needs to be bigger.

Bob

6

Thanks to those who gave me ideas about this task for checking and replenishing air in the tires. I was beginning to get an attitude about it…

This is a great benefit of this website. As we contribute, we can really help each other out.
" A rising pressure system lifts all planes" (???) or was it something about boats…

Harrell

So how are you guys checkingand replenishing the air in you tires.

I find it takes about 1 hard hour to do it. The hole in the fairing is too small for my fingers and I can use pliers to get the cap off, but then no air adapter fits into the hole or up through the bottom of the fairing so I have to remove the farning.

You are on the ground/floor with lots of holes to re-align and this takes effort and a lot of time.

Any special tools or tricks you guys have found or are you just not checking and plan on leaving to the annual (nota good idea)?.

Go to your friendly RV store and get a stainles flex valve extension about 6" long with bicycle valve and cap on end… line up your stem… screw it on with a little guidance from below then check press and add air as required…works great and keeps them at 53/40.

7

Go to your friendly RV store and get a stainles flex valve extension about 6" long with bicycle valve and cap on end… line up your stem… screw it on with a little guidance from below then check press and add air as required…works great and keeps them at 53/40.

Thanks for the good advice. I went to Lazy Days RV Center in Tampa and picked one up. It’s probably worth about $10, but the RV parts dept sold it for $34.00. I tried JC Whitney, but they said they didn’t have it.

8

Also, found the same type of device at NAPA auto parts but made of rubber for $17.00. Larry

9

I have the 6 inch valve extension you recommended. It works OK on the nose wheel, but I can’t get it screwed on the valve on the mains. The valve is aimed at the axle and the access hole lines up with the side of the valve. It seems that a pressure guage with the chuck at 90 degrees to the stem would work if I could find one. I can find plenty with a 45 degree angle but I can’t bend the valve stem enough to get a square fit. My air tank works OK since the chuck is at 90 degrees to the hose. Measuring the pressure is the problem. Any additional advice would be appreciated.

Roger Buchanan

10

I saw your post about a “flex valve extension” you can use to check pressure and add air at the same time, could you give me more information on this? Is it possible to add pressure with a bike pump using this part?

Thanks,
Alex

N752CD

11

Gordon,

That’s a nifty set of photos.

I’ve found that a “quick and dirty” check of pressure is to measure the distance from the bottom of the wheel pant to the floor when the tires are properly inflated. For my SR20, that distance is 3 1/2 inches for the left main and the nose, and 3 3/8 inches for the right main (go figure).

It’s not the most accurate method in the world, but if you measure accurately, it’s good enough. As soon as you are 1/8 inch down, it’s time to add air.

Mike.

12

Post deleted by Bill_Dobson

13

Bill, I bought a similar (or the same) device from an auto parts store. I will publish the name after I look at it. The whole device is about 20" long and contains an 8" handle with a small round gauge (window) built in, a hose with a 6" metal end with the chuck(?) at a 45 degree angle. Now that i use this, the toughest parts are lining up the valve to the hole and replacing the cap. It takes me 20 minutes by myself to do it all.

Make sure you get the window type gauge not the ‘stick’ type.

Other tips:

Take a tire pencil (made to replace the white lettering) and put marks on the tires to help you line up the valve to the hole. This makes lining up the valves a one person job.

Next, measure the ground clearance between the fairing and the ground at a specific spot on each tire. (If you want you can label it on the fairing). Then let out as much air as you feel comfortable using the airplane, say 10 lbs low. Then remeasure. That way instead of checking the tire pressure, you can just measure. No muss, no fuss.

14

…Next, measure the ground clearance between the fairing and the ground at a specific spot on each tire. (If you want you can label it on the fairing). Then let out as much air as you feel comfortable using the airplane, say 10 lbs low. Then remeasure. That way instead of checking the tire pressure, you can just measure. No muss, no fuss…

Remember not to use this method to check the tire pressure while your mother-in-law is in the back seat. You will blow a tire trying to regain the ground clearance you are trying to achieve.

15

“Remember not to use this method to check the tire pressure while your mother-in-law is in the back seat. You will blow a tire trying to regain the ground clearance you are trying to achieve.”

I don’t have that problem. When I was engaged, I asked my future MIL about her fears and she commented that she didn’t like boats, but more than anything else, she hated flying, especially those dam small planes. So I took up flying!