goodyear flight custom III's vs flight special II's

[eman1200]

do we know if the flight custom III's 606C66-8 are suitable replacements for the flight special II's 606c61 B1?  I have the special II's on my '75F mains now but seem to recall the custom III's lasting longer.  tyvm.

[Hank]

I have plain Flight Customs on my C. Upgrading to the -II or -III seems to raise the pricing significantly, and the only benefit I remember from their web page is a higher speed rating. Memory says the FCIII is rated to roll down the runway not only above Vg, but actually at my cruise speed . . . .

[varlajo]

I have FCIII retreads from Wilkerson on the 71E. Great tires!! 

[KSMooniac]

I don't think you'll wear out any tires unless you do nothing but touch n goes. Seems my tubes fail long before I run out of tread, or the tires will age and crack between the treads. I stopped buying the premium versions long ago.

Sent from my motorola edge plus 2023 using Tapatalk

[Hank]

10 minutes ago, KSMooniac said:

I don't think you'll wear out any tires unless you do nothing but touch n goes. Seems my tubes fail long before I run out of tread, or the tires will age and crack between the treads.

My mains (plain Flight Custom) date from the winter of 2011-2012, and are holding up well.

Now that I'm based at a field with a taxiway, and don't have to backtaxi before every takeoff and after every landing, my nose tire is lasting more than 5-6 years, too. The current one (Condor) was installed in January '17 or '18, and is holding up well.

[PT20J]

Any tire is legal so long as it meets the size and ply specs in the TCDS.

For Goodyear tires:

Flight Custom III has deeper tread and a Kevlar belt and will last longer.

Flight Special II is cheaper.

Usual recommendation is for Flight Special II unless you do a lot of landings. Then FC III is probably the better buy.

https://www.goodyearaviation.com/resources/pdf/Aviation-Databook-2022.pdf

[Jim Peace]

21 hours ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

  I run FCIIIs with Michelin Air Stop tubes, personally.  The tires matter a lot less than the tubes do, I think.  

I have a C model and coming up on tires and tubes....I used to have air stop tubes until a mx shop messed them all up.  (long story)...

how often are you servicing the tires with air with those tubes?  I remember doing it about twice a year at most....maybe less....that is with a lot of flying...100 hours a year...

Thank you 

[Hank]

I have Air Stops in my C, I generally add air twice a year, spring and fall when the temps change significantly. 

Last week, our highs were in low 60s; early this week was 80; yesterday was 52-54° from midnight until sunset last night: 32° this morning,  and will be in high 79s for the weekend. Makes it hard keeping car and plane tires properly filled . . . .

[Rick Junkin]

I’ve heard good things about Desser Elite retreads and have one ready to go on the nose. I plan to put them on the mains when the time comes. +1 for AirStop tubes.

[varlajo]

One thing about FCIIIs compared to Aero Hawks. FCIII is quite substantially narrower. I am planning to keep the good ol' Hawk on the nose as I have a sneaky suspicion that a wider tire is likely to have better linear stability.