How do tires on aircraft get changed

The same way they do on a car. Jack up the plane, take the old one off, put the new one one.

By Aircraft Technicians stuck on midnight shift

Heheheh. Stan made me laugh. yeah.. everything gets pushed to the night shift..

*some* airplanes u jack up to change a tire but certainly not all. When u have two wheels side by side on the same strut.. u can tow the airplane so that the good wheel rolls up on a ramp, usually made of a couple of slabs of wood, which causes the bad wheel to hang freely in the air. This is a preferred method because when u start jacking up airplanes u can cause damage in many ways if not done properly. Also, aircraft jacks r large, expensive, heavy, & not always available. they can be holding up an airplane undergoing repairs for weeks on end. it is quite common for airlines & other major players to loan out or rent them out to smaller operators caught in a pinch. If the plane is small enough u can tie down the tail to lift the nose wheel in the air. all sorts of clever solutions. but the topper of them ALL is the C-5 Galaxy which can lift its own gear trucks up to allow wheels to be changed.

The actual replacement of the tire is serious business as well do to the extreme pressures in aircraft tires. l will let some of the A&P is here tell u the details of dealing with split rim wheels & how dangerous they can be.

For Stan..., l was the guy that slept on the couch in the corner of the hangar & the night shift guys would come wake me up at 04:00 & say. ''hey.. can u take 86RatsAss up & see if the pressurization holds?''

Aircraft wheels are mounted on spindles with one large washer and nut. The inner and outer bearings sit between the wheel and spindle. The large nut is tightened all the way, then loosened until a cotter key can be inserted in the first available slot through the castle nut space and spindle.

Jacking an axle in not that difficult or unsafe, if procedures are followed.

They are change in accordance with chapter 32 of Aircraft maintenance manual. (The approved and proper way of doing it).

Aircraft tires & wheels r changes when the tire has damage or worn down into the cord. Aircraft tires r kept within 5 p.s.i. of each other to carry the same load. Aircraft tires r under a great deal of pressure & r pumped up from 100 to 250 lbs depending on the tire. Keep in mind aircraft tire & wheels r not like automotive wheels at all.

To replace on a axle jack is used in most cases to lift the weight off the tire. The wheel is held on by a large castle nut with a cotter pin thru it so as not to come off. The first thing an A&P will do is let some of the air pressure out before jacking for safety.

Then remove the cotter pin, using a large socket remove the nut & using a special tire holder slide it under the tire & pull it off. This is reversed to install, however the wheel nut is torqued to a required tightness then the cotter pin is installed. Aircraft down jacked & air pressure checked again.

The A&P mechanic is required to follow the aircraft manufactures procedures in replacing any part on the aircraft including tires. Once finished the A&P is required to sign a statement they did it in accordance with the manual & use their A&P certificate number & date to complete the sign off.

Simple task, but it takes training & u have to be able to read & understand the technical manual to perform the task.