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To Recap (or Not)
Recaps (retreaded tires) are another option. The maintenance manual doesn’t recommend them and neither do I; the manual, however, allows the recaps if they come from an FAA-approved source. If you are going to use recaps, pick your supplier carefully. And don’t get too giddy over the few hundred bucks you save on retreads, because when a retread busts apart on landing it’s going to cost you far more than you ever imagined. Your flaps are down for landing, and the exploding rubber projectiles rip through the flap structure like shrapnel. The
JUNE 2022
repair/rebuild of your flap will cost many thousands of dollars.
Inflation and Wear
As with your car, improper infla- tion is the primary cause of uneven or premature wear on your King Air tires. The maintenance manual gives all the pertinent tire pressures for each King Air model; if an STC has been performed (e.g., tundra tires on a B200), it will specify the pressures to be used. The manual also states when to check your tire pressures and when not to check them, which is when they’re hot.
New tires will stretch a bit in the first few weeks after installation, so they will lose a little pressure. Watch them closely and expect to add nitrogen more than once. If a new tire goes flat, it is usually because of a pinched O-ring. Even the best mechanics pinch an O-ring from time to time when putting the wheel halves back together. It is rare to get a defective tire, but if that happens, the tire should be returned for warranty replacement.
The one tip I offer King Air owners on tire inflation is to keep the main gear tires on the high side – about
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