I just purchased a 206 fork and a 6" tire for the front of my 61 172 B. I want to put a 6 or 7" tire on front and 8:00 mains. I see right now there are 4 listed for sale on the internet with the same setup but they are all in Alaska. I have heard that these parts are optional for the newer 172's but I will need a field approval to use them on my plane.
My mechanic asked the FAA inspector here and he said he wouldn't approve the swap. My question is: do I need to fly to Alaska to find a inspector to give me a field approval? (seems Like they are much more open minded up there) Anyone had any experiance with this? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
I've got the Landes Nose Fork with 8.50x6's all around and we're going to put the double puck Clevelands on the mains and then go for field approval on putting the new GY 26x10.5x6's on the mains to raise the tail a little.
I had an old 175 with a 180 in it, I put the landes nose fork and 8.50x6 tires all the way around, this is a pretty good setup except that with such big tires on the mains your tail would sit low unless you kept the front end only half filled with nitrogen and sometimes that is not too good. So the best and cheapest answer I could come up with is to put 26x 10.5 x 6 blimp tires on the mains, Goodyear makes them and now they call them tundra tires. You can get them on sale for about $475 per tire sometimes at Stoddards in Anchorage.
Love the 8.50's and have decided not to put the GY 26" on. The 8.50's are perfect for my flying (leaving pavement looking for grass and then returning to pavement.
I have the Landes fork from AirGlass in Anchorage (www.airglass.com).
