8.50ies on an MT?

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Hale-Yes
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8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Hale-Yes »

Does anybody know of someone who has gotten a field approvel to run 8.50ies on there MT or MXT and is willing to share it? I have collected several photos over the years of Maules set up that way, but I haven't yet found anyone willing to share there field approvel. Perhaps some of them are going the "It's easer to get forgivness than permission" route, and I'm not knocking that, It's one that I subscribe to my self from time to time. :roll: :roll: :roll:
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Andy Young
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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Andy Young »

Next time you see one with the 8.50s, record the N-number, and put in a request with Oke City for the records on that aircraft. They will send you all the 337s for the plane, so you can see if they have one for the tires. You won’t be risking outing them to the FAA, as you don’t have to tell the FAA why you want the records. They are in the public domain; anyone can ask for them at any time, for any reason.

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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by maules.com »

8.50x6 tyres have been fitted legally and successfully on the MT7-235.
Perhaps one of the owners who have done it will read this.
A search should find the posts from the past.
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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Hale-Yes »

Andy, I will do exactly that. Both of the photos I have show the N numbers. And Jeremy, thank you. I will try to search out somthing from past posts, and as you say, hopefuly some one will read this and offer some information. Thanks and Regards, Ed
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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by asa »

If you want the paperwork quick, use aerospace-reports.com and pay for their $35 records search. Results are emailed within 24 hours. Through the FAA it’s $10 for a CD (who has a disc drive anymore?) and takes a week at the fastest, normally longer.

https://www.aerospacereports.com/product/5

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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Andy Young »

I still have a Disc drive. Heck, I still have a cassette player... ;-)

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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Allparg »

Uuhhh i do :D

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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Hale-Yes »

Well my search for a previous field approvel has come up short. Both photos I collected of MT's with 8.50ies have no record of a 337 being filed. If you know of any one who has successfully recived a field approvel for swaping out the tires on there MT or MXT for 8.50ies, I would sure like to talk to them to see if they would share a copy. Regards, Ed
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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by andy »

What do you do about the size of the nose wheel tire and fork when you put 8.50x6.00 tires on the mains? I know you can get a fork for a 7.00 tire for the nose but doesn't that make it sit slightly nose down on the ground?
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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Hale-Yes »

Andy, Perhaps our best bet as MT owners would be to get an approvel to use the Up Gross kits (Maule Drawing No. 4147F Rev. D & 4148F Rev B) that would allow 8.00 X 6 tires and beefed up axels, bolts, and double piston brakes. I would also want the Piper wide front fork, or the aftermarket one used on the Cessna 206 STC kit along with a 7.00 X 6 or preferably a 7.50 x 6 tire on the nose. As I have reviewed the crash reports for MXT and MT's, about half of them are from prop strikes and nose gear damage caused by a lack of nose wheel flotation on soft, sandy, or mudy fields, especially with the heavier IO 540 engine. My own MT has a log book entry at 500 hrs when it was still a Civil Air Patrol owned aircraft, showing exactly that, and requiring a new prop, engine teardown, and crank replacement. To my mind, this is really a safety issue. With the high cost of tailwheel insurance, especialy for new, or low time pilots, it seems that I have noticed an increase interest in the MXT & MT's as a lower cost of ownership alternative to the tailwheels, but their is no desire by most MXT / MT owners to give up the ability to go off road, granted, not as far off road as the tailwheels can go. What are your thoughts?
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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by andy »

Hale-Yes, 8.50 tires vary in height depending on the brand and the length of the 206 nose strut may be such that it will level the airplane on the ground. I think the 7.50 tire would be better if it works out. I remember a guy who brought a 206 with that mod to one of McCall Mountain Canyon Flying Seminars when I was there in 2002. Getting your prop tips as high off the ground as possible is good to avoid chewing up the brush and damaging the prop. With a 235 hp engine there are some 3-blade props that are STC-d for Maules. That would give you the same amount of thrust without a long 2-blade prop.

The 206 landed on all the same back country airstrips that the taildraggers used without any reported problems except that he got a flat tire (don't know if it was a main or nose wheel) and they had to fly out a new tire and mechanic to replace it. Some of those airstrips would be pretty rough on a nose wheel with a lot of weight over it so soft field techniques are a must.
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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Hale-Yes »

Thanks Andy, Thats where my thoughts are headed also. I bought a 3 blade Hartzell top prop. Its only one inch shorter than my current two blade 81 inch McCauley. but every bit helps.
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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Andy Young »

For whatever it’s worth, when I used to fly Cessna 206s for a living, we ran 8.50s on all three wheels. The 8.50 fit just fine in the STCed larger nose fork. Having the same size tire on the front as at the mains made it sit quite nose-high, which was desirable, given that we operated primarily on gravel strips. It sat almost like a taildragger. I have no idea what nose fork options are available for your plane; I’ve never worked on the nose-wheel Maules.

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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Hale-Yes »

Andy, several wider nose forks will bolt right on to the MXT or MTies but there are no STC for doing so.
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Re: 8.50ies on an MT?

Post by Flybrian1950 »

I spoke to the folks at Maule in 2020 while at Moultrie, and they felt not enough demand vs the cost for them to get such a change thru the faa process for the nose wheel.
I offered the the big piper airglas fork to someone who wanted to go thru the field approval process to put the 8:00-6 on the nose. Just had to replace it upon approval, or return it, there were no takers.
I need to go experimental on an MXT7-180, and try it.
SN 8020C, The first M6-180 land plane.

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