Are Bushwheels worth it? 6" Extended gear WITH 35's?!

Sharing some of my thoughts on the infinitely discussable topic of very expensive airplane tires...Bushwheels a.k.a. 'Tundra Tires'. Excited to hear your thoughts and responses ;)
I work with Alaska Gear Company on various media projects, but these are all of my honest thoughts and experiences. Enjoy!

[@bobbonordenskiold939]

Thanks. I fly an Avid Flyer myself. Only skis and floats here in northern Sweden. But I still got a lot out of your movie.

[@cessnafisk]

Great! Really interesting info about the wheels and how that work!

[@heartsky]

Love the beach shots.

[@AKCub907]

Great video, 👍 for both the 35's and 6" gear.

[@AlaskaGearCompany]

Looking forward to what you have in the works.

[@coltstowell188]

Great content man!

[@trickedouttech321]

The problem is this stuff is overpriced by huge margins, the tires are not expensive in fact this type of tire has historically been the cheapest tire to produce but they are marked up 200 X because they know pilots will pay it.

[@StuPierce77]

Good stuff man!

[@AviationWP]

Great video, filming, and story telling. How do you get back to your aircraft after kayaking?

[@BrendanWells]

Two planes, leave one at the bottom and take the other to the top

[@apennameandthata2017]

What was the difference is cruise?

[@AV8WithWayde]

I’ve got a BC-12. What is the paperwork and cost like for putting bush wheels on an aircraft? I hear it requires an STC.

[@BrendanWells]

I think you can get the STC for like $50. If you buy new bushwheels they come with the STC. We just put 29" bushwheels on our BC-12 and they are awesome!!

[@AV8WithWayde]

Awesome, sounds great! Thanks so much!

[@alexandermorton5873]

Epic 🔥

[@BriceBLeconte]

Cool plane! How many years of flying up there you think it took for you to start doing some of that harder backcountry flying?

[@BrendanWells]

Took me 4 years before I was doing 'harder" backcountry flying. And a lot of flying basically all backcountry in those 4 years...

[@BriceBLeconte]

@@BrendanWells wow that’s humbling to know as an East Coast tricycle gear paved runway pilot 😅 truly continual learning and look forward to coming up to Alaska for some exposure. Thanks for sharing!

[@apennameandthata2017]

Does the increased angular momentum make landing on paved strips more difficult?

[@BrendanWells]

That I can't honestly answer because I've never landed on pavement with bushwheels... got to love Alaska haha!

[@apennameandthata2017]

What’s a “pretty small” weight penalty. Dude, we need some numbers!

[@BrendanWells]

Normal tread 31"=32lbs. Heavy tread 31"=36lbs. 35"=44lbs. 6" wheel=10.8lbs 10" lightweight 10650 wheel=9.6lbs So I basically added 16 LBS TOTAL going from my old heavy tread 31" tires w/ 6" wheels to 35" tires w/ 10" wheels.

[@airlandnsea]

What's your cruise speed penalty with 35' over the 31'?

[@BrendanWells]

I only lost a few mph

[@apennameandthata2017]

When you sank, the issue is how many PSI you run.

[@BrendanWells]

Dont think so.... the wet gravel bar/sand/mud was the issue there

[@jjjjjjjjrifufjssjosskenf]

A Pacer isn’t a “capable” bushplane. It has a short wing with a high stall speed, weak gear and no elevator authority. It’s not made designed for backcountry flying.

[@MonkeyEngineerPHD]

I guess all those people using them as bushplanes just don't know any better.

[@matthewbethke1399]

Maybe shoulda went with the 35’s!

[@apennameandthata2017]

NUMBERS