Long skid mark
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Long skid mark
There was a slightly costly lesson this morning. I returned to the airport to fly home, and noticed a group of people at the hangar door, looking out toward the runway. Until I got out to my plane, I could not see what they were seeing. Ahhh... A PC-12 sitting on the runway - not level. As a ramp attendant came up to me and told me that the runway was closed - flat tire. Yeah, flat tires happen, I had one once. And, the second runway was already closed, a dozen inactive Dash 8's parked on it. So, I wait. The planes in the circuit filter off to other airports (closest 15 miles, the more likely one, 32 miles). An hour plus later, the PC-12 is ingloriously towed in from the runway. I got my clearance, and taxiied out. The controllers knew I'd been waiting over an hour, and were great about letting me out without delay.
As I took off, a long black skid mark became visible on the runway. It started as a narrow trail, widened to the apparent width of a PC-12 right main tire, and continued for 500 feet or so, sort of along the runway axis, and then transitioned into two narrow skid marks (tire beads I presume), ending where I had seen the plane stopped for an hour. So I'm thinking that the tire was entirely airworthy the moment before it contacted the runway. For reasons not known to me, that wheel did not turn after touchdown. It is certainly warm enough that it was not a frozen brake (which I have had), so perhaps some other event with the brake.
Oh well, a new tire, I was late for lunch, and a solo circuit student or two had an unplanned cross country flight! As I passed abeam the next nearest airport, at the departure tower's request to me, I broadcast that the airport was open again. I heard two "thank you's" over the radio.
As I took off, a long black skid mark became visible on the runway. It started as a narrow trail, widened to the apparent width of a PC-12 right main tire, and continued for 500 feet or so, sort of along the runway axis, and then transitioned into two narrow skid marks (tire beads I presume), ending where I had seen the plane stopped for an hour. So I'm thinking that the tire was entirely airworthy the moment before it contacted the runway. For reasons not known to me, that wheel did not turn after touchdown. It is certainly warm enough that it was not a frozen brake (which I have had), so perhaps some other event with the brake.
Oh well, a new tire, I was late for lunch, and a solo circuit student or two had an unplanned cross country flight! As I passed abeam the next nearest airport, at the departure tower's request to me, I broadcast that the airport was open again. I heard two "thank you's" over the radio.
