Goodyear Tyres Take Flight

Goodyear has selected its second aviation tyre evaluation centre, the 43 Air School in Port Alfred, South Africa. It will be Goodyear’s first centre in the Southern Hemisphere.

The academy has 40 registered aircraft and an impeccable safety record assures the manufacturer. The new school will do as its forerunner, the Florida centre does, and will evaluate Goodyear and competitor tyres based on their durability and safe landings. The school’s test results will be recorded and used to measure Goodyear’s overall tyre performance.

“Goodyear Proving Grounds around the world test passenger car, light truck, agriculture, medium truck and earthmover tyres. But when it comes to aviation tyres, we don’t have a fleet of airplanes landing and taking off,” said Richard Brown, general aviation sales and marketing manager.

“For about 25 years, we’ve relied on Embry-Riddle to provide a controlled environment with many planes and many flights that generate landings. To evaluate aircraft tyre performance, we need aircraft and we need landings to provide data quickly,” Brown commented.