I don’t know what it is about 35″ Bushwheels, but every-time I look at this beast it puts a smile on my face. When these bigger tires became available I was reluctant to get suckered in, because I did not want to blindly follow the latest Cub mod. It was a $5500 modification by the time I got them delivered to Alaska, and then it took me an entire day to install them because I have 1-1/4″ axles and the bearings are 1-1/2″ and they did not yet have those cool adapter kits they do now. So, I had to customize the spacers, and it took some time and money. I finally got them installed at 7pm and took them for a spin. They were cool at first, but after about 50 hours and 100 landings I fell in love, and I will probably never go back to the teeny tiny 31″ Bushwheels … 35’s are sexier.
I hear guys claim that they bought their 35″ Bushwheels for “safety”, and I say bull-crap. I bought mine so I can land in rougher, nastier terrain. We have a couple of airstrips that are so rough they honestly hurt my back when I land because of the impact. On 31″ tires it did not take much to send me home sucking my thumb, but these 35″ are unbelievable. I really began to fall in love the first time I landed on a short, nasty, rough, one-way strip with a tailwind. These are the occasions where metal gets bent, and my back gets hurt. I realized I was going too fast on short final, but I was totally committed so I drove it into the ground, and braced for impact. I gently bounced up the hill and laughed out loud with shear delight. Landing on 35″ tires feels like sitting down on one of those huge under-inflated exercise balls. Most of the energy is dissipated before it ever reaches the airframe saving wear and tear to gear attach points … and my back.
Not only that, chicks dig ’em. Especially my wife.