As I was winding down from Oshkosh 2009 and placing some of the spiffy new tire pressure stickers I got from Desser Tire on the gear doors of my B55 when I spotted this line on my wheel that I had not seen before. It turned out to be a 2 inch long crack in the wheel casting!

This is a Goodyear Type III 5 x 5 Wheel. Possibly the original 1965 part with about 4,300 TT.

Can you imagine this coming apart on the takeoff or landing roll? Let's NOT!

Here is a picture of an A36 main wheel that had a bad day.

The morale of the story for me is to continue doing cursory inspections and checks of these little things while you are tinkering in your hangar. Routinely checking your tire pressures before your trips will cause you to give a good look of your wheels, calipers, brake hoses, etc.

Remember what Mario Andretti says: "Check Your Tires" and wheels!