Aircraft tires are amazing when you think about it. 

The typical airliner tire can handle a 38-ton load. It can meet the ground 500 times before needing a re-tread, a refresh it can take on seven times in its life.

A Boeing 777 uses 14 tires, Airbus’ A380 carries 22, and the enormous Antonov An-225 demands 32. The key to their remarkable durability is maximizing the air pressure, says Lee Bartholomew, lead test engineer for Michelin Aircraft Tires. The high-flying rubber is typically inflated to 200 psi, roughly six times what you put in an automobile tire, and the tires on an F-16 fighter are pumped to 320 psi.  “It’s really pressurized air that’s so strong,” he says.