Originally Posted by frankp
Don't know what the pressure drop in the cargo hold of a plane is, but I have many times forgotten to deflate the tyres (pumped to around 110 psi) and they have never popped.
Since we're all armchair physicists today
... at sea level the ambient pressure is around 15 PSI. So flying into a near vacuum should add at most 15 PSI, making the effective tyre pressure 125. One reference I found on line said that the pressure at 30,000 feet is 4.5 PSI, so the tires are only experience about a 10 lb differential (120 PSI). High, but not that high. Plus its probably cold in the cargo hold, reducing the pressure a bit.