Lower fuselage fairings

[zkelley2]

So I already dont like the fairings I made. They let a ton of air in, and I'm sure water. Has anyone made fairings that seal up the holes at the aileron cable and wing strut attach fitting that seals really well? Pictures? I'm thinking about maybe making it from fiberglass.

Also I have the fairing from the strut to the fuselage that Bob makes and it doesnt fit over the an4 hardware. Do people just cut it open on one side?

[whee]

My dad is building the gear and strut fairings so I can’t really say much about how he made them and we don’t yet know how much air they will leak. He built them as described in the manuals and they cover all the openings. We did pay close attention when cutting the holes in the fuselage panels for the gear and pulley fittings so make sure there were not any big holes that would be hard to cover.

The strut to fuselage fairings we got from Bob fit over the hardware without modification. The strut to wing fairings needed holes cut for the AN4 hardware.

[Battson]

They will never seal perfectly. The gear legs move around too much.
They can only seal perfectly in-flight (and look a bit hokey on the ground), or vice versa.

I went with Bob's fairing and I am more than happy, they occasionally need a little adjustment, but they do the job well.

[zkelley2]

My dad is building the gear and strut fairings so I can’t really say much about how he made them and we don’t yet know how much air they will leak. He built them as described in the manuals and they cover all the openings. We did pay close attention when cutting the holes in the fuselage panels for the gear and pulley fittings so make sure there were not any big holes that would be hard to cover.

The strut to fuselage fairings we got from Bob fit over the hardware without modification. The strut to wing fairings needed holes cut for the AN4 hardware.

I'm unsure how they fit over your hardware. I've got the 4 AN4 bolts and nuts, 1 thread showing. They're far too snug to get over anything. Even if it was just a washer high I don't think they'd fit over the hardware.

They will never seal perfectly. The gear legs move around too much.
They can only seal perfectly in-flight (and look a bit hokey on the ground), or vice versa.

I went with Bob's fairing and I am more than happy, they occasionally need a little adjustment, but they do the job well.

I guess I'd prefer them to seal in flight. Function over form. As far as Bob's farings, are you just talking about the piece that slides over the strut? I do have the issue mentioned with that, but I also mean the fairing from the legs to the fuselage.

[Bcone1381]

Maybe Dennis R. will share how he made his gear leg fairings. I think he fabricated them with weight off the wheels and he allows it to flex. When airborne its designed to seal up. Here are some photos I took at Oshkosh in 2018. Note how Dennis secured the fairing to the fuselage on the outside and to the gear leg on the belly side.


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[flyboy]

Brooks is correct, the gear leg to fuselage fairing is made of fiberglass. So far (435 hours) the fairing is working as designed with no issues. The wing strut to fuselage fairing is Bob"s. It needs to have a little extra clearance at the bottom so as the gear leg moves it does not slide the fairing up the strut. The fairings on the gear struts were made of fiberglass with the fuselage on the rotisserie. So far no issues with them.

[whee]

Look at the second picture Brooks posted. You can see how the fairing has a formed channel on the top and bottom to clear the hardware.

[zkelley2]

Look at the second picture Brooks posted. You can see how the fairing has a formed channel on the top and bottom to clear the hardware.

I see that. Is that Bob's fairing? The ones I had look nothing like that. I wonder where they are from.

[whee]

Yes, that is Bob's fairing. They need some trimming to fit right but they slide right over the strut hardware.

[Flygirl1]

The gear leg fairings were made with the plane on the rotisserie which made it easy to get to and kept the weight off. First we covered the area with alum tape then we used a combination of foam and play dough to get the shape we wanted, then we covered all of that in alum tape, put some wax on it and then fiberglass. To get it off we cut the back side, then we used bondo to get a smooth finish, then we riveted a tab with a nut plate on the inside so we could use screws to keep it all together.

[Flygirl1]

Making these fairings out of aluminum was above our pay grade. My hats off to those who can or know somebody who works with metal to make the curves necessary. Spent way too much time trying. I guess we love a challenge! The fairing has an opening at the back that is velcroed together so it can easily be taken off and so far is working very well. The fibergalss flexes when needed and I don't think metal would work doing it this way. The strut fairings were Bob's and they needed fitting. One of mine still had a hard time staying in place in flight. It would slide up the strut. I wrapped the strut in that area with that shelf lining that keeps plates from slipping around, then put the fairing in place. Works great! (Sorry can't remember the name of the stuff.)

[Steve W]

Last spring, I made my lower leg fairing so it will attach to the leg. I will use rubber channel with a "finger" to fill the gap and allow the movement of travel for the gear. The strut fairing is split at the back and will have rubber channel to butt up against the fuselage. I just got back from working up north for the summer and haven't fitted and finished them yet. Used single layer cardboard, aluminum, lots of masking tape and about 5-6 layers of wax. Also a piece of aluminum at the back of the strut fairing to allow it to be split. Used "Smooth On" epoxy which is a joy to use.

[zkelley2]

Thanks for all the pictures and ideas. Looks like i'll be making a bunch of fiberglass.

[PaulSA]

I was thinking of making them in two pieces with a rubber sheet between to allow for flex.

Too ugly? Too difficult? Too complicated?

[zkelley2]

Here's a picture of what I'm talking about.

These things dont fit over the hardware. So what is their purpose?

[jaredyates]

Yes, that goes at the top.

[zkelley2]

They dont clear the hardware and tie downs at the top either.

[jaredyates]

I'll try and get a photo of how I did it. You will probably want to split the fairing.

[svyolo]

Here are pics of the two. I might as well paint them while I have them out and am set up to paint.