Gear leg fairings, is clay the best option

[jibby212]

I finished my lower gear leg intersection fairings a few months ago, I used the clay method as the plans describe but found it difficult to make smooth. The results turned out pretty good but there was a lot more filling and sanding than I would have liked. Now it is time for the upper fairings, is there something other than clay than can be used and easily shaped? I was thinking maybe plaster or something that can be sanded to its final shape. I also see that vans is offering these fairings now, any experience with these?, are they worth it?

[Kyle Boatright]

Van's fairings are pretty good as are some of the third party fairings.

But making your own guarantees a good fit. Remember, every 5 minute shortcut you take on making the form or mold will cost you 10x that much time on the back end. If you "roll your own", get your forms perfect before you even think about fiberglass...

[N941WR]

I had to may the fairings for my -9 as Van's as no one provides them and the ones for the -7 don't work on the -9 due to different angles that the gear legs exit the cowl.

(This is for a -9, not a -9A.)

I did use clay and use a lot of water to smooth them down. If the clay is not smooth then the fiberglass won't be either.

It just takes time to smooth them out.

[Wunderon]

I’ve used pour in place foam for fairings. There are threads on methods. Pretty easy to shape.

[Carl Froehlich]

I assume you used non-hardening clay.

I found that a little Coleman Fuel on my fingers worked a lot better than water to smooth the clay. Once I figure this out it was fairly straight forward.

Don?t forget to use a couple of coats of hair spray as a release agent.

Carl

[bkc3921]

I didn't care much for the Van's ones, so I bought the popular 3rd party choice and were pleased with them. I cannot deny that it is probably cheaper to build your own, and yes, this IS a home built....but there are simply some jobs on these planes that simply scream out for "just bite the bullet, buy them, and save yourself a month of grief"....This is one of them, in my opinion...YMMV.

[DanH]

I've abandoned clay. 4lb density pour foam is wonderful.

[jibby212]

What do you think about great stuff , the foam that is available at Home Depot?

[David Paule]

Dan, can you give us the link to that?

Thanks,
Dave

[N941WR]

Originally Posted by bkc3921

I didn't care much for the Van's ones, so I bought the popular 3rd party choice and were pleased with them. I cannot deny that it is probably cheaper to build your own, and yes, this IS a home built....but there are simply some jobs on these planes that simply scream out for "just bite the bullet, buy them, and save yourself a month of grief"....This is one of them, in my opinion...YMMV.

It depends on what he is building, aftermarket fairings may not be available.