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12-09-2010, 07:33 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 525
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Intersection Fairings Angst
I just did a search on the topic of intersection fairings, but surprisingly, I could not find much on my particular issue. My stock Van's lower fairings do not fit well around the gear leg fairings. There are gaps between it and the gear leg fairings. Also, the trailing edge isn't well defined either.
I am wondering if this is as good as it gets, or what? Did people do something about the fit or am i worrying about it too much?
I really can't think of many good solutions either.
1. Van's has you add 2 layers of cloth to stiffen up the piece. However, i am skeptical that 2 layers of cloth will be enough to cure for a tigher fit. Am i wrong here?
2. Flox or fill the gap. However, it's just going to be ugly with how much might be required to fill the void.
3. More screws to hold things together???
Right side. It's a good quarter inch gap.
Left side. The fiberglass finish is better but the trailing edge does not want to naturally close up on its own.
Any ideas is greatly appreciated!
Jae
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#40533 RV-10 Builder and CFI
1/2006 Started build
10/19/2011 First flight
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12-09-2010, 08:31 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Wichita Falls, TX
Posts: 2,182
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jchang10
Any ideas is greatly appreciated!
Jae
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A lot of RV builders buy better fairings from Fairings Etc.
http://www.fairings-etc.com
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Neal Howard
Airplaneless once again...
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12-09-2010, 09:05 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 827
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Vans fairings take a lot of trimming
I agree, the fairings available through Van's are pretty rough. But with some (actually a lot) of work, they will fit fine. At least 1/2 of the fairing faces need to be trimmed off, which gets rid of a lot of the wobbly edges. I found the trailing faces to be the worst, but again, most all of that can and should be trimmed off. You can see much of the trimming I did with the Van's fairings here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mikerv9a/WheelPants02#
When all the crying and cussing was over, I'm happy with the end result. Fairings Etc parts, while good quality, are really expensive compared to Van's. I did use Fairings Etc nose gear to cowl fairing, but even it took a lot of trimming.
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Long-EZ built 1985 -> Sold 2007
RV-9A; N539RV First Flight: 7/2010
RV-8A N468DL 40 hr Flight Test Program
Building Log: www.mykitlog.com/n539rv
APRS Tracking: aprs.fi/n539rv
2017 Paid
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12-09-2010, 09:08 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Canada
Posts: 100
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Fairings
Jae
I suggest you wax the gear leg fairing and then lay up cloth on the inside until you have enough material to sand the outside to a nice shape. Using the gear leg as the mold you can make an exact fit. Then sand right thru the original cloth to get the desired thickness. To fix the trailing edge cut off any section that is causing it to wave or sit proud and layup a new edge using the other side as the mold. In my experience that looks like a fairly minor fitment issue. You should try fitting a plenum.
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C-GVMK
RV9a Slow(ly) built
Flying as of July 2012
Last edited by Beancounter : 12-09-2010 at 09:14 PM.
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12-09-2010, 09:15 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Fuquay Varina, NC
Posts: 75
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A friend of mine helped re-model the vans stock intersection fairings.
Essentially, we glassed the fairings to the wheelpants and then split the fairing vertically, along the same axis as the wheel pant.
Image of Intersection Fairing
We added a "tab" on the front fairing that overlaps the back half to keep the fit neat and in place during flight.
Drilled holes and cleco'd the fairing to the wheel pants during the initial glass work.
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12-09-2010, 09:35 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Diego, CA, U.S.A.
Posts: 770
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Another source
Take one: I too recently purchased intersection fairings from Van's. They are junk and I intend to return them. They are very rough and badly misshapen, wavy toward the edges deep into the areas that don't get trimmed, not to mention very uneven resin application with some large areas covered in 1/8" thick solid resin while other large areas are totally resin starved... Junk.
Take two: I've just ordered a set of intersection fairings from Jan Hanekom ( http://www.rvbits.com/). I haven't received them yet, but from photos on his website and discussion with him about how they're prepared, I fully expect that they'll be of far better quality than Van's (I'll be happy to report on that after I've received them). Jan was very responsive to my many questions, and he's set up to handle international orders (he's in South Africa) with ease. Cost of the fairings is comparable to Van's. Shipping (from South Africa to USA) was $35 USD, which is obviously a bit more than US domestic shipping, but not bad considering.
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12-09-2010, 09:40 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 525
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rv9av8tr
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Mike... wow, i can hardly believe those are stock fairings. Since i can't return the lower fairings after drilling 4 #40 holes in them, I'll give some judicious trimming a try first. Thanks.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neal@F14
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Neal... on the second plane (like that'll ever happy), after-market fairings is a no-brainer. unfortunately, i already drilled some holes in mine, so it makes it a harder decision now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beancounter
I suggest you wax the gear leg fairing and then lay up cloth on the inside until you have enough material to sand the outside to a nice shape. You should try fitting a plenum.
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Beancounter... it definitely sounds like a lot of work. i had thought of something similar. one would need to use a bit of filler too since it would be difficult to get rid of any air bubbles when laying up in that way. i am not sure i have the patience or skills to pull it off well.
No way to a plenum!
Quote:
Originally Posted by gciampa
Essentially, we glassed the fairings to the wheelpants and then split the fairing vertically, along the same axis as the wheel pant.
Image of Intersection Fairing
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gciampa... i have seen that done before too. i figured i can give that a go some later time if i feel like improving the stock version.
__________________
#40533 RV-10 Builder and CFI
1/2006 Started build
10/19/2011 First flight
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12-09-2010, 09:50 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Townsend, Montana
Posts: 3,179
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My build budget was shot, so I used Vans fairings. And yes they had wavy edges and fit was suspect. But It really didn't take a herculean effort to make them fit and look nice. Just have to remember, It's fiberglass!....make it fit how you want.

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Retired Dam guy. Life is good.
Brian, N155BKsold but bought back.
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12-10-2010, 09:45 AM
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Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Posts: 474
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You can still shape the fairings a good bit by carefully using a heat gun to warm the fairing and adjust the shape. Spring clamps on the fairing while they cool should help to conform. Remember, this is plastic. You can mold a piece of fibreglass significantly with this method and not appreciably weaken it. You can then add a little micro or a couple layers to get the final fit, if needed. This way you start from a position much closer to the final desired.
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Tim Ribble
Virginia Beach
RV-6A (only took 13 years to build  )
N621TR In unrestricted operation
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12-10-2010, 10:06 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: 08A
Posts: 9,500
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1-2-3, and you have a base part which fits your airplane. What you see here was a 1/2 hour, maybe 45 minutes.

__________________
Dan Horton
RV-8 SS
Barrett IO-390
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