I need more speed, so I guess it's time to do the fairings. Does anyone have pictures or an explanation of how to secure the upper gear leg intersection fairings for both the -8A main gear and nose gear fairings? As much as I hate fiberglass I'm going to make the fairings myself using materials I already have, and will save the $200 for prefabbed fairings for fuel instead. I have ideas using screws and/or hinges, but don't want to reinvent the wheel. Thanks for the help!
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Upper Gear Leg Intersection Fairings for -8A
- Thread starter n250jg
- Start date
N941WR
Legacy Member
+7 to 9 knots
FYI, I just spoke to a local guy who finished his -9A in December and put on some aftermarket fairings like you asked about. Turns out there was a gap in the front big enough to put your little finger in.
This past week he reworked the fairings and gained somewhere between seven to nine knots. (His numbers, not mine.)
Needless to say, he was surprised by the results.
FYI, I just spoke to a local guy who finished his -9A in December and put on some aftermarket fairings like you asked about. Turns out there was a gap in the front big enough to put your little finger in.
This past week he reworked the fairings and gained somewhere between seven to nine knots. (His numbers, not mine.)
Needless to say, he was surprised by the results.
Fairings Installed
Here's an update that might be of use to other builders later.
I finally got the main gear leg upper fairings installed last night. My problem was that I didn't know how to install the nutplate on the fuselage belly skin because you can't get to the top side since it's covered with the floor panel. I have to give credit where it's due... local -6A driver Jon Baker said he installed #6 nutplates through an enlarged hole using pop rivets. Great idea!
I started off with drilling through the fairing and the belly skin with a #27 bit and used my homemade nutplate jig (screw installed through the back side of a nutplate) to locate the rivet holes. Then I enlarged the rivet holes in the skin and the nutplate to #30 for a poprivet, and made the screw hole big enough to fit the nut plate through. Take your time here and be very careful not to lose the nutplate once it's inside the belly. The finished product is shown below (fiberglass is not my specialty, so don't laugh too hard... you won't see those ugly things after it's painted).
It was pouring here in Houston this morning so I couldn't try them out before work, but I'm looking forward to the speed increase for our trip up to Louisville, Kentucky this weekend.
Good luck,
Here's an update that might be of use to other builders later.
I finally got the main gear leg upper fairings installed last night. My problem was that I didn't know how to install the nutplate on the fuselage belly skin because you can't get to the top side since it's covered with the floor panel. I have to give credit where it's due... local -6A driver Jon Baker said he installed #6 nutplates through an enlarged hole using pop rivets. Great idea!
I started off with drilling through the fairing and the belly skin with a #27 bit and used my homemade nutplate jig (screw installed through the back side of a nutplate) to locate the rivet holes. Then I enlarged the rivet holes in the skin and the nutplate to #30 for a poprivet, and made the screw hole big enough to fit the nut plate through. Take your time here and be very careful not to lose the nutplate once it's inside the belly. The finished product is shown below (fiberglass is not my specialty, so don't laugh too hard... you won't see those ugly things after it's painted).
It was pouring here in Houston this morning so I couldn't try them out before work, but I'm looking forward to the speed increase for our trip up to Louisville, Kentucky this weekend.
Good luck,
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