Premade fairings- Vans vs. Fairings Etc.

BruceW · #1 10-12-2006, 04:27 PM

Are the intersection fairings sold by Vans and Fairings Etc. the same?
If not, how do they compare? Thanks much.

BruceW · #2 10-13-2006, 08:09 AM

No one knows the answer to this?
I cant believe I've got this forum stumped.

RV7ator · #3 10-13-2006, 08:32 AM

Perhaps the reason for no response thus far is you must have built two RVs to experience the difference; narrows the field considerable.

By my own criteria, I qualify. I have Van's in hand, but haven't installed them. I have 215 hours on FEs.

FE are essentially final form and much stiffer and thicker than Van's - they use more material - and FE claims that the upper fairing properly aligns the gear leg fairing (a critical fit-up); they do not do this well enough to trust. Installation instructions are sufficient.

Van's are flimsy by comparison, and have a weird ~1 1/2 inch "flashing" on the aft edges that must be cut away after fit-up. You must devise your own closing lock on the upper fairing (FE uses one screw), and being very thin, you can't simply countersink for a #6 around the perimeter as you can with FE to secure the uppers to the fuse. Typical of Van's, no instructions or suggestions are provided.

Van's lower price will be eaten up by extra effort. I'm seriously considering going back to FE for the uppers; Van's is good enough for the lowers since they're epoxied to the pant and subject to much filling and sanding.

John Siebold

painless · #4 10-13-2006, 08:44 AM

I have the fairings etc. and would recommend them. I had one main gear to fuse intersection fairing that I had to tweak a bit, but all in all, they fit very well.

I HIGHLY recommend his empenage fairing as well.

Can't comment of Van's intersection fairings, but their emp fairing did not fit at all for me.

Regards,

N916K · #5 10-13-2006, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BruceW

Are the intersection fairings sold by Vans and Fairings Etc. the same?
If not, how do they compare? Thanks much.

I bought the ones from Vans for my RV9a. They should be ashamed at sending out a part so poorly made. The mold is of the inside of the part so there where fiberglass threads sticking out in all directions on the outside and they didn't fit at all. I made them work but it took quite a bit of work.

RV7ator · #6 10-13-2006, 09:30 AM

Back again, an hour later -

My prior comments re Van's were recollections from last handling their fairings three months ago. I just revisited them...

Van's offerings are atrocious, awful, bad, pick your adjective. The lowers are possible only because of the need to pucky them up to the wheel pants. You'll still need copious quantities of filler. The uppers are going back and I'm ordering FEs. Van's are so bad, they're, they're, they're...I don't want to waste the time to describe it.

John Siebold

vlittle · #7 10-13-2006, 10:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by painless

I have the fairings etc. and would recommend them. I had one main gear to fuse intersection fairing that I had to tweak a bit, but all in all, they fit very well.

I HIGHLY recommend his empenage fairing as well.

Can't comment of Van's intersection fairings, but their emp fairing did not fit at all for me.

Regards,

I had the same experience. Left side main gear fuse intersection fairing needed a bit of tweaking, but the parts are smooth and need very little filling.

Some of the splits are held together with wood screws into a fiberglass block. I attached nut plates instead.

The instructions are not great, but one can figure it out.

Vern Little

RV7Guy · #8 10-13-2006, 10:46 AM

Hands down, Fairings etc. As I have said numerous times the Van's fiberglass pieces are in need of serious overhaul. With such a great kit in all other respects I am shocked Van's allows such low quality glass parts to be included in his products. And, why is there two types of glass disciplines, polyester for the tips and empennage parts and epoxy for the cowl, wheel pants, gear fairings, tail fairing and intersection fairings. Whew, I feel better.

I used Fariings etc... tail fairing and intersection fairings. I did not want all of the screws and exposed on the stock unit. Instead I wanted a perfectly fit fairing with minimal screws. No puckering or cracking.

On the intersection fairings I did something different. I decided to split them and mold the front to cowl and rear to the fuselage. Nice clean look with no screws.

The Fairings etc. stuff is not perfect and requires a little work but it is close in fit and far superior in overall quality.

Just a satisfied customer.

Bruce Reynolds · #9 10-13-2006, 01:08 PM

Posted below are the instructions that are shipped with Van's intersection fairings. These fairings were not made to compete with FE fairings, but rather to make it easier than going with the modeling clay method as shown in the manual.

Intersection Fairings

These intersection fairings are supplied in an unfinished state. They are intended to be a starting point to give the builder an initial base shape and still be flexible enough to conform to any small differences there might be in the individual airplane.

You will notice that the exterior of the fairing is still quite rough. Once initially fitted, the builder will be applying an additional two layers of 9oz. cloth. Prior to this, any unwanted blemishes on the exterior of the fairing can be removed with coarse (80-grit) sandpaper.

The perimeter flange of the fairing is molded oversize. Leave this flange intact until after the additional layers of glass cloth are applied. This allows the builder to tape the fairing in place and lay up the final layers of glass, overlapping the edge of what will be the final shape of the fairing yet remain on the original excess perimeter material and not make a mess of the wheel fairing or fuselage.

Once the finish layers of glass are applied, the fairing can be trimmed to final shape and sanded smooth. For sanding, try sandpaper wrapped around 2?-3? PVC pipe. This allows easy sanding of the inside radii of the fairing. Adding microballoons to the final coat of resin will also make sanding easier.

For additional information, see the section of your Builder?s Manual that covers cowl and fairing installation.

Bruce Reynolds

BruceW · #10 10-13-2006, 01:16 PM

Great response. Thanks much.
Looks like Im gonna buy some FE's.
I like fiberglass work, but not that much!