Flying bare legged ok?

[Dgamble]

I'm mid-way through the upgrade from my old aluminum leg fairings and old-style intersection fairings, but the weather is awfully nice...

Would there be any problem with flying without wheel fairings, intersection fairings, and leg fairings (other than the 15 mph drag penalty)?

[pierre smith]

Dave,
We flew our 6A without any fairings for 30 hours. Yep, a 16-18 MPH speed penalty. If you're upgrading to the newer pressure recovery wheelpants and later glass fairings, you're in for a pleasant surprise. We also used Bob Snedaker's upper and lower intersection fairings, with the lower ones bonded to the wheelpants and sanded smooth. Check him out at www.fairings-etc.com

Regards,

[dan]

When I first flew my RV-7, it was bare-legged. And it took me way too long to get my pants & fairings installed. After 33 hours, one of my wheel pant brackets cracked, having been "flapping around" in the breeze that whole time. Details & photos here:

http://www.rvproject.com/20040416.html

I don't think it makes too much difference for an hour here or an hour there, but I wouldn't let those brackets flop in the breeze for too long. Sounds like you're just talkin' about a short period of time until you get your new leg fairings on, so I'd say thumbs up, within reason.