RV-8 wheel fairings on grass strips

[drifter]

The aft end of my RV-8 wheel fairings do not allow for much clearance to the ground. This is fine, of course, on hard serviced strips, but I would like to operate in the winter on my private strip, which is really nice, smooth and fairly firm, and I'm concerned about this lack of clearance. Has anyone altered the aft portion of the fairing to allow for a little more clearance. I know I could take them off in the winter months but I desire the other aspects of having them on. Any thoughts?

[Ted RV8]

What about a set of summer wheel pants, standard RV configuration and profile for paved strips.

Winter set made for more clearance and landing on rougher strips.

I know you can remove the wheel pants for the rougher strips but this offers no protection from the tires kicking things up at the plane.

Just a thought.

Ted

[scsmith]

Yes, it would be nice to be able to have the best of both worlds. To start with, I was just going to mount mine a little bit higher. I figured I would operate with mine until they were too beat up, then modify them while repairing them. But some pro-active modifications might be in order.
I'd love to hear some ideas.

[GAHco]

Originally Posted by Ted RV8

What about a set of summer wheel pants, standard RV configuration and profile for paved strips.

Winter set made for more clearance and landing on rougher strips.

I know you can remove the wheel pants for the rougher strips but this offers no protection from the tires kicking things up at the plane.

Just a thought.

Ted

This may sounds silly but..

I have seen simple fenders put on planes when landing in places that have stuff on the runway surface that would otherwise damage your airframe.

If nothing else it would be a great conversation starter!

Done right it would not be "Mickey Mouse", even if they look a little Goofy!

[Rockyjs]

I've got about 100 turf landing on my RV-7 wheel pants on a not so smooth runway. The tail ends are about 1.7 inches off the ground. I had them off last week and they are in good shape. They show small evidence of abuse. I'm sure they will need some cosmetic repair with more use. More of a concern presently is the amount of debris that gets lodged between the aft opening and bulkhead. I find quite a bit of grass and dirt each time I remove the wheel pant. Also the wheels and brake area are always dirty. I make it a habit of removing pants once a month and cleaning the wheels and pants. One of the guys at our field almost went through a fence with his Cessna 175 when he landed on soft turf and the debris filled the gap behind the tire wheel pant locking a tire up shortly after landing.

[Low Pass]

Depends on the condition of the grass strip. I kept mine at a grass strip that was kept in good condition with gravel taxiways for about 5 yrs. Mine's built per the plans with something like 1.5" clearance behind the tire. The pants have received a fair amount of scuffing on the bottom, consequently I've repainted them once in 9+ yrs.

Never had a problem with the attachments - even after sinking in some very soft grass/mud 5-6 inches.

Re. the airframe, I've received a couple of dings in the HS leading edge. Nothing I can recall underneath. I put sacraficial tape over edge of the HS and vertical stab. Looks good and I can replace it if I want.

Sounds like you'll be fine.

[Steve Sampson]

You might be interested in my experience, here. See post of 9th Nov '08.

It has been an often discussed subject on the -4 list. See for instanance this thread.

We are also using bigger tires. It looks OK though. See here. At least I think so.

[drifter]

Steve,

If I put the 380x150-5 tire on my RV-8 would you expect that I would need to do a little fiberglas modification on the wheel fairings? I'm currently running 5.00x5's.

Thanks,

Phil

[Steve Sampson]

Originally Posted by drifter

Steve,

If I put the 380x150-5 tire on my RV-8 would you expect that I would need to do a little fiberglas modification on the wheel fairings? I'm currently running 5.00x5's.

Thanks,

Phil

Phil, I did not change from the old tires to the new, but started with the 380x150 tires and positioned the spats appropriatly. I did no extra fiberglass work other than needed to make the back and front match in the normal way.

I would think if you took the fairings off, patched up the old mounting holes and then positioned therm as though they were new that would work, and let you get a bit more ground clearance. My guess is that if you used the existing mounting holes - if that is what you are asking - it might not, but you could try.

For me the larger tires are closer to essential so I would have changed anything needed but as I have explained, I just fitted them a little higher.

I hope that answers.

PS Any change will of course impact the interface with the gear leg fairing also. Ouch!

[drifter]

Thanks, Steve. I'll see what happens when I put on the larger tires. I, as well, need to make it work.
Thanks for your input.
Phil