Fairings from Fairings etc.

Jim F · #1 03-31-2009, 12:41 AM

I ordered a set of intersection fairings for my RV-9A from Bob at Fairings Etc. They all fit very well except for the forward half the lower intersection fairing. It is not long enough to reach the seam in the wheel pant.
I had a long talk with Bob about this, and he tells me I should have mounted the wheel pant further forward to make it work with the fairing....
I contend that I mounted them according to the plans and the wheel is centered in the wheel pant as it should be.....
Has anyone else had this problem. I think I can adapt it, but when the rest of them fit so well I an disappointed in Bob's response.

MrNomad · #2 03-31-2009, 03:31 AM

I installed Bob's fairings on my 9A. If you send me a photo of your issue, I will try to help.

You can send photos to barry @ arizonaairparks.com

I am also happy to send you photos of my installation. The upper fairings could have fit better but I modified them to take up the gap.

Capflyer · #3 03-31-2009, 04:52 AM

I had a similar problem and called Bob. I cannot remember the full details but it turned out the instructions (Vans or Bob's?) are not very clear and I had lined up either the pant or the fairing to the incorrect reference point on the wheel pant. Sorry for not giving a whole lot of detail but double check both sets of plans. It is one of them.

Rick6a · #4 03-31-2009, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim F

.....all fit very well except for the forward half the lower intersection fairing. It is not long enough to reach the seam in the wheel pant........

The condition you describe just might be a blessing in disguise and you don't even realize it. Let me explain. If the forward seam was long enough to match up perfectly so you ended up with a smooth butt gap between the 2 intersection fairing parts, you might be inclined to just let it go at that. I did. After a few hours of flight I heard a loud noisy vibration and quickly landed. I soon discovered that the smooth butt gap I was so proud of was allowing air to be forced between the fairing halfs and at flight speeds started to rip the aft section of the fairing away from the wheel pant. The fix was very cheap and easy but required a slight OVERLAP. This is one of the reasons why some people wait to paint their airplane until all the bugs are worked out. If the pants were already painted, it would have been much more time consuming and expensive to fix.

Ironflight · #5 03-31-2009, 08:50 AM

We just finished building all new wheel and gear fairings for "Mikey", Louise's -6, and I agree with Rick - building the overlap into the forward part of the lower fairing makes for a really nice joint. I didn't think of it - Grady and Brandon built this into the Valkyrie's when they had th plane for paint, knowing from prior experience that the flush joint wouldn't work.

On Mikey's fairings, we used Fairing's Etc up top, as we got a good deal on a pair at LOW, and then used Van's for the bottom. We had to do a tremendous amount of work to get the Van's the way I wanted them, but Louise needed the fiberglass experience, so I didn't mind.

Paul

carguy614 · #6 03-31-2009, 09:40 AM

Also did mine the same way, with an overlap on the leading edge of the fairing. All is good, and holding up well. No matter who you buy them from, there will be considerable work to form them up to fit. I think when the time for fairings on my present project, I will just make them up from scratch.

Good luck,
Chris

kentb · #7 03-31-2009, 09:45 AM

I took pictures and sent them to Bob. He ask me to send that one back and he quickly modified it and return it to me no charge.

All of the fairings needed a little adjusting to get a nice fit.

Kent

Jim F · #8 03-31-2009, 02:01 PM

Thanks for the ideas... I will have to take another look at Kent's
he is on the same field....

Jim F · #9 04-07-2009, 06:48 PM

Bob called me after recieving the photos I sent. He agreed that I have the wheelpants done correctly, and there may be a problem on his end. He said he had designed them for the lower end of the gear leg fairing as it comes, not as it is specified for the trim.

he is going to make some adjustments for futher fairings, but the fix may not be immediate. It might be worth-while to discuss this with him if you are ordering his intersection fairings.

I made adjustments to the length, and also am building in some overlap, as is true of the wheel pants themselves. Thanks for all the ideas.

db1yg · #10 04-07-2009, 07:26 PM

A quick story to reinforce the need for the front over rear overlap.

Several years ago I was at the airport in Tyler, Tx when an unpainted RV9a landed and parked. I went out to take a look at the plane. The builder was not around but you could see that he had just installed the intersection fairings as they were temporarily pop riveted onto the wheel pants -- no glass work as yet. Well, it appeared that he had not used the overlap technique as he was missing both back halves of the gear leg to wheel pant intersection fairings. The front halves were still there but you could see where the pop rivets had pulled loose on the rear halves ---probably somewhere over NE Texas.

It was a good lesson for me--mine have a very generous overlap.

Cheers,

db