"Off Road" event - need fiberglass work now

[airguy]

I had a bit of an "off road" event yesterday where I hit some debris on my dirt runway, it caused the bracket holding the wheel pant over the right wheel to completely fracture through a pre-existing crack that I had not noticed before. The wheel pant rotated over the front of the wheel causing it to skid and taking me off the runway into loose dirt. I locked up the left brake to keep it going straight, no prop strike, but the right wheel pant and lower intersection fairings are completely destroyed. After 1840 hours and LOTS of soft runway landing, the other pants are in pretty sorry shape so I've made the decision to rebuild all three wheel pants and the nose gear leg fairing from new parts. The question I have for the group is a source recommendation. I have compiled the list of Vans factory parts, but about half of them show "unavailable" on the Vans store. It's been 9 years since I looked at any kind of gear fairing stuff - who is the "go to" vendor for fairings these days?

 

[Dad's RV-10]

A little spendy but a good opportunity to upgrade to Sky Designs carbon fiber.

 

[AlphaCharlieBravo]

I'll just ad Dan from Fairings-Etc, advertiser on this site. I bought my intersection fairings from them when Steve was running the ship and Dan has continued the legacy with these and other offerings. Can't go wrong with them. Dan WILL take care of you.
A

Fairings-Etc.

Experimental aircraft part, accessories such as propellers, fairings, tailwheels, Whelen wat lights, propeller balancers, crow harnesses / seatbelts

fairings-etc.com

 

[Ironflight]

I’ve fixed FAR worse…..

The nice thing about “fixing” ratehr than replacing is that your alignment probably won’t change, so you wont have to start over with that. But some people like beating their head against the wall!

However, I understand the desire to go all-new after a bunch of years, and I’d recommend Fairings Etc for the intersections. Not sure if anyone but Van’s provides her leg fairings, but yours are probably fine. Pants are probably Vanb’s…and all the metal stuff you can easily fabricate since you built the plane.

 

[71459]

So, the tri-gear airplanes, especially those with pants, just aren't meant for soft or rough fields. There is the old nose gear "flip over" problem, and here we see another issue. The low angle of the wheel pants relative to the ground has caused them to dig into the dirt.

If it were mine, and that was my regular airfield, I'd take the wheel pants off and leave them off.

 

[Jjackh10]

So, the tri-gear airplanes, especially those with pants, just aren't meant for soft or rough fields. There is the old nose gear "flip over" problem, and here we see another issue. The low angle of the wheel pants relative to the ground has caused them to dig into the dirt.

If it were mine, and that was my regular airfield, I'd take the wheel pants off and leave them off.

This is just another maintenance item. Nearly 2k hrs of this type of operation before the OP needs to make a repair. Tri-gear RV's have been flying off gravel, grass, snow, and ice with wheel pants since the first ones were built. Not everyone wants to own a pavement princess. I'd suggest keeping them on to act as rock guards to protect the belly and empennage. Way easier to repair a little fiberglass than replace ribs and skins.

 

[airguy]

Closing the loop - I talked to Dan with Fairings Etc a couple times yesterday and got his lower intersection fairings ordered, and the rest of the stuff from Vans with some of it back-ordered. To Paul's point about "fix" rather than replace - these have already been "fixed" several times and the interior of those pants looks like a warzone. If you can imagine the old Disney movie about Mickey Mouse being a magicians apprentice, but using fiberglass resin, and the resultant mess - you'll be pretty close. It was time to clear the workbench.

I had plenty clearance on the wheel pants for the stuff on my runway - the issue began with a crack in the bracket holding the right rear pant that I missed on annual (perhaps a couple times) that finally broke all the way through and allowed the pant to move. I'm sure you've all heard about the dust storms we've been having out here - well I had a clump of grass in the runway that collected dust from those storms and built up a "hump" in the runway, and that was enough to finally crack out that bracket. It was going to happen sooner or later I suppose, glad it happened at home and not on the road somewhere. This was literally the first flight since I got back from Sun 'n Fun.

 

[MacCool]

I had the same problem after unwisely landing at the Worst Grass strip in America, posted here somewhere a few years ago. I really wanted to just send the things off to get them fixed but it was expensive and a big hassle. Midwest Aircraft Refinishing in Hibbing, Minnesota is only about a 25 minute flight from here but I couldn't get them to respond to three emails and two phone calls. I definitely didn't want to buy new and start from scratch so I just bit the bullet and decided to fix them myself. It was as big a PITA nuisance as I was anticipating but the end result was good. If I had it to do over, I'd take Paul Dye's then advice and just use rattle can paint instead of taking the pants to a body shop for two-part polyurethane. I told myself at the time that I would never land on a grass strip again. I unwisely ignored that advice and now again have my nose wheel pants back on the bench with the epoxy and air sanders/grinders.

 

[BH1166]

……., I'd take Paul Dye's then advice and just use rattle can paint instead of taking the pants to a body shop for two-part polyurethane. I told myself at the time that I would never land on a grass strip again. I unwisely ignored that advice and now again have my nose wheel pants back on the bench with the epoxy and air sanders/grinders.

FYI. I get my paint numbers made up in two part rattle can at car paint store. I have repainted wheel pant and spinner vs dragging out compressor and hvlp gun. The hardner is released when ready to use by a button on the can bottom. Works well. Polyurethane.

 

[Toobuilder]

I also am of the opinion that wheel fairings are a “wear item” and subject to slow destruction over time. It’s also why I’m using colors readily available in rattle cans. Good old off the shelf Krylon white for the most part.

 

[rockwoodrv9]

Looks like fun Greg. Ha!
I just got a set of Wilkerson retreads and I think they re going to fit but I may be having to modify my pants a bit. They have been all white but thinking of maybe doing a couple colors. I hope the slightly larger tire will let it roll better on grass.