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Intersection fairing for the RV-9 (Not -9A)

N941WR

N941WR

Legacy Member
The few of you who have -9's flying, what did you use for the intersection fairings?

I see Van's lists parts for the 6 & 7 but not the 9. Did you just use these parts U-718-L & R and U-719-L & R?

Thanks!
 
Bill,
I bought mine from Bob at Fairings, Etc. People say they are nicer than Vans but I still put alot of work in before I was happy with the fit. I think Vans will tell you that the fairings for the 9 are the same as the 7.
 
Bruce,

$120 for the Fairings Etc vs. $70 from Van's for the upper fairings and another $130 from Fairings Etc vs. $70 from Van's, those things had better install and finish themselves!

How did the -7 fairings work out for you? Did they fit or did you have to modify them?
 
Bill,
The fairings etc parts fit well. Most of my mod was on the upper fairings where I added a little length on the leg and contour matching to the cowl. I used packing tape for release and west system epoxy with flox and cloth. Finished with a little micro spackling and sanded.
Either way you are getting fairings which will be very close to a good fit and, with a little work, the will fit perfectly.
BTW, weather permitting, a rare event will take place in a few days - two RV9s at one location!
I will post pictures.
 
Bruce,

Since you have it down, why not just send me your fairings and make new ones? ;)

Give me a few months and we can get three -9's together at the same place.

PS. Thanks for the tips!
 
I used Fairings Etc intersection fairings on my 7A. I needed to make a slight adjustment on the right side fairing. Otherwise, they were much better than the ones I began fabricating from the clay overlay models. The nose gear fairing fit perfectly over the large slot, due to my 3blade prop, on the belly of my forward induction cowl.
 
DanLandry said:
I used Fairings Etc intersection fairings on my 7A. I needed to make a slight adjustment on the right side fairing. Otherwise, they were much better than the ones I began fabricating from the clay overlay models. The nose gear fairing fit perfectly over the large slot, due to my 3blade prop, on the belly of my forward induction cowl.
Click to expand...
Dan,

Thanks for the comments but the -9 and -7 are different here as the angle at which the gear exits the fuselage is different and the -9's legs are much longer than the -7's. That is why I was curious about the -9 specifically.

That said, they may be close enough that I can get away with using the -7 fairings.
 
N941WR said:
Dan,

Thanks for the comments but the -9 and -7 are different here as the angle at which the gear exits the fuselage is different and the -9's legs are much longer than the -7's. That is why I was curious about the -9 specifically.

That said, they may be close enough that I can get away with using the -7 fairings.
Click to expand...


Bill

If you check out DWG C3 you can see that the angle of the gear leg fairing between the RV7 and the RV9 are similar. I am just now getting around to doing my upper intersection fairings on my recently converted RV9 so it would be interesting to see if anyone used the RV7 fairings for the RV9. I am able to use the lower intersection fairings from my 9A though.
 
I'm not sure about commonality between -7 and -9 gear intersection (unless the engine mount is different, it ought to be the same), but FWIW now, and anyone searching "fairings" in future, avoid the Van's offering. I've used them and Fairings, Etc. FE's are very much a finished product that need a bit of fussing to fit and filler to smooth. Van's is nothing more than a substitute for a clay form. They're very rough and thin, requiring a tremendous amount of work to smooth and strengthen with lay-ups, way beyond any sweat equity value the price difference is worth. Then, there's how to deal with the "tail" created during the Van's fabrication process. It's mostly cut away leaving a huge gap to fill. Buy the FEs or go the entire clay route; Van's is neither fish nor fowl.

John Siebold
Boise, ID
 
According to Vans the -7 and -9 intersections are not the same but I used Fairings Etc on my -9 and they were fine. They certainly saved a lot of time and hassle.
We need more -9s!
Tom Storey
G-CDXT
Flying
 
Van's Fairings

I second the comments about Van's intersection fairings. They are poorly made and require a lot of work to get to an acceptable level. I spent quite a few hours laying up extra layers of glass and reshaping them. As received mine were badly distorted. I considered sending them back to Van's at the time. Pierre's fairings( I have a 9A and he has a 6A) which I have seen are much better quality. He has the Fairings Etc. fairings. If your time is worth nothing then that is not a cost but it costs $10-20 or more in materials to get Van's fairings to a useable state.

Larry Dickinson
RV-9A N95LD 104 hours
Dunwoody, GA
KLZU
 
fairings

Am I correct in assuming these fairings are part of the Finishing Kit? If so, and I wish to get my fairings from someone other than Van's, will Van's deduct those parts out of the finishing kit and the appropriate price associated with them? What parts should be omitted from the kit if this is so? Will these other places provide me with the information on the items I will still have to get from Vans?
 
flybynight said:
According to Vans the -7 and -9 intersections are not the same but I used Fairings Etc on my -9 and they were fine. They certainly saved a lot of time and hassle.
We need more -9s!
Tom Storey
G-CDXT
Flying
Click to expand...
Tom,

I recieved a reply from Van's this morning say that they are not the same and are not interchangable. Funny but I was expecting them to give me some advice, like make your own.

It sounds like I will open my wallet and order the Fairings Etc. fairings and plan on doing some customization.
 
RV_7A said:
Steve,

No fairings are included in the Finishing Kit from Vans...

-Jeff
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info Jeff. I am getting closer and closer to needing to know some of this stuff. I have been working on the fuselage for quite some time but getting to the point where I need to start thinking about some of the things that have to happen next.
 
JUST DO IT

N941WR said:
It sounds like I will open my wallet and order the Fairings Etc. fairings and plan on doing some customization.
Click to expand...

Open it up Bill...What?s a few more bucks?

Seriously, Fairings Etc. are well made and well worth the $. They also locate your leg fairings at the correct angle. I temporarily located mine using foam and after I put Bob's fairings on I was able to remove my rudder tab.

Haven't you got that thing flying yet??

170.4 hours on mine. :D
 
R.P.Ping said:
Haven't you got that thing flying yet??

170.4 hours on mine. :D
Click to expand...
Ouch, that hurt Mr. Ping. ;)

Nope, I'm still making the perfect RV-9! NOT!

Just working crazy hours and not getting much time at home.

I hope to have it flying soon!
 
FYI - After reading and re-reading all the great advice on this thread I elected to buy the fairings from Van's.

The reason being that if I have to modify the things to fit the -9, I will spend a good bit of time cutting and filling them so the nice finish you get with Fairings Etc. would be a waste of money, at double the price.

I'll check back in and let everyone know how they come out.
 
Bill

I ordered a set of upper fairings from Fairing Etc. for my RV9. I had the Van's fairings for my 9A. If you wait a couple of days I'll be able to tell you how well they fit out of the box. I can tell you that the Van's fairings for the 9A don't fit very well at all.

Cam
 
Cam,

Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you.

It takes about two weeks (+/-) for an order from Vans to make it to Charlotte so we have lots of time before they show up.
 
Bill

I got the fairings in the day I left for Northern Minnesota, so I never got a chance to fit them. They look much nicer than the Van's ones though.

I don't finish snow performance testing for another two weeks so it will be a while before I can give you a full report.
 
Cam,

My Van's fairings arrived a week ago and man are they rough. Either way, I will not get to them for a few weeks (months?) as I still need to finish up the baffles and FAB.

I THINK I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Heck, this morning I even started in on the FAA paperwork, ordered a log book for the aircraft, etc.
 
Lots of work

Van's upper and lower intersection fairings are so rough that it will take me a lot of time to sand, repair, sand, repair, sand and fill before these will be in acceptable condition. I have 5 hours on these right now (about 1.25 hrs per each) and had to fill bad or thin spots with epoxy and cloth before going forward. Will go back to sanding next weekend. One would think they could build a mold that produces better pieces.
It seems that all I do right now is sand fiberglass pieces and fill the imperfections. Now I know why paint shops get the $$$ they charge. This is work!

Pat Garboden
Ozark, MO

RV9-A 942WG (reserved) O-235 w/slider prepping for paint
RV9-A 942PT (reserved) O320 w/ tip-up wiring
 
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