New gear leg fairings?

[Snowflake]

My recently acquired RV-6 has two-piece metal gearleg fairings, that appear to be foam filled. At least, looking at the top of the metal fairings with the intersection fairings removed, I can see foam. I don't know if they have the wood strips on the legs or not.

A few of the local RV pilots suggest removing the fairings and removing the foam, as it can trap water against the steel gearlegs and then rust. I do keep the plane in a hangar, so i'm not too worried about water, but I'm wondering if it might be worthwhile to do this, and upgrade to the one-piece fairings at the same time. Are the new fairings shipping with kits still aluminium, or are they now fibreglass? I've seen mention of both in search results. If they're fibreglass, i'll need to paint them, but aluminum can be polished to match the rest of the airframe.

Of course maybe I should also upgrade to the Pressure Recovery pants at the same time... which means new lower intersection fairings too... And the job gets bigger...

 

[L.Adamson]

Check the Van's webstore. For my 6A, the new fairings are fiberglass. My kit had the 2 piece aluminum for the main gear. I went with the newer fairings and upgraded to the new wheel pants also.

L.Adamson -- RV6A

 

[Snowflake]

Thanks, I didn't even know there was a web store... I think i'd better put my Visa away before I go browsing through there...

 

[fl-mike]

Rob,
If the gear legs (rods) are painted, I don't think you need to do anything. Fly it and enjoy it.
If you do change, the effort snowballs. New leg fairings = new intersection fairings. New wheel fairings = same, plus more speed = new prop (pitch), etc.

 

[Snowflake]

I can see paint at the top, but can't see it any further down. This was an early enough kit that I suspect the builder did the painting himself. The engine mount paint doesn't stick very well, for example. But I suspect I will do as you suggest... Fly it! And watch for signs of any unusual attitudes while taxiing (like i've bent something).