I've fitted the Sky Design Wheel Pants to my RV14 with Beringer 6.00x6" wheels and I am very pleased indeed. The extra ground clearance allows confident grass strip operation. See the following links for pictures of their installation ...
https://vansrv14project.uk/2021/11/18/sky-design-engineering-wheel-spats/
https://vansrv14project.uk/2022/01/04/sky-design-engineering-wheel-spats-part-2/
https://vansrv14project.uk/2022/01/08/sky-design-engineering-wheel-spats-part-3/
I know you incorporated the 6.00x6” wheels/tires, and Sky Designes wheel pants from the beginning of your build and really don’t have a direct comparison, but how much ground clearance do you think you gained?….and do you think this mod effected your speed any?….(slower or faster)
That was on the -8, I’m wondering about the -14.
I know you incorporated the 6.00x6” wheels/tires, and Sky Designes wheel pants from the beginning of your build and really don’t have a direct comparison, but how much ground clearance do you think you gained?….and do you think this mod effected your speed any?….(slower or faster)
As you say, I have no way to directly compare speed, but even if it’s a few knots it is definitely worth the small sacrifice to not worry about operating from the numerous grass strips here in the UK. Aeroplanes are full of compromises, aren’t they?
The picture below of a 14 convinced me to increase the ground clearance … see mine for comparison.
I could be wrong, but it appears to me that part of the reason that additional ground clearance is obtained is because everyone is mounting the larger wheel pants with a different longitudinal alignment in pitch than is typically used for the standard kit parts.
I.E., the aft end of the fairing is positioned higher from the ground, so that it appears that they will look tail end high in level flight which would look odd to me.
A standard installation would be for the wheel faring to be aerodynamically a line between the leading edge and the trailing edge when the airplane is in level flight. This usually means that the wheel faring aligns at the same angle as the cockpit side rail. All the photos I have seen, make it look like the fairings are installed with the aft and much higher than they would be for that case.
I see what you mean, but it just may be the design of the wheel pant itself rather than how it’s mounted. From pictures, it appears to me that the aft portion of the Sky Designs pant is “swooped” up more than the Vans unit.
Possibly, but it looks like if you visualize a reference line through the center line of the wheel pant from the fwd most point to the aft most point, it is no where close to being parallel with the cockpit side rail.
My point in commenting which I failed to mention is that if someone is fine with that look, you can mount the standard wheel pant the same way and gain a lot of ground clearance. Maybe not quite the amount you get with the 600x6 tire but close. You wouldn’t get the benefit of the larger tire contact area for soft surfaces though.
Possibly, but it looks like if you visualize a reference line through the center line of the wheel pant from the fwd most point to the aft most point, it is no where close to being parallel with the cockpit side rail.
Designed for minimum drag, while providing good ground clearance, light weight, and aesthetic styling.
See below a better side view of the wheel pant alignment on the RV14. The pants arrive with all the screw hole locations pre-determined, so the alignment has been selected by Sky Designs. As their web site mentions ...
They are probably slightly tilted as highlighted by Scott, but I think the pants look quite pretty on the RV14, and I have had lots of similar comments by those who have seen her.
I had an email discussion with Ken, he is developing this product for the RV10 now, to be released soon.