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Smashed Wheel Pants. Rebuild or Replace?

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BealeStAviator

Member
I messed up: ran into a barricade on a taxiway and tore the front off my left wheel pant. Is this something I can repair? (Don’t forget to zig zag if you can’t see over the nose…) The missing piece is a crumpled , flattened, mess and I’m missing a few silver dollar sized pieces. Would it be worth it? Or should I just buy the forward half from Vans, match drill it, shoot it, and be done with it? The rest of the components have some cracks but I’m confident I can repair those.
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Since your intersection fairings are removable type, I would just replace the FWD half..if you aren't a builder, find a fiberglass guy to assist. I would take a look at the attachment plates and other possible damage, but rebuilding the front half, while possible, may not be the quickest.
 
If you have enough pieces of the broken off section to form a shape, I would just repair/rebuild that front piece. Use tape on the outside to make the shape pretty close and after cleaning, and sandinding the inside, lay up 3 or 4 layers of 9 oz cloth and flox to fill voids on the inside. After cure, you’ll have the shape you want and can do the sanding, filling on the outside to finish it. I think you could do this in less time than it will take to have new part shipped to you.
 
The new part VA-157A is $132 and shows as in stock at Vans.

Compare that with the value that you put on your time plus the cost of the materials to make a mold and to make or repair the cap, and whether working with fiberglass brings you joy and satisfaction.
 
Fiberglass is always fixable. It's on you to decide if it's practical for your situation. In this case, you can repair it which is going to be a lot of work and will for sure end up heavier than the original by quite a bit, you can roll your own by using the one from the other side as a form to make a female mold, then use the mold to make a new part (also a lot of work). Or you can just order a new one.

In this case, I'd just order a new one if it were me. It's going to have to be painted to match no matter what.
 
50/50
I’m buying the part in exchange for my time, but rebuilding it isn’t a wrong answer.
I’m sorry this happened by the way, but as they say….. happens.
 
PaulvS said:
The new part VA-157A is $132 and shows as in stock at Vans.

Compare that with the value that you put on your time plus the cost of the materials to make a mold and to make or repair the cap, and whether working with fiberglass brings you joy and satisfaction.
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I just did a repair with a 5-6 inch hole in the front using the other side as mold. It works fine.
Nevertheless, buy the new part. It will money well spent.
 
The problem is this: that although the wheel pants are symmetrical the wheel/tire cutout is offset well to the side. So the opposite side would need to be filled in before pulling a mold. Not worth the effort.
In 60 plus years of building airplanes fiberglass is the one thing that eludes me. I can get it done but I am never satisfied with the results.
 
well, depends really... the more I age and the more I realise the time left is worth its gold. And since I way prefer to fly than spend time shaping/laying-up/sanding/filling/sanding more/filling more/sanding encore/etc/primering/final spraying, the whole saga wearing some kind of protection over my breathing (in & out) holes, no way.
I'd sure cough up the dough, get done asap and dance the blue yonder :)
 
If you decide to fix it, this thread might help give you some ideas.

The damage is not as severe but the repair concepts are still valid.

Fiberglass repair---wheelpant

I did a bit of a carrier landing a while back, and cracked one of the wheelpants when the tire bulged a bit too much and caught the edge of the pant. Knowing that many of the folks here at VAF are a bit put off by the thought of working fiberglass, I thought I would document the repair process...
vansairforce.net vansairforce.net
 
Ralph Inkster said:
I bet the OP is extremely relieved the damage was a wheel pant… & not a prop!
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I’m grateful it wasn’t way worse, for sure. I had a moment though where I saw my engine’s life flash before my eyes. As it is, my ego suffered the most damage with the wheel pants coming in a distant second. A moment’s inattention while approaching a newly closed taxiway… lesson hard learned.
 
How much of the broken part do you now have?

I did fiberglass as a full time job working at Robinson Helicopter while I was going through A&P school. If you have enough pieces, this shouldn’t be a terrible job. I can walk you through it and keep you from turning this little job into something huge.
 
Years ago a guy brought me a wheel pant that looked like slinky. It was cheaper, easier, and faster to fix it as opposed to buying a new one.
 
Repair would be my choice. Hands down faster than having to mate a new front half to the rear.

I would cut the back section of the bowl off and save the collar since it matches the rear wheel pant, fairing, and mounting bracket. Throw the broken part away. Pull the other side and use it as a form. Remove the fairing platenut from the collar the place it around the other bowl and glass the bowl’s dome and connect it to the collar. After popping it off the form, add a few strips of glass on the backside over the joint for additional strength on the joint.
 

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If you love fiberglass work, have the time, and are looking for a project, repairing that would be a great project. For $132, I wouldn't even consider it for a moment.
 
MacCool said:
If you love fiberglass work, have the time, and are looking for a project, repairing that would be a great project. For $132, I wouldn't even consider it for a moment.
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Agree. Making a good mold and materials with likely cost about the same or more. I think it would be challenging to make as nice as a new part.
 
BealeStAviator said:
I’m grateful it wasn’t way worse, for sure. I had a moment though where I saw my engine’s life flash before my eyes. As it is, my ego suffered the most damage with the wheel pants coming in a distant second. A moment’s inattention while approaching a newly closed taxiway… lesson hard learned.
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Having done a ton of fiberglass work in the past. I would with out a doubt BUY a new part if it is available, Because, you may have to spend a lot of work to get the complex curvature pf the front of the pant looking correct and smooth and pretty. It's easy till the gloss paint is on the part and it has a bunch of waves in the finish
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My luck varies FIXIT
 
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