While nearing completion of my RV6, I saw pictures of a fairing Larry Vetterman made for his plane. The idea of the fairing was to reduce the noise inside the cockpit. The side benefit was a several MPH increase. That got my attention since speed was always on my mind throughout this build. What's another two weeks after ten years....so I decided to copy this fairing and enjoy Larry's free speed.
After flying with and without this fairing for several hours it was clear there really was an increase in my airspeed but...my normal oil and cylinder head temperatures ran higher, 15 & 30 degrees, and this was on cold winter days. So my new fairing would be a little tight come summer in Oklahoma and it was time for a mod or version 2.
This mod keeps all my tempertures right at normal and recovery after a long climb went from 20 minutes to about 5 minutes to back to normal. Was it worth all the effort to make? Yes and I'd do it again. I know the big question is how much speed increase do I get with this fairing installed? First, all my testing was done at a pressure altitude of 5,000 feet and at as near the same tempertures as I could get. With cold winter air there is a 5 to 6 MPH increase with the fairing installed. On a hot summer day I'm seeing 4 to 5 MPH increase in true airspeed. So for an old countryboy figuring, I'd say the fairing is good for 5 MPH on my plane for sure.
After flying with and without this fairing for several hours it was clear there really was an increase in my airspeed but...my normal oil and cylinder head temperatures ran higher, 15 & 30 degrees, and this was on cold winter days. So my new fairing would be a little tight come summer in Oklahoma and it was time for a mod or version 2.
This mod keeps all my tempertures right at normal and recovery after a long climb went from 20 minutes to about 5 minutes to back to normal. Was it worth all the effort to make? Yes and I'd do it again. I know the big question is how much speed increase do I get with this fairing installed? First, all my testing was done at a pressure altitude of 5,000 feet and at as near the same tempertures as I could get. With cold winter air there is a 5 to 6 MPH increase with the fairing installed. On a hot summer day I'm seeing 4 to 5 MPH increase in true airspeed. So for an old countryboy figuring, I'd say the fairing is good for 5 MPH on my plane for sure.
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