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Wheel pants - how much do they help?

JackinMichigan

JackinMichigan

Well Known Member
We're in the process of installing the wheel pants and we were just curious: how much do they actually help? Are there any studies on how much they increase speed and fuel economy? I've flown lots of Cessnas and 80% had no wheel pants, and I could never tell the difference.
 
JackinMichigan said:
We're in the process of installing the wheel pants and we were just curious: how much do they actually help? Are there any studies on how much they increase speed and fuel economy? I've flown lots of Cessnas and 80% had no wheel pants, and I could never tell the difference.
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You're looking at 10-15 knots.

Draggy landing gear gets much more draggy at 170 knots.
 
Flying with your pants on!

Gear leg fairings 10 mph increase, wheel pants 5 mph increase.
 
bhester said:
Gear leg fairings 10 mph increase, wheel pants 5 mph increase.
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That about covers it. Thus, I didn't worry about having my wheels stick out a little bit extra to give me additional clearance for grass strips.
 
Wheel Pants

Not all wheel pants are created equal. To get 5 m/h will require the Vans pressure recovery, the Sam James or F1 Rocket style pressure recovery. The old style non pressure recovery might get you 1-2 m/h.
 
I just installed my speed pants for the first time today. My true airspeed went from about 165 knots To 174 knots.

:cool: CJ
 
Bill, sure thing! I like that little hangar, but will miss it when I make the move into the big one.

All are welcome! Stop by!

;) CJ
 
We usually see about 17knots increase assuming the wheel pant brackets were on without the pants at first. I would assume a couple of knots are the brackets. So 12-15knots from no pants to full fairings. As was mentioned, the gear leg fairings give you most of the increase.
 
Jack,

Since you are based in Michigan (1D2?) and probably don't want to run the wheel pants during the winter, I would remove the bracket as well as the wheel pants.

The reason is that a number of people have reported cracks in their brackets after flying without the pants installed for an extended length of time.

Just keep in mind, that when you run without wheel pants, you will sling mud, ice, and stones up on the underside of your wing. The HS on your -10 may be out of harms way but the tail dragger HS's take a beating.
 
N941WR said:
Jack,

Since you are based in Michigan (1D2?) and probably don't want to run the wheel pants during the winter, I would remove the bracket as well as the wheel pants.

The reason is that a number of people have reported cracks in their brackets after flying without the pants installed for an extended length of time.

Just keep in mind, that when you run without wheel pants, you will sling mud, ice, and stones up on the underside of your wing. The HS on your -10 may be out of harms way but the tail dragger HS's take a beating.
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I checked mine at every pre-flight for any ice build up inside the wheel fairings. I only had to remove them once last winter to knock out the ice/snow block build up. Our freeze/thaw cycles here in MI seem to do the job most times. I see no reason to remove them for winter ops.
 
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