Wheel Pants

[Michael]

I"m seriously considering removing my wheel farings. I know Andrew flys his machine with naked tires and was wondering if many others have gone this route. Does anyone have an idea of how much speed they give you (I don't believe the Knots2u advertisements)? I recently had to replace the nose wheel faring because I hit a pothole on a taxiway (my fault) and then, during my last annual, the mechanic reversed the nosewheel so I could not access the valve stem. I noticed this during a multi-day crosscountry and by the time I found a mechanic to fix the problem (3 days later...long story) the low tire pressure caused enough widening of the tire to damage the faring. Knots2u was very good about taking it back and repairing it for free! I must say that the new farings they sell have very little tolerance between the tire and the edge of the fiberglass, in fact, I removed a quarter inch of fiberglass to enlarge the opening.

Anyway, now that I've gotten everything fixed I'm thinking about taking them off entirely. No more hassles. But how much speed will I lose?

Michael
97AV

[Pete of N978PB]

I can't add anything to the query re lost speed sans wheel fairings.

However, Michael raises an interesting question re the loss of air pressure in the tires - both mains especially. In my 6 months of very enjoyable flying in 978PB, I've had to add air to the tires twice now. In contrast, my Cessna 182RG rarely had a need for additional air pressure (and it wasn't because we took the pressure off the tires by retracting the gear when we tucked it into bed for the night, either). (And, of course, every landing has been as gentle as the falling snow, right folks?)

Has anyone else had a similar loss of tire pressure problem? If so, is it a solvable problem?

Pete

[kwmoore]

I have the pressures adjusted at every oil change (35-40 hr intervals). That's often enough, but they are several pounds down, at least 3 or 4, by then.

Here in CA we do not have the seasonal temperature range that Pete does in Ohio, which could contribute to his observations--although the 182RG should have been susceptible too.

[Mike Sullivan]

In my old sand buggy and dirt bike days, we used to deflate the tire, remove the valve-stem core and shoot in some sealant. Replace the core and re-inflate. That took care of all air leakage problems. Wouldn't that work here?


Michael, it's never too late to fashion her into a BushMaster .


;) ;) ;)

Mike

[Michael]

My experience has been akin to Pete's; I frequently need to add air. It's not so bad on the new (replacement faring) because there is a very convenient door that simply flips open, but on the older farings I have to remove screws and wrestle with the pump hose to get it affixed to the valve stem via a very small opening.

Kevin - 35 hours between oil changes? My mechanic has me on 50 hour changes...are you being ultra conservative or is my mechanic looking for a rebuild ahead of shedule?

Michael
97AV

[kwmoore]

The original IO-470 installation came with an oil screen, not oil filter, and Todd recommended 25 hr oil change intervals. With the MX situation on the field here--waiting several days for even the smallest of things to be done--I decided I wanted him to install a filter with its longer change intervals.

Most of the time I now take the plane to David's at Willits for oil change/50 hr inspections. He does fine work and it's a good excuse for a beautiful 1+ hour flight up the Sonoma Valley. So far my schedule has worked out that 35-40 hr has been the most convenient interval for oil, with a 50 hr inspection every second visit. I would be willing to let it go as long as 45 hr, but for completely subjective reasons I would rather not let it go longer than that.

[n2099x]

My old wheel pants didn’t make much difference either way. The new Horton wheel pants made a considerable (4-5kts) speed increase. The valve stem is easily accessible through a hole.

Tire inflation 101

Thirty years ago the best tubes for retaining air pressure were the thick red ones. They had a high natural rubber content. The newer tubes are much thinner and have very little natural rubber, and are more porous. These new tubes do not maintain air pressure in any application for extended periods.

The valve core is and has been the number one cause of blowouts, run flats and under inflation for years. When you buy a new set of tires the (free or $3ea) valve stems have a 2% chance of having a loose or defective valve core. Valve stems are purchased 1000 at a time for 11 cents complete stem, core and cap. I would hope the FAA approved ones are better.

Sealants are used very successfully on off road tubeless applications (atv’s, graders, loaders) slow continuous movement. The results in tube type tires have only been ok. Sealants in high-speed tires will work but leads to balance problems especially on lighter weight tires.

As far as your question: yes my tubes loose air but not the cores. There is a new tube out that is said to cure the problem. Next time I have my wheels off I am going to install them.

Glen

[acfentiman]

Michael,

Yes, I took the wheel pants off of N52459 because I was fed up with them. One time I made a taxi turn a little fast. There was a sudden loud cracking sound. One of the main gear pants was cracked. Once I looked at it closely, I was amazed at the tiny gap between the sidewall of the tire and the pant... 1/4" in places! If you have your tires slightly low and taxi turn a little fast (which causes the tire to swell momentarily on one side), then this may happen to you too.

Once my mechanic fixed the cracked pant, I asked him to file around the edges of the pant tire 'gap' on all 3 pants so I would not have the problem again. Still, I got tired of not being able to check my tires or tire pressures easily and it was a pain getting all the grass out of the back of the pant when I land on grass!

So I ordered a couple of Main Axle Nuts ($ 30 a pair) from Wentworth Aircraft (Tel: 612 722-0065) and asked my mechanic to spray them when he was next spray-painting anything white. It only took him a few minutes to install them.

Then I bought a pair of white plastic Hubba Hubba wheel caps from Lo Presti online at www.SpeedMods.com ($ 99 a pair) and installed them myself, taking 2 minutes per wheel. I love the way it looks now and the access door to get at the tire valves is well-designed and plenty big enough.

Do I fly slower, flying pantless? Probably. Do I care? No, why would I? Maybe I now get an extra knot or so back by having cleaned up the wheel wells but that's not something I waste time fretting about. I know I gained 17 pounds of useful load by taking off the 3 pants! Hope this helps. Life in the s-l-o-w lane. Andrew.

[Michael]

I took my wheel pants off too. I don't miss them a bit. Now I can easily service tires and inspect brakes. Another big plus for me is that I can now see more looking down. This is important for the stuff I do with this plane.

I kept the wheel pants and I might put them back on if I do another coast to coast trip. Otherwise you'll see me in the slow lane too.

Michael

[acfentiman]

Hope this photo comes out. This is how my main gear looks with wheel pants removed and LoPresti Hubba Hubba caps installed. Andrew