Wheel Pant Damage

Builders beware -

I followed VANs recommendations for clearance between the main wheels and the wheel pants to the letter and still ended up with a 2"x2" inch section cracked out of the inboard rear corner from obvious tire contact. It cannot be seen without getting on your knees and was easily repaired. I've subsequently increased the gap by an additional 3/16" along the rear section you might consider the same.

Welcome to the club Ken! I can't think of many people that haven't done the same thing - myself included.

Wait until your first landing with a flat tire....you'll grind about two inches off the bottom of the pant. But an afternoon's work with the fiberglass kit (NEVER get rid of that stuff....) and you'll be ready for repaint. Keep the bottom of the pants a simple, single color - that you can redo with a spray can.

Paul

yeap, been there done that. Twice

I should have asked the question when I was building the pants as I was thinking the clearance was a little tight...oh well. Hopefully the additional 3/16" will prevent further damage.

Good advice on the single paint color.

Thx!

Ken

Gap recommendation from those who've been there, done that?

Timely post, as I'm just about to trim the gap on the wheel pants.

The only reference I've found in Van's documentation for the gap width is a recommendation for 5/8" on the nose wheel pant. No specific recommendation that I've seen for the mains. Were you guys using 5/8" on the mains as well?

In any case, it sounds like Van's recommendation is still insufficient. So those of you who've already "been there, done that", what gap width have you found to be sufficient?

Thanks,
-Roee

tire rubbing

I built the wheelpant using the wheels (aero trainers) which came with the kit.....after a few years and a worn out set of aero trainers I switched to Airhawks...... after about 10 landings or so noticed that there was a crack developing on the top of the wheelpant....took it off to investigate and found that the tire was rubbing a hole.....measured the tire (airhawk) and it was bigger than the aero trainers...I had to go back to the aero trainer.

Moral of this story for you current builders is: make sure you leave plenty of clearance on top of the tire when you build/mount the wheelpant...

We had problems with both ours taking stones up into the rear of the pant and bursting out of the front at the bottom.

Just spent 4 workshop days repairing........

Pull up your pants!

I am the King of Flat Tires. I lost count of the number of times I have rebuilt my wheel pants. When it comes time to mount a new set of pants they will be at least 3/4-inch higher than plans call for; the gap will be a full inch all around the tire and the paint color on the bottom of the pant will be available in a rattle can. I may lose a half knot of top speed but I will make it up in peace of mind, knowing that I have saved days and days of pant refurbinshing.

1 inch?

Ron, that's exactly my thinking as far as trade-offs. Worry-free operation is more important to me than squeezing out every last bit of top end performance. I'd gladly give up half a knot to eliminate the possibility of tire contact with the wheel pants.

So... does an inch-wide gap accomplish that? And is the performance loss really only on the order of half a knot?

Thanks,
-Roee

roee said:

Ron, that's exactly my thinking as far as trade-offs. Worry-free operation is more important to me than squeezing out every last bit of top end performance. I'd gladly give up half a knot to eliminate the possibility of tire contact with the wheel pants.

So... does an inch-wide gap accomplish that? And is the performance loss really only on the order of half a knot?

Thanks,
-Roee

Click to expand...

I have been unable to notice any decrease in speed after enlarging the gap. However, if you are into racing every little bit adds up. The purists would certainly fit the wheel pants as tight as possible to get even a fraction of a knot. I'm not a racer, so my priorities are different.

Take a close look at these wheelpants:



See the galoshes?

They're made just like the urethane rubber intake ducts. After trimming a sizable tire gap in the glass, the wheelpant is waxed and sprayed with PVA. Heavy weight glass fabric is saturated with liquid urethane rubber, then smoothed on and allowed to cure. Peel it off, then remove a section of wheelpant glass behind the tire almost to the tail (red line). With no glass there you can quit worrying about hangar door tracks and pavement edges. The rubber is trimmed to shape (white line), the pant is cleaned, then the rubber is glued on with a urethane adhesive. Back at the airport you can trim the tire opening with no gap at all.



Usual disclaimer: this is an experiment. It has worked great so far, but who knows for sure? I have not yet had a flat tire. I have no idea if it is worth any speed. And I'd be cautious about doing it to a A-model because with no tire gap there isn't much brake cooling.

DanH said:

Take a close look at these wheelpants:

See the galoshes?

Click to expand...

Dan, that is just too cool for words!

Thanks

Thanks guys.

I think I'm going to keep it simple and just trim a generous gap (1 inch or so).

But Dan, your solution is very cool! Innovative as always. I'll be curious to hear how it holds up in the long term.