Are wheel pants worth the trouble????

BiffJ

BiffJ

Pre-takeoff checklist
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BiffJ
I've got a 1960 Cessna 175 which came with a set of wheel pants. I fly out of a couple different grass strips which are well maintained. I learned to fly in taildraggers so full stall landings are normal though I've never dragged the rear tiedown ring. The plane normally indicates about 125mph at 2400 and 24" (lycoming power with c/s prop) and I'm just trying to decide if its worth the trouble of putting the pants on it. Will I gain enough in speed or reduce fuel flow enough to make it worth dealing with mud or grass in the pants, extra time changing tires or brakes, worrying about people stepping on the fairings etc? I don't mind the looks without the fairings and I didn't buy the plane because I thought it was a speed demon but some fuel savings or maybe a few miles per hour might make it worth while.....how much do the fairings really do?

Frank
 
Need to fix my nose pant, got dinged by a tug and I lost noticable speed when I removed it.
 
Not sure about the difference in Cessnas, but IIRC you get about 5 more kts with pants in a Warrior. Personally, unless you are doing alot of long cross-countries, I don't think the wheel pants would be worth it if you are operating much off pavement.
 
Don't know about the Cessna, but I don't bother with the wheel pants on my cherokee 140 (I know, ya'll might think it's slower than the 172/175 family).

Does your POH list the speed difference in the performance graphs? The POH (or equivalent) for my 140 only shows 3 mph improvement. Would less than 3% improvement in fuel economy be worth it to you?

Note that you lose a little useful load with the wheelpants on (which is one reason why I keep them off my overweight 140).
 
I wouldn't have wheel pants if grass was my thing. I've already got a ding in my nosewheel pant from a turf strip. Take them off and leave them, they can always be reattached when the aircraft is sold.
 
When I had my Cherokee 140, the wheel pants made a 7-8 mph difference. They were definitely worth having on.
 
This 175 has had the geared continental removed and a Lycoming installed with a constant speed prop so the handbook has no data. The original 1960 POH has no info with or without the fairings so no useful info there. I guess the easy way to find out is put the things on and see. 5mph might be worth it for some trips we're planning this summer....heading to New Mexico to see the folks(1100+ airmiles), maybe Oshkosh(about 400 airmiles), Rockland Maine(800+ airmiles).....mostly though we're just flying the local midwest area on short trips.
Thanks for all the answers so quickly

Frank
 
BiffJ said:
This 175 has had the geared continental removed and a Lycoming installed with a constant speed prop so the handbook has no data. The original 1960 POH has no info with or without the fairings so no useful info there. I guess the easy way to find out is put the things on and see. 5mph might be worth it for some trips we're planning this summer....heading to New Mexico to see the folks(1100+ airmiles), maybe Oshkosh(about 400 airmiles), Rockland Maine(800+ airmiles).....mostly though we're just flying the local midwest area on short trips.
Thanks for all the answers so quickly

Frank
Click to expand...

How hard are they to install/remove? If they aren't too much trouble, you could just install them prior to the longer flights.
 
The mains are pretty simple....7 10-32 screws and an AN6-6 bolt with washer. The nose wheel has to come off along with the bolt through the nose fork so its a little more complex but doable. I don't think I'd want to do all the swapping just for a trip....unless it makes a big difference.
I know with all the planes the CAP unit I was part of for a few years had wheel pants which were always installed. That means no comparisons for on versus off but it did give me an idea of the troubles...most of which have been mentioned. Mud and gravel in the things adding weight and making weird noise when you least needed it, much more painful to pack wheel bearings, change tires, check brake pads (or change them), and trying to keep those unfamiliar with planes from stepping on them to climb in the plane. It is simple to install the mains though so I guess I'll pop them on and see what that does, install the nosewheel fairing and check that then report to the board. At least I've got a bit of time in this particular plane so I can tell if there's a difference.

Frank
 
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Are your backing plates still on?

If so, the install will be pretty easy and get you about 5-7k.

WE do grass with pants, no problem, rocky gravel is. MUD ICE and SNOW are too.
 
Fearless Tower said:
Yes, but were you operating off road much?
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Off runway, doesn't always mean a gravel bar some place. I know many grass runways that are better than some paved runways.

Wheel pants on well maintained grass is no problem.
 
Tom-D said:
Off runway, doesn't always mean a gravel bar some place. I know many grass runways that are better than some paved runways.

Wheel pants on well maintained grass is no problem.
Click to expand...

True, but the OP described dealing with mud and other things inferring less than ideal grass.
 
They are a complete waste of time and effort. Even storing them is a pain. You need to find someone to take them off your hands ASAP. I'll send you my address.
 
Tom-D said:
Off runway, doesn't always mean a gravel bar some place. I know many grass runways that are better than some paved runways.

Wheel pants on well maintained grass is no problem.
Click to expand...


I think it depends on the plane and what you want to do with it. For my Tiger, they are worth it as I don't do backcountry, gravel strips, but on well maintained turf, as Tom says, they are fine. With gas prices the way they are, the effeciency also makes a nice case for them.
 
Bob Noel said:
What kind of wheel pants are those?
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There are a couple different kinds for Cherokees - the basic ones just cover the wheels and then there are the ones that cover both the wheel and the oleo struts. I have heard (but not personellyt confirmed) that those can give you close to 7kts.
 
Fearless Tower said:
There are a couple different kinds for Cherokees - the basic ones just cover the wheels and then there are the ones that cover both the wheel and the oleo struts. I have heard (but not personellyt confirmed) that those can give you close to 7kts.
Click to expand...

Here's the tough part... with a fixed-pitch prop, how do you (the generic you) see a speed change if you continue to use the same rpm settings?
 
+1. I've always kept the pants on the 180, and a high percentage of landings operations are at grass fields. Each year I dutifully remove the pants to see what might be lurking inside. The answer is always the same--nothing. I recommend the use of no-leak tubes to remove all the work from planes with panties.

Tom-D said:
Off runway, doesn't always mean a gravel bar some place. I know many grass runways that are better than some paved runways.

Wheel pants on well maintained grass is no problem.
Click to expand...
 
Bob Noel said:
Here's the tough part... with a fixed-pitch prop, how do you (the generic you) see a speed change if you continue to use the same rpm settings?
Click to expand...
I would expect the indicated airspeed change from the usual value.
 
Bob Noel said:
Here's the tough part... with a fixed-pitch prop, how do you (the generic you) see a speed change if you continue to use the same rpm settings?
Click to expand...

Speed is a factor of profile drag not horse power.

less drag, more speed at the same settings.
 
Bob Noel said:
What kind of wheel pants are those?
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, they were actually Van's Aircraft wheel pants, STC'ed for the PA-28 series, and were installed in 1972. The original sales receipt and STC paperwork were in the logbooks.

The speed increase was measured at 2700 rpm, full power at 2000' MSL on a cold day. I had other speed mods too. Metco wingtips and an LFS nose strut fairing too. The plane was rigged very well too.

At lower power settings and airspeeds the wheelpants did not make that big of a difference.

I did operate off grass quite a bit with the wheel pants installed, and yes, over the years they did develop a couple cracks that needed fiberglass repairs. The fit around the tire openings was a little bit tighter than your typical stock Piper wheel pants, and yes, cleaning dirt and grass out of them was necessary from time to time.
 
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I prefer wheel pants except for when I am trying to inflate the tires.:mad:

I am always afraid that a young rattlesnake has decided to sneak in there and take a snooze on a cool night...
 
wabower said:
+1. I've always kept the pants on the 180, and a high percentage of landings operations are at grass fields. Each year I dutifully remove the pants to see what might be lurking inside. The answer is always the same--nothing. I recommend the use of no-leak tubes to remove all the work from planes with panties.
Click to expand...

When my plane was tied down outside in CA you would usually find a black widow spider in each of the mains (assuming that you had not flown it beforehand). I always checked my boots (stored in the garage) for the same reason before sticking my feet into them.

Dave
 
I've got wheel pants on my Warrior. They look great, and according to my POH, my plane does go faster. I don't land on the dirt and gravel strips we have around here, not just to protect my wheel pants, but my propeller, and any other part flying rocks might hit.

I've never taken them off, so I don't actually know for sure about the speed thing.
The charts and graphs in my POH have proved to be uncannily accurate though.

John
 
Pants...YES!

If for no other reason, then for the exponentially better looks.

No leak tubes are a must.

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Well I made it back home from the last trip and finally got to do some flying with the main gear fairings on. I can't tell any difference in noise, speed or anything else. My indicated speed is down but the temps are up so true seems to be right where it was before.....I've only had a few hours in the air and its hard to get much detail on bumpy days so I'll keep checking. On the other hand the plane does look spiffier with the pants...

Frank
 
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