172 Wing tips

[RMCN172RG]

The plane is in for annual and it looks like I will be replacing both wingtips.

I see that there are a few flavors out their from inexpensive plastic, like original, fiberglass and some with different designs for increased speed.

Your thoughts and experiences would be appreciated.

 

[dmccormack]

I found a decent set for a friend on an Air salvage site -- in TX, I think.

 

[Dan Thomas]

Don't buy used plastic fairings. They're made of ABS, which suffers in the sun and gets brittle and rotten and shrinks and cracks, and in the cold they also shrink and crack. And Cessna charges obscene prices for them. Nor are they easily repairable and way cheaper than Cessna. Go to Stene Aviation and buy brand-new PMA'd fiberglass fairings that don't crack or shrink and are easily repairable. We have two 172Ms and a 182RG with Stene's fairings everywhere on them, and a 2006 172SP whose fairings are already cracked. $$$. Gonna order the whole set from Stene for it.

Stene: http://www.steneaviation.com/

Dan

 

[weirdjim]

some with different designs for increased speed.

The best way to get more speed out of a 172 is to jack it up and put an RV-6 underneath it.

Jim