Cherokee tribe: Wheel pants on or off?

Domenick

Domenick

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Domenick
Every year I remove my Warrior II's (PA-28-161) wheel pants for the annual inspection and then reinstall. Some years back I left the nose wheel pant off. It didn't seem to change the flight characteristics, fuel consumption, nor cruise speed. I've long been concerned about not having an easy view of the strut, scissors, and brakes. I stick to hard runways, though taxi on, runup on, and occasionally park on grass.

Who runs with and without pants on a P-28 and why?
 
With. They came on. I like the aesthetics. Too lazy to take em off. I'll pay someone else to for annual.
 
I prefer pants off. Also with my airplanes.

Seriously, the few knots gained is not worth the hassle of the wheel pants.

I once had a main tire go flat at a grass strip. Luckily there were mechanics right there on the field to help us. It took them three times as long to get the pant off and back on again afterwards than it did for them to fix the tire.

No pantalones!


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Domenick said:
Every year I remove my Warrior II's (PA-28-161) wheel pants for the annual inspection and then reinstall. Some years back I left the nose wheel pant off. It didn't seem to change the flight characteristics, fuel consumption, nor cruise speed. I've long been concerned about not having an easy view of the strut, scissors, and brakes. I stick to hard runways, though taxi on, runup on, and occasionally park on grass.

Who runs with and without pants on a P-28 and why?
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I went pantsless in the winter time the first year or two. Left em on full time the rest of my ownership. I want to say I was 5-7kts faster with pants.
 
Pants probably aren't as important on low-wing planes, but on high-wing planes, they prevent rocks being tossed into the side of the plane.
 
Wheel pants on, look great a little more speed, protects the prop, off you gain the loss of weight of the pants, easy to check tire pressure and brakes. FBO love people that don't check tire presure, blown tire on landing easy $500 for a fix, their are no cheap tires when you have to have one.
 
Tall grass . . . off. Otherwise on.
 
brien23 said:
Wheel pants on, look great a little more speed, protects the prop, off you gain the loss of weight of the pants, easy to check tire pressure and brakes. FBO love people that don't check tire presure, blown tire on landing easy $500 for a fix, their are no cheap tires when you have to have one.
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You can't change a tire?
 
I have a ‘78 Warrior and have the pants on all the time. The mains are very easy to take off and put back on, IMHO. The nose - not so much. And my nose pant is getting so beat up from my tug that it may not pass Annual one day soon. I’m thinking about just running with it off since I suspect the bulk of the speed gain is from the mains. Either that or shell out a few AMUs for a new nose pant plus getting it painted to match. Not having it on would make tug options a lot broader, though.

Our Warriors are slow enough, so 5+kt faster is a meaningful number to me.

If someone knows for sure the delta related to the nose one alone for a Warrior/Archer, I’d appreciate that info.
 
on my cherokee '74 140, no wheel pants. Every pound counts.

Same reason I pulled the rear seats. (also I didn't mind the small break on the insurance)
 
Bob Noel said:
Same reason I pulled the rear seats. (also I didn't mind the small break on the insurance)
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You get a break on insurance for no rear seats? I removed my rear seats 2 years ago for the KOSH trip and never re-installed them!
 
Lowflynjack said:
You get a break on insurance for no rear seats? I removed my rear seats 2 years ago for the KOSH trip and never re-installed them!
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With an appropriate logbook entry (copy sent to the insurance company), presto, my 140 was officially a 2-seater rather than a 4-seater. My 140 didn't have enough useful load to put anyone in the rear seats anyway.
 
Off. I prefer the look, easier to check all of the landing gear stuff I care about, and my mechanics thanked me profusely. I already have a hard time keeping it under the yellow arc, so I don't need the extra speed. Hell, if I wanted speed, I wouldn't be flying a Cherokee.
 
billsgs126 said:
You can't change a tire?
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Ability has nothing to do with it. Sometimes it's just easier, faster, and more trouble free to bust out the visa. Away from home I've probably got plans and don't want to get dirty.
 
64 - 180. I have my mains off at the moment. Keep saying I am going to put them back on but never get to it. I like being able to see the gear and the tires. May look trashy, bit it sits most of the time in the hanger and if someone notices in flight I have a bigger problem.
 
Wheelpants got burned off back in 2011, got replacements but never put them back on. Sitting on the shelf in the back of the hangar.
 
My only time in a PA-28 was in a PA-28R-200, so pants were not an issue. I know, it's a retract, but it was still a Cherokee, just according to the POH it was a Cherokee Arrow.
 
Not a Cherokee owner, but I install my Decathlon pants for XC trips over an hour. It's about a 10 minute job with practice.
 
Alas, removing and installing my pants are non-trivial. Those damn SouthCo quarter turn fasteners are a pain.

For just tooling around WA State maybe I won't put them back on after my next annual. If I ever decide on another long cross-country I can put them on.

How do wheel pants protect a prop. I understand how they may protect the aft fuselage, but the prop?
Half Fast said:
For a Cherokee, shouldn't you use a loincloth instead of pants?
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Speaking of a loincloth: https://9gag.com/gag/ax99ZRM
 
I now own a Mooney but I owned a Cherokee for 14 years. It came equipped with strut covers but no wheel pants. I added wheel pants from knots to U. They were faster but also heavier. I liked them but I'm not sure they were worth the trouble. I had to make a special tool to check and fill the tire air pressure. I had to be careful about TAS and fuel economy, it became easy to fly a little faster and burn more fuel. On a long trip leg that could mean landing early or without desired fuel reserve. It made me more thoughtful and taught me a lot. So I'd say overall my experience was positive.
 
William Pete Hodges said:
I now own a Mooney but I owned a Cherokee for 14 years. It came equipped with strut covers but no wheel pants. I added wheel pants from knots to U. They were faster but also heavier. I liked them but I'm not sure they were worth the trouble. I had to make a special tool to check and fill the tire air pressure. I had to be careful about TAS and fuel economy, it became easy to fly a little faster and burn more fuel. On a long trip leg that could mean landing early or without desired fuel reserve. It made me more thoughtful and taught me a lot. So I'd say overall my experience was positive.
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KHWY . . .
 
For many years all the Cherokees I flew, from the Warrior to the Six, had pants on. The minute I had had to fly one with its nose gear pant off I felt like I had a front tooth missing. As others say, the extra few knots will make a difference over time unless you do local flying only and don’t mind having your front tooth missing.
 
TrueCourse said:
For many years all the Cherokees I flew, from the Warrior to the Six, had pants on. The minute I had had to fly one with its nose gear pant off I felt like I had a front tooth missing. As others say, the extra few knots will make a difference over time unless you do local flying only and don’t mind having your front tooth missing.
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I also noticed with the front wheel pant off, I had to futz with the rudder to keep the ball centered after coming out of a turn, or sometimes the prop wash would push the nose wheel left or right. With it on, the nose wheel would weather-vane to straight, and I didn't have to worry about it anymore.
 
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