Wheel Pants

[GaryM]

Howdy folks!
I am considering pants for my 58 TriPacer. If I am landing on grass strips alot will the pants be at risk? How suseptible are they to damage? Other than look snazzy do they actually do anything of real value?
Speaking of value, what should I expect to pay for a set?

Many Thanks!

[Gilbert Pierce]

I have had wheel pants on my Clipper for 11 years, flying off grass. They don't make you go faster. They do keep the mud off the bottom of the wing, they do keep rocks from hitting the tail, they will get damaged if mounted too low and taxi off the runway with a lip.

For a set of originals for 800x4 tires expect to pay about $1000. Mine are Fiber Glass that were meant to be used on a KitFox as I now have 600x6 wheels and tires. The originals that were designed for 800x4 tires look like big airbrakes when used on an airplane with 600x6 wheels and tires. I do not know what a set of originals cost for T-P that were designed for 600x6 tires.

[Frank Green]

He said 58 Tripacer. No 800x4s on any tri I've ever seen. I added used original pants (fiberglass) on my 60 Tri and they didn't seem to do anything except make the rudder feel different. I think the prop wash hitting the nose pant made it weather vane. Also a pain in the a#% to check, add tire air. But they look snazzzzy and keep the bottom of the wings clean. Never had a problem on grass except they take a beating on their nose and grass stains don't come off to easy.

[7045]

Gary
I cannot really tell any difference in performance on my TriPacer with or without the wheel pants. I think the extra weight of the pants and associated hardware probably cancels out any aerodynamic "slickness" advantage. The wheel pants stay on most of the time because they look good. The remove and replace is quick on the mains but the nose wheel pant is a hassle. The effort required in the remove and replacing to facilitate inspection, maintenance and lube make it seem like Annual Inspections come around about every 60 days-ha. There is a mod that makes the nose pant into a two-piece unit and can speed its removal and replacement.
I find that fiber-glass repairs are not that hard to do. It seems that painting the repaired area however, can be a time consumer.
Just some observations.
Meighan Chisholm
TriPacer N1616P