Wheel pant modification
Posted: Fri Mar 27, 2020 9:45 pm
by Mikeacro
I recently did this inner wheelpant mod to my Sonex #179. Still need to do the finish filling and sanding. Test flights pre and post modification shows a net gain of 3 mph indicated at 2500’ and 3000 rpm. Not a lot but I like the looks.
Re: Wheel pant modification
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 12:59 am
by builderflyer
Mikeacro wrote:I recently did this inner wheelpant mod to my Sonex #179. Still need to do the finish filling and sanding. Test flights pre and post modification shows a net gain of 3 mph indicated at 2500’ and 3000 rpm.
Good work, Mike. I would have liked to see a similar speed increase when I changed from the Sonex wheel pants to the RV pressure recovery pants but I saw no such increase. In regards to my airplane, I usually tell others to do it for the looks, not for the performance.
Thanks for sharing…others may want to follow your example.
Art,Sonex taildragger #95,Jabiru 3300 #261
Re: Wheel pant modification
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 9:20 am
by Bryan Cotton
Nicely done Mike! I’d like to do something similar when I’m in the tinkering phase. Need to focus on getting to the flying stage first.
Re: Wheel pant modification
Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2020 2:08 pm
by WesRagle
Hi Mike,
Yep, pretty cool. That seems like a more straight forward cleanup than substituting wheel pants. Especially if you’re running mechanical brakes.
Wes