Carbon Fiber Gear Fairings

[Pickleman]

Is there a piece of metal lift strut from a Piper or Cessna floating around your airport that you can use as a mold for vacuum bagging? That would be strong enough not to collapse under the vacuum, and the ones built for 1" square tubing mounts should have enough outside diameter to snap over the leg. I've got some at the hangar--I think I'll check the measurements next time I'm there.

[mike.smith]

I decided to try making a fiberglass fairing as a test. I made a mold out of aluminum, but it's a male mold. I'm not happy with the results. It's too hard to get a relatively smooth finish, even using peel-ply. I would end up using Superfill or similar filler. That just adds weight and a lot of work. I was going to end up with a fiberglass fairing that was quite possibly heavier than the aluminum version.

So I'm considering going back to aluminum, even though I really hate that material for these fairings. One reason is that as the geometry of the landing gear changes (sitting, taking off, landing [compression]) the end of the fairing kept gouging the cowling where the fairing came close to it. And with the fairing very close to the cowl, I had trouble getting the cowl on/off (I have a horizontal split cowl) since the fairing would capture the cowl and not let it slip by. I can hold off the top of the fairing a couple of inches to get clearance for the changes in gear geometry, but then I really need to close that gap with something.

Soooo.... Has anyone solved this issue, and uses something to close the gap at the top? A rubber boot of some kind? Thanks as always.

[tonyr]

Do you mean something like this?
The fibreglass cowl extensions keep the fairings into wind and make it easier to get the cowl off. (The inside of the extension is cut out to allow room for the fairing) The only problem I have experienced is the fairings occasionally contact the fuse underside.. a bit of metal on metal scratching but at least my paint is ok!

[mike.smith]

Do you mean something like this?
The fibreglass cowl extensions keep the fairings into wind and make it easier to get the cowl off. (The inside of the extension is cut out to allow room for the fairing) The only problem I have experienced is the fairings occasionally contact the fuse underside.. a bit of metal on metal scratching but at least my paint is ok!

That's a possibility. I'd have to modify my existing cowl, but I could always do the fairings now, and save the fiberglass work for another day.