Wheel Pants

[bigrenna]

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[FredMa]

$1,500 - $1,800 George? Try $3,000 - $3,500. there are two for sale at that price on the Cessna 140 association site right now. The ones for $3,500 even have a patch on them. A little too much if you ask me.

[blueldr]

About ten or twelve years ago, a guy came in to Johnson Creek, in Idaho, with the most gussied-up '55 C-170 you an imagine. Actually, I thought it really did look pretty good. It had wing strut fairings top and bottom, fairings ot the top of the gear legs, full length gear leg fairings, wheel fairings (not C-170 pants), and brake covers.
I had to admire his honesty. He said he had spent a "S--t pot" full of money for maybe two or three MPH gain. He also said the fairings were a "real PITA" at inspection time or even when trying to air up a tire.

[Sixracer]

I thought it was manley for every man put pants on... Hum!
It's the guys with skirts on that bother me!
I like the look of them installed. Makes the plane look "Complete"

[ghostflyer]

Well you guys have me really excited. I have a pair of the original pants that was on this aircraft (170a) that the original owners took off when new and they have sat in my hangar for years. I had to grit blast them a few years ago as I had a mental breakdown and considered putting them back on. I was going to repaint them in the colors that the aircraft is in now. But sanity prevailed ,so they have now have sat in the hangar all these years. I know where the pants are but the adapter plates ,haven't got a clue. I will be going to Oshkosh this year so will try and meet up with some members. I might bring them with me to sell to some member that wants to buy them . I have so much good junk that I do not want to part with in cases I might use it one day.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

As for the price value of the pants that is always in the eye of the owner and or the buyer and of course the market, supply and demand play heavily into it as well. In 08 I believe Steve Jacobs donated and we sold two pair if his discarded pants in the price range George mentioned. There was nary a flaw in these discarded pants but Steve had simply kept the best of the best of those he had collected and donated the rest to the Association.

So in this case the owners eye was removed from the equation leaving only the buyers eye and depth of his pockets. I believe the the price could have been a bit higher if the buyers had come to the convention with the funds allocated in expectation of buying some first class pants.

[bagarre]

I have the fiberglass pants on mine and honestly wouldn't want the original metal ones. The glass ones are thick enough that I can use them as a step with out breaking or cracking them.
I'd consider carbon fiber ones to drop the weight a little...as long as I could still stand on them.

[bagarre]

Mine are at least. Been using them for a step for two years and not a crack. Never put hem on a scale but they are hefty.
One of these days, ill put a non skid patch on top of them as well.

[C170U2]

After nearly ground looping my 120 when my McCauley wheel decided to come apart, I don't think I will ever put wheel pants back on. I'm pretty sure I would have discovered the crack if the wheel pants weren't on. Also in hindsight I would have swapped to Clevelands much sooner. Something to think about when you guys are preflighting.

[bagarre]

After nearly ground looping my 120 when my McCauley wheel decided to come apart, I don't think I will ever put wheel pants back on. I'm pretty sure I would have discovered the crack if the wheel pants weren't on. Also in hindsight I would have swapped to Clevelands much sooner. Something to think about when you guys are preflighting.

By that argument, you should fly without a cowling and wing root fairings so you can look for cracks there too.

Wheel pants are like every other cover. They need to be removed and the things under them inspected at normal intervals.

I pull mine off every time I put air in the tires and again at every oil change so I can inspect the brakes. Axles get inspected at annual when the wheels come off for bearing packing.

[pojawis]

I pulled mine years ago; mounting hardware and all. Like the larger tires and the ready access to the Schrader valve. It's also easier to find a place to position a step ladder. The tires don't scratch like the wheel pants do when someone puts a step ladder against them.

I was told that Michelin tubes are very reliable for holding air; not leaking. If running wheel pants, this might be a consideration.

[GAHorn]

...
1) Elsewhere in the forums it says that the mounting plates for wheel pants are difficult to locate. Are they terribly different from other Cessna backing plates? They look simple to me from the pictures I've seen, as though one could easily fabricate them from some 2024 aluminum and floating nutplates. Thoughts?

2) Could I use wheel pants other than those intended for the 170 or other taildraggers (120/140)? 172 pants are cheap!

3) Are wheel pants compatible with 8.00 tires, or only 6.00 tires?

4) How much speed can TRULY be expected on red or green airplanes with wheel panties installed?

I hope that adds enough fuel to the fire without spiraling completely out of control ... hope to see everyone in Kentucky this year!
-Scott

Scott, the ORIGINAL wheel pants did not use a mouning plate which was completely FLAT...like other/later/aftermarket mount plates. They use a plate which has a convex surface to orient the pants. Some modification may be necessary if you install pants with plates different than that supplied by the pant-mfr.
Yes, you can use other pants from other Cessnas....if you like them.
There are no wheel pants for the 100 series Cessnas I know of that can fit over 8:00 tires. (Gull Wing Stinson pants might work for you tho'.)
I doubt you'll notice any speed difference on your 60-yr old airspeed indicator, and your GPS cannot make a valid comparison. Cessna claimed speed gains, and it's difficult to have the resources they had to confirm it.

In public, I have pants on. I like them. I operate mostly on grass, sometimes on pavement. They keep mud, rocks, debris, off my tail and wings, and they keep water from slinging up onto my windshield and obscuring my view on wet puddled surfaces. I can check my tire pressures merely by removing the one bolt on the outer axle attach, and prying the pant/fender outboard slightly. In order to facilitate that activity, I painted a red-dot on the tire at the shrader-valve location. I roll the airplane until the red-dot is showing below the pant-rim, so as to know where the valve is located. I use Rapco linings (which have visible wear-indicators) on my Cleveland brakes for simple pre-flight inspections. Annuals remove the entire pant/wheel/brake/bearing assys, and the pants are an insignificant addt'l matter.

You will not noticeably save any fuel-money using pants.

I don't think they make much difference on a 100 knot airplane.

They actually do make quite a difference on a 100 kt airplane... They make it way less manly.

Like those pickup-trucks with "things" dangling underneath the rear bumpers?

[FredMa]

The Cessna 120/140 wheel pants use mounting plates that are completely flat and are also the same part number as the convex mounting plates that George is referring too. I would suspect that there is a mixture of these two types on both 140's and 170's

[johneeb]

http://www.knots2u.net/fiberglass-modif ... ring-gear/
George from the for what it is worth department the above link is for wheel pants that fit 8.00 tires.

[blueldr]

John,
What happened to their approval for the C-170?