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Tag Archives: Piper
What about wheel pants?
Interesting question about wheel pants.
The question came up about buying an aircraft that doesn’t have wheel pants (fairings). Is it really worth the money just to make it look better? Or is there more value to fairings than just looks.
My thoughts, of course, it also depends on the aircraft.
Wheel fairings or wheel pants do more than just look good. But some aircraft are designed with a landing gear that doesn’t support wheel fairing (trailing link gear like the Beechcraft Sundowner).
Fairings can also increase the cruise and flight performance of an aircraft. Although it is usually only one or two knots. While that is not much of a speed increase, any boost in cruise speed is better than nothing.
Wheel fairings can also protect the aircraft from being damaged from inadvertent rocks being thrown against the wings, cabin or tail surfaces. If you are flying from dry smooth or paved runways its probably a good thing to have fairings. If you are flying from dirt mud snow or worse, leave the fairings in the hanger. Same goes for unimproved strips. Rough terrain will just break the fairings into pieces.
Even though, if you think about it, this is probably where you need them the most. Because they also have a few drawbacks like they can be clogged with rocks, snow and mud. And they can be damaged by rocks and debris picked up on the runways.
Oh, and fairings get in the way when airing up those low tires and fixing a flat.
And those Cessna nose wheel shimmies, that can destroy a wheel fairing.
I guess it really comes down to the aircraft, how you are using it and where you are going.
But personally, I like the looks of most aircraft when they have wheel fairings.
UAS4STEM CHAMPIONSHIP AT EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UAS4STEM CHAMPIONSHIP AT EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH 2023
EAA AVIATION CENTER, OSHKOSH, Wisconsin — (July 13, 2023) — The UAS4STEM competition for high school students is back for the third year at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023. The Academy of Model Aeronautics event is for groups of students, from age 11 to graduating high school seniors, who build an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and compete against other teams to complete a specific mission through different obstacles. This year’s competition features two divisions, Beginner and Advanced.
“As the competition has evolved, we want to continue to challenge the competitors who return year after year,” said Kyle Jaracz, AMA’s Education Director. “The Advanced Division will have teams build on skills from last year’s competition.”
Teams competing in the Beginner class will focus on the fundamentals of drone programming and flying, while Advanced teams will be tasked with developing a mechanism to pick up and transport items to different locations.
Teams that are competing at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2023 include:
• Beginner Division
o The Corntographers (Yorktown Heights, NY)
o The Flying Nuggets (Decatur, GA)
o Greenville Composite Squadron (Greeneville, TN)
o Hardin Valley Academy AeroHAWKS (Knoxville, TN)
o Redstone Composite Squadron (Huntsville, AL)
o St. Mary’s CAP (Hollywood, MD)
• Advanced Division
o Arbitrary Innovations (Vernon Hills, IL)
o Bumblebees (Hawthorn Woods, IL)
o Midtown Mavericks Drone Team (Atlanta, GA)
o McIntosh Aeronautics (Peachtree City, GA)
o Redstone Composite Squadron (Huntsville, AL)
o Some Assembly Required (Rockville, AL)
The competition will take place on July 24-26 near the southwest corner of Camp Scholler. The winning teams will be recognized prior to Wednesday’s night air show. Teams in first, second and third place of both divisions will receive Skydio products and scholarship awards funded by the AMA Foundation and Skydio.
UAS4STEM is a competition that allows kids to discover different career opportunities in the UAS and aviation industries. UAS4STEM is a program of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. For additional information visit uas4stem.org
About EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is “The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration” and EAA’s membership convention. Additional information, including advance ticket and camping purchase, is available at www.EAA.org/airventure. For more information on EAA and its programs, call 800-JOIN-EAA (800-564-6322) or visit www.EAA.org. Immediate news is available at www.twitter.com/EAA.