Kitfox Series-7 SS Streamlined Strut Fairings

[Dvanlanen]

I looked at the streamlined strut fairings available as a kit option for the S7 SS. They seemed rather heavy to me. I'm curious - has anyone found a good way to install light-weight streamlined strut fairings? I know that there are aluminum strut fairings available for ultralights, but I don't see how you would install them over the jury strut brackets, or how you would secure them in place. Just curious.

[SkyPirate]

some stream line strut fairings are made from ABS plastics and snap on over a round strut..you have to drill or cut a hole where the jury strut meets the main strut,..this method is used on aluminum fairings too,..some are one piece slide on and rivet ..some are 2 piece and snap together,..some make their own with wood and cover it with fabric or other materials.
and some use the stream line tubing that is formed out of 4130 or 6061 T-6,..the 6061 T-6 being lighter then the 4130,..both pricey.

the advantage of stream line strut fairings ,..less drag ,..if your concerned with the weight of the fairing,.. when your installing them ..put them at an angle that they will carry their own load,..even 1 degree up on the leading edge of the fairing will reduce some if not all of the weight of the fairing in flight,..being that most strut fairings are semetrical ..you haven't got 2 different length and shaped surfaces coming together at the trailing edge so minimal turbulance is created but adding a little positive angle to the leading edge of the fairing,..

Chase

[Dvanlanen]

Thanks for the feedback.
I am not looking to reduce in-flight weight. I need to reduce ramp (legal) empty weight, as I want to license as LSA, and with my wife's and my combined weight, we need to keep the empty weight to an absolute minimum.
I agree that the streamlined fairings are well worth installing for speed improvement, and I do want to install something.
Can you tell me which vendor(s) make aluminum 2-piece snap-together fairings?

Thanks,
Dave

[Av8r3400]

I have a friend who drilled lightening holes in the solid wood farings on his model IV, he claims to have collected over 5 pounds of wood chips from this process...

The wood is covered by fabric anyway, why not give it the Swiss cheese treatment...

As stated by Jet, even with full weight, the farings are worth it. Lift strut farings add nearly 10 mph by themselves...

[Dvanlanen]

The solid wood fairings must have been something that was discontinued, as they are not provided for the Series-7, as far as I can tell.

[SkyPirate]

solid wood fairings are the builders choice ,..and he would ussually construct them himself
one approach,..get some .016 6061 T-6 aluminum ,..locate a local contractor that does siding work and ask them to bend it up for you ,.you can make ribs or forms to hold the shape of the fairing out of foam on your strut,.. wrap the strut with the 6061-t6 over the rib's/ forms and use solid rivets to buck the trailing edges,..in my mind nothing looks worse then a pop rivet on a trailing edge,..you could even epoxy the trailing edges together,... just take som sand paper and rough up the area's your going to epoxy first

[Av8r3400]

If Kitfox no longer supplies the wood farings, they are available through Brett (sales@airdale.com) at Airdale (http://www.airdale.com/index.htm).

[SkyPirate]

I like the ABS fairings John offers ,,clean and easy to install.

Chase