Wheelpant

[Curtis Brown]

That's what I thought...but I see them mounted in parallel with the fuselage sometimes. I have mine parallel with the ground.

[GAHorn]

Lots of folks install them such that their lower edges appear parallel to the fuselage in the belief that makes them more streamlined with the relative wind. But if you examine the fairings upper surface you'll notice that it is not a straight...but a curved surface. That curved surface can be thought of as a wing, with regard to drag.
Also consider that a fairing with it's lower surface parallel to the aircraft (rather than the ground) will actually present it's OPEN lower surface to the relative wind and will actually CATCH air when so mounted.
With the fairing correctly mounted, it will keep the open lower surface of the fairing invisible to relative wind. (As an extreme example: Imagine the fairing mounted vertically with either it's entire upper surface facing forward...or it's entire wheel opening facing forward. Which will offer less resistance? The fairing with the curved upper surface facing the wind like a leading edge? Or the fairing with the wheel opening facing forward catching air like a shovel?
In other words do not look at the fairings being parallel to the fuselage visually. Think of them being parallel to the fuselage aerodynamically. The long, curved upper surface should present half it's surface forward of it's uppermost curve...and half of it aft of it's uppermost curve. (Like an upside-down "U"...except with a long tapering tail.)

Back to one mounted with it's lower/open end toward the ground: Another benefit of a wheel fairing is it's ability to keep water, mud, rocks, and debris from being flung by the wheel up onto aircraft surfaces (such as the lower wing surface and windshield. (Yes! The windshield! Anyone who's ever rolled out on a landing and run thru a deep water-puddle has had the cockpit visibility sharply reduced by water being slung onto the windows and into the prop-wash and onto the windshield from an un-faired tire.)
There is a scraper installed within the fairing intended (but not always entirely successful) to prevent mud from building up to the point of contacting the wheel and causing friction...but the fairing is actually not intended to capture and hold mud. Ideally no mud will enter to be held within the fairing.
Which fairing will catch and hold more mud (thrown up by the wheel?) The one parallel with the fuselage and with it's trailing end lowered into more of the mud-spray being slung off the rear of the tire? Or the one with it's open lower edge parallel to the ground and it's closed aft end raised/sloping upward, slightly away from the runway, and out of the direct slung-spray from the wheel?

[davevramp]

When I punchiest 1954 170b one of the items I got was a pair of what the seller called spats, they look like fenders in the shape of an SR71 that fit over the tires. They clamp to the landing gear. I have never seen these before. Any one have any experience whit these items?
Dave

[zero.one.victor]

Maule used to fit what they call "wheel spats" to their airplanes. They are not wheel panties as we know them, they are kind of triangular-shaped fairings that mount aft of the main wheels. The forward surface of the spat follows the contour of the OD of the main wheel probably about 75 degrees or so around the trailing edge of the circumference, & taper to a point on the aft end. Kinda like the way you'd fair in the trailing edge of a round wing strut or something. I assume they are for 1) aerodynamics & 2) to prevent mud-slinging.
I have seen an early (M4-145) Maule two different times which had a spat mounted on only one wheel. The first time I assumed the missing spat had been damaged or something, after seeing it again with a spat missing ( about 5 years later) I now assume it might be something to do with getting the thing rigged to fly straight!
I've also seen a sort of flat fender on fat-tired 180/185 bushplanes that looks like it's to prevent rocks from getting thrown into the tailfeathers or prop.

Eric

[doug8082a]

Item 214 of the C170 TCDS lists the following:
"Two 'No Drag' wheel fenders per Liquid Tool Co., Box 299, Morrow, Ohio, dwg No. 105"

Could that be them? Doesn't say anything about an SR71 resemblance, though...

Hey, maybe that's what George needs to get to flyins on time. Strap a couple SR71s to his landing gear and he may actually make it...

[GAHorn]

Eric, the flat fendered things you've seen....those aren't the sort of things seen on skydiving planes is it? (A flat piece from the gearleg to the outer axle nut.)
I've seen spats on several aircraft (no 170's tho', usually Maule's, Pacers, and one PT-18.) They are kinda cute and look pretty useful. Sort of like upside-down large spoons over the wheel to keep mud off the underside of wings.

[thammer]

Here's a weird set of fenders I saw at an airfield in Illinois last summer. Beware, the pictures are 2.3 and 2.6 megs, you can zoom in enough to see the bugs shirt tags. If you're on a slow link click the small version.

big pictures:
Fender1big
Fender2big

small pictures:
Fender1small
Fender2small

tye

[zero.one.victor]

Those fenders look pretty cool, and pretty effective. I think maybe that's the type I saw. It's been so long, I can't remember exactly what they look like. The fenders I saw were mounted on a 185 that was used in some episodes of "North of 60"-- that was a Canadian series filmed in the mid to late 90's set in the fictional village of Lynx River in southwest NWT. A few decent airplane scenes, including one wingtip-crunching groundloop! Yeehaw!
Are these "spoon"-like fenders the ones referred to in the TCDS?

Eric