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RV Bits fairing fit

Mikeyb

Well Known Member
I bought a gear leg fairing set Cleveland last year. The lowers fit wonderfully. I the uppers on and the fit the fuselage perfectly but there is a gap at the wing that is almost half an inch. I can’t imagine them in tolerance. It seems like they were intended for a wing with a wider chord. Is there any chance these were for some other RV or is this what you get?
Mike
 

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not an 8, but years ago I bought them for my 9 and they were spot on. they are still installed and in very good shape.
 
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Got a set on my -8 a while back that are spot on. The only modification I had to make was to the bottom side. I have the airfoil shaped Grove gear and the outboard gear brackets are larger so it required a small “bubble” layed up on the bottom side. Leading edge fit matches the wing. After matching the LE I remember having to trim a small amount from the trailing edges to match up the halves. There’s quiet a bit of flexibility in the trailing edges to get a good fit. From your picture it looks like if you rotate the fairing CCW to match the LE you can then work with the more flexible TE.
 
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I bought a gear leg fairing set Cleveland last year. The lowers fit wonderfully. I the uppers on and the fit the fuselage perfectly but there is a gap at the wing that is almost half an inch. I can’t imagine them in tolerance. It seems like they were intended for a wing with a wider chord. Is there any chance these were for some other RV or is this what you get?
Mike

I just installed these about a month ago, I had the exact same issue as you. I cut the lip off of the bottom and fiberglasses a new lip while it was on the airplane. Other than that the rest fit well and the bottoms fit well with no adjustments.
 
Update

I contacted Cleveland Aircraft Tool who I bought them from. Mark took two pair of uppers they had in stock and tried them on his own RV8 and found the same thing. A big gap around the wing.

I contacted Chris at RV Bits. He was unaware of the problem. Refunded my payment and promised to find out what happened.

Talk about good customer service. These companies are fantastic.
Mike
 
Might want to check out Fairings ETC. I am replacing nearly all of my glass work and I purchased all of their items for the 8. Requiring a little work. In my opinion they have a much more attractive shape. YMMV.
 
Hi Mikey, sorry to hear about your top fairings not fitting properly. Looking at your second picture I would say that you should trim off the bottom a bit. That will move it closer to the wing. They are manufactured oversized in order for the builder to trim to his liking.

Also remember that they can be shaped to an extend by using a heat gun with caution. Then clecoed or clamped in place.

But it seems to be too late seeing that Chris has refunded you.
Kind regards,
Jan.
 
Funny I had the same issue and gave up... I am flying without so far.. But if there was a production problem it would be good to know. Maybe I would get another set which fits better (the lower ones were spot on)
 

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I also had same problem with the upper ones on my RV-8 and ended up making my own. The lower ones fitted well.
 
I bought a set from Fairings Etc as per EXTAAFLY’s suggestion. They fit much better in front. There is a gap at the back of the gear leg which will be easier to fix. If I even do. If I would have known how much I would hate fiberglass work I never would have started this.
 

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Stopped by the glass shop today. Mine didn’t have that problem and they are coming out pretty nice.
 

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RV Bits

I have the plenum and just bought a set of upper and lower fairings. Sure hope everything fits or I will be an unhappy camper. Expensive parts and they take a long time to float over from the far country. :D
 
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