Prebuy mechanic said take pants off...

4

4RNB

Line Up and Wait
PoA Supporter
Joined
May 24, 2016
Messages
962
Display Name
Display name:
4RNB
I am buying a C172. During the pre buy the mechanic said the front tire should be replaced. He said an experienced pilot could ride on it for another year, but not a student. He also said to take the wheel pants off so that tires could be better inspected, I assume because a low time pilot might damage them more easily.

Plane will be in a hanger for new tire soon. Would you advise taking the wheel pants off? Why or why not?

Thank you.
 
IMHO if it's being used in a training environment, drop your pants. The plane will need to be robust, not fast.
 
Well you have to take the wheel pant off to change the tire. I think what he meant was the wheel pants themselves are more likely to be damaged by a student than an experienced pilot. I know the wheel pants were off at at least two flight schools I know for that very reason. I don't know how much truth there is to that but when I bought my Cherokee, I didn't install the wheel pants until after I got my PPL.
 
He wanted pants off to better inspect tires and brakes.
I am 35 hour into training. It is my plane, not for flight school use
 
Take the wheel fairings off and store them for awhile. Until you get a couple hundred hours or so. Going into winter anyway.

Honestly on a 172 you don’t gain that much speed.
 
There isn't much advantage to the wheel pants being on, a few knots faster. But having them off, makes it easier to inspect the tires, check and add air as necessary, and to work on the brakes,wheels and tires, i.e. costs less when you take it the mechanic. Once you have you private ticket you may be doing more cross country flying, then you can decide if you want to put them back on or not.

Brian
 
4RNB said:
Would you advise taking the wheel pants off? Why or why not?
Click to expand...
Yes. From the mx side, the items that seem to get the most "abuse" during initial training are wheel related. Not having the fairings installed allows you to keep a better eye on those items plus reduces the chance of you breaking them during this period. And they're not cheap to repair/replace.
 
I took her pants off a while back, I like it that way.

Now back to aviation.... it’s whole lot easier to fill the tires up, not get snow and ice with the pants off. Keeping these things won’t make you much faster
 
With only a few exceptions, it is my opinion that wheel pants should be binned. They're a pain to deal with and most don't improve the appearance or performance by an appreciable amount.
 
Just take 'em right off. Plus then you can stand on the tire, which is occasionally useful.
 
they keep the pine needles from sticking in the axel bearings, and the mud off the horizontal & wings.
 
4RNB said:
He also said to take the wheel pants off so that tires could be better inspected,
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Did he also say to up date the weight and balance when he does this?
 
I had mine removed permanently at my next annual after purchase. It was a pain to check tire pressure, and unable to see the tire “stance” visually. No way to check brakes for preflight. Plus, until the plane and I became as one, my landings were not great. So they came off and were bagged for the next owner. In the meantime, any cross country is now 3nm shorter per hour. Benefit not worth the hassle.
 
I once ran a military flying club with all Cessnas including a couple of 172's. We did a lot of flight training and most of the planes had the pants removed. One member wanted us to hunt up the wheel pants so he could get more speed for a X country flight. Our maintenance guy did some research and found that a 172 would only gain maybe three KTS with the pants on. IMHO, the best reason for pants is to keep mud off the wings, not speed.
 
The school I trained at removed the pants from their Cherokee after they had a tire blow out on landing. The pants on looked nicer but didn't allow the students to properly check the tires for wear and my instructor said it was a heck of a ride when the tire blew on landing as he was in it at the time. They have not had any issues with students checking the tires since removing the pants.
 
Pants on my cherokee have been on the back shelf in the hangar for 10 years or so. The other reason to take them off a Cessna -keep people from using them as steps to check oil and onto the struts to check fuel.
 
More reasons:
-Less bugs to clean
-Tire leading edge easier to see ice accumulation than wheel pants
 
When did skirts change to pants? Always thought they were wheel skirts.
 
Greg Bockelman said:
Take the wheel fairings off and store them for awhile. Until you get a couple hundred hours or so. Going into winter anyway.

Honestly on a 172 you don’t gain that much speed.
Click to expand...

On my low drag Grumman Tiger they are worth 5-7 Kts. Not so much on a draggy 172.
 
4RNB said:
He wanted pants off to better inspect tires and brakes.
I am 35 hour into training. It is my plane, not for flight school use
Click to expand...
So, it is being flown in a training environment, you’re just the only one training in it. Still, a high percentage of its flights for awhile are going to be done by a 35 hour student pilot.
 
I like my pants on as I need all the speed I can get. I do like grass fields and that tends to beat them up. But it's experimental and fiberglass isn't too expensive so I just repair them and use some high quality rattle can paint to make them look acceptable again.

Admittedly checking tire pressure is tough. When I put on new tires this year I bought Leakguard tubes but like any tube the pressure needs to be monitored regularly.
 
Two big potential problems that I've had with my airplane and its "pressure recovery" wheel pants....flat tires, and slush. Both can provide a significant beating to the wheel pants. I can't speak to grass as I've never landed the thing on grass before (although the previous owner did that fairly regularly, he tells me).
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2020-12-19 at 9.21.46 AM.png
    Screen Shot 2020-12-19 at 9.21.46 AM.png
    541.7 KB · Views: 18
WDD said:
When did skirts change to pants? Always thought they were wheel skirts.
Click to expand...
I've heard "pants" used waaaaaay more than "skirts" for airplane wheel fairings over the 30+ years I've been flying. Maybe it's a regional thing?
 
midlifeflyer said:
I've heard "pants" used waaaaaay more than "skirts" for airplane wheel fairings over the 30+ years I've been flying. Maybe it's a regional thing?
Click to expand...
yeah, me, too .... but think about how they go on ... more like a skirt than pants ... :)
 
MacFly said:
Two big potential problems that I've had with my airplane and its "pressure recovery" wheel pants....flat tires, and slush. Both can provide a significant beating to the wheel pants. I can't speak to grass as I've never landed the thing on grass before (although the previous owner did that fairly regularly, he tells me).
Click to expand...

You should use that photo as your avatar ...
 
You're a student, so you'll be taking a checkride. Having the pants off will avoid that uncomfortable moment when the DPE asks if you actually checked the tires and brakes on preflight.
 
You're buying a 172.
The pre-buy mechanic said take pants off...
After your first annual your post-buy mechanic may ask for the shirt off your back. Be ready. ;)
 
I don't think I've ever flown a 172 with pants. The ones from the club plane are in the back of the hangar.
 
Lindberg said:
You're a student, so you'll be taking a checkride. Having the pants off will avoid that uncomfortable moment when the DPE asks if you actually checked the tires and brakes on preflight.
Click to expand...
They will also fail you when the aircraft isn't properly modified.
 
Always had pants on my plane... Just roll the plane forward to check the tire condition.
 
texasclouds said:
...my Cessna wears em.
Click to expand...
I particularly don't like wheel pants on taildraggers. A flat tire can easily cause a groundloop - totalling the plane, vs a trike which simply can't taxi. It makes it too easy to miss slow leaks, punctures, brake inspections etc.

Not to mention they can fill up with mud, snow, grass and cause issues. I'm sensitive about my gear in my plane and I want to be able to see as much as I can... I'd hate to lose my airplane to something simple and silly like a flat tire.

On a separate note, interestingly enough, my 1970 180 is the only fixed gear plane from Cessna that i'm aware of that does NOT have wheel pants as a factory option. It would take a field approval or separate STC in order to install any. Maybe @Pilawt can fact check me.
 
Last edited:
Mtns2Skies said:
I particularly don't like wheel pants on taildraggers. A flat tire can easily cause a groundloop - totalling the plane, vs a trike which simply can't taxi. It makes it too easy to miss slow leaks, punctures, brake inspections etc.

Not to mention they can fill up with mud, snow, grass and cause issues. I'm sensitive about my gear in my plane and I want to be able to see as much as I can... I'd hate to lose my airplane to something simple and silly like a flat tire.
Click to expand...

The wheelpants came off for the pre-purchase on the Husky. Got shipped home UPS. Still packed in the box. Other than cosmetics no idea why they even make them...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top