Flying with Pants On

The topic of an increase in speed from wheel pants has been analyzed down to the microscopic level on discussion groups such as the Grumman Gang. With a Grumman, which does not have a steerable nose wheel, the primary benefit of fairings seems to be to keep the nose wheel straight. We Zodiac 601XL drivers don't face that challenge.

Here are some some conclusions I've drawn over the years of reading about and flying with and without wheel pants:

* I note from photo archives of the Reno Air Races that if professional air racers didn't have retractable gear they had pants. I bet they tested and proved their worth.

* Not all wheel pants are created equal. For example, DMA claims their pants (for Grummans) are significantly better than any other design. That debate still rages, but clearly what can be said of one set of pants might not fit into another set of pants.

* They make the airplane look spiffy! I believe that eye-candy is their primary benefit. In my mind, any discussion of pants on a 601 is primarily about cool looks and the extra knots (or not) is the excuse.

* If you have a flat tire on landing, you can litter the runway with expensive fiberglass. And, I had a flat tire on my 3rd landing in my 601. Bad tube or bad installation? One of the other. But, the fact is that everything would have been a lot worse / expensive if I had pants on the 601

* Preflight is much harder. Checking the air / filling with air is much more difficult.

* IF you are not the "mechanic", " certificate holder" etc (depending on the class) and can't take off your own pants, then the annual is more expen$ive by an hour or more.

* They add some weight. In a 601 it's almost always about weight more than speed.

So, in my case I chose to go pantless. Yes, my 601 would look cooler with pants, but the benefits overcome the gains.