I am looking for some advice. 1976 Archer with stock nose wheel pant that has been modified with a speed mod many years ago. According to the 337 form from 1992, the mod was made by General Aviation Corp, but when I look at the STC number it is assigned to Knots2U.
I have attached a pic. The mod has a fairing around the strut area -but aft of that it has a thin piece of aluminum that acts like an air dam I suppose. I have tried to research what kind of drag reduction this gives, but this particular mod is very old and I cannot find and reliable info. The fairing is still sold by Knots2U, however the cross section of this fairing is pretty wide compared to what they sell today. ( I suspect this is probably the first generation of this mod and it has been refined over the years)
This fairing assembly is somewhat of a pain when using a tow bar or when an FBO tows the airplane. There are some newer nose wheel fairing out there that appear to offer drag reduction beyond the stock fairing, yet without the awkward strut fairing.
Does anyone have guidance on what would be better? Should I keep what I have or in an effort to clean up the airplane from both a simplicity and drag reduction standpoint, should I invest in a later model fairing that would give better performance without the fairing?
I plan to get these fairings painted soon, so I need to determine the best course before I spend money on paint.
I have attached a pic. The mod has a fairing around the strut area -but aft of that it has a thin piece of aluminum that acts like an air dam I suppose. I have tried to research what kind of drag reduction this gives, but this particular mod is very old and I cannot find and reliable info. The fairing is still sold by Knots2U, however the cross section of this fairing is pretty wide compared to what they sell today. ( I suspect this is probably the first generation of this mod and it has been refined over the years)
This fairing assembly is somewhat of a pain when using a tow bar or when an FBO tows the airplane. There are some newer nose wheel fairing out there that appear to offer drag reduction beyond the stock fairing, yet without the awkward strut fairing.
Does anyone have guidance on what would be better? Should I keep what I have or in an effort to clean up the airplane from both a simplicity and drag reduction standpoint, should I invest in a later model fairing that would give better performance without the fairing?
I plan to get these fairings painted soon, so I need to determine the best course before I spend money on paint.
