This is the first plane I've owned with wheel pants, so I don't know.

Is it normal for wheel pants to eventually have hair line cracks? I have the Seagull .90 Extra 260 and I flew it about 12 times this year and last night I decided to take the Iron to it to get some wrinkles that re-appeared on the bottom of the fuse.

When I looked at the wheel pants, I saw a spider web of hairline cracks around the landing gear legs where the pants and leg attatches around the bolt. There's a few small cracks on the bottom of the pants near the tire well.

Is this normal?

Pete

In my experience, yes.

I would say yes too, I usually dont put the wheel pants on unless the plane is in a scale compition.

Yup they will do that. Some of the ARF's are made with something else and will get these cracks. I have not seen anything that will stop it. Good Luck, Dave

Pete,

They crack because they are supported from one point, and vibration and field hits overstress the material.

Check these old threads out:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_27.../tm.htm#279862

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_71...tm.htm#7167382

Yep, even my good glass pants from FGS will crack and they are a lot thicker then the ARF pants. I have sanded off the paint a time or two and discovered the glass was fine but the paint itself was cracking from the vibration and flex. I haven't tried it yet but I was thinking of giving that motor cycle paint that bends and flexes a try sometime. So far it's still just a thought. Like Jay mentioned, I leave the pants off most the time unless the plane is going to be shown for some reason.

You can make pants tougher by using some fiberglass and CA. I have even used CA hinge material to beef around the contact area.

Yes. Mine have all done that. I don't bother putting them on most models anymore. A further problem is that they can bend in and act as brakes and make taking off a problem.

Wheel pants and flying from grass does not work very well

Exactly! Flying from a model airplane grass field is akin to a fullscale airplane flying from a hayfield! If model airplane fields have the same grass on them that greens have on golf courses then that would be great!

There is a cure.

before they are mounted while still new, lay in a layer of 6oz cloth with epoxy resin over the whole inside surface of the mounting side of the wheelpant. Additional filler may be necessary around the mounting area. I do this with all of my wheelpants. I no longer have them cracking.

Ed s