Goldberg Decathlon. Fglass pants ( spats to some of you ). I fly off grass runways. Can anyone give me some ideas as to how to keep them from cracking and lasting a long time, other than not using them?
Thanks in advance.

depending how thin they are they may not last. If they are thin try a nylon sock like panty hose wrap it tight and tie it off then epoxy this to the wheel pant fill the weave and paint.

Dennis

don't install them


I fly off of grass quite a bit too... my wheel pants stay pristine... they are in my workshop... another option is to mount the pants higher up....

looks a little strange on pavement or on a table, but when you set the plane in the grass it looks normal

You could use plywood bulkheads on the front and behind the wheels. I have also used a support on the outside (wingtip side, still on the inside though) of the pant that the axle slips into. I have also seen a thread where the guy used expandable foam to fill the pant, then carved out enough to clear the wheel.

I just can't help myself.
Question - How do you make fglass wheelpants last?
Answer - It's easy just wait untill the rest of the model is complete and then go ahead and make 'em!

Clever!

Mike

Now i'm bummed out i did'nt think of that. That was good

Dennis

what's causing the pants to fail?? I have always flown off grass.....everything from little .40sized glow stuff to 35% aerobats and I've never had a problem with wheel-pants cracking, falling off, or other-wise "failing".

I suggest two things:

1) rough runways - cut the grass shorter guys, and get rid of pebbles and sticks
2) problems with the fibreglass work - too much resin, not enough glass. Remember that two layers of 0.75 oz cloth is better than 1 layer of 1.5 oz when it comes to crack resistance. Also, that the resin contributes little to strength but will in fact be somewhat brittle on its own.

Of course, I could be completely out to lunch on this

You can epoxy plywood pieces to the insides where the axle goes
through to beef it up, and put another layer of fiberglass over the
outside. Generally speaking....most stock wheel pants aren't designed
to take the rigors of "non smooth" runways.

Toughen them up.

FBD.