Bill,

One function the fairings do is to extend the wheelwells to accommodate the
wheels. If you leave them off, the wheels won't retract into the fuselage
completely.

I think the farings on my airplane align with the airflow pretty well...

Bob


-----Original Message-----
From: Lancair Mailing List [mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Bill
Wade
Sent: Friday, April 23, 2010 11:43 AM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] IV wing fairing extensions

  I'm fitting the fairing extensions and it looks to me as if they hang out
into the slipstream. The picture is taken along the wing root, and not only
do the extensions stick out, they angle upward as well. I'm thinking that
they add weight and might increase drag, so unless there's a good reason to
add them I might leave them off.

 According to the manual it appears that in 1996 the wing root fairings
ended close to the wing TE. The instructions for the the extensions are
dated from 1998, so I'm guessing they were added at the time.

  Can anyone with a long memory tell me why the extensions were added? Are
they for looks or do they have a real function? Thanks-  Bill Wade