lift strut fairings for the 801

[N801BW]

Hi

I have 120 hrs on my 801 without lift strut fairings. I'm wondering if it will be worth it to install them. Is there anyone out there with an 801 or 701 that can tell me how much speed I will gain? I currently get about 100 MPH at 75% power (2350 RPM) on my O-360.

Another way to approach this would be; how fast does an 801 with fairings go with a 135 HP power setting? Hopefully the variations in other stuff would be smaller than the differential.

Thanks

Bill

[Sean_Caranna]

Just an educated guess, but I'd imagine that you'd get about 3-5kts out of cleaning up the struts. I know this holds true on other designs. 2kts here 3kts there add up quick. Parasitic drag really kills performance faster than anything. I'll be doing all I can to make my VP-2 as slick as possible.

[Johnny luvs Biplanes]

Bill, try looking here for aerofoil covers: http://www.ultralightflyer.com/streamline_struts/
Quite an interesting way of fairing struts!
John

[mr157ifhz]

Bill, I installed fairings on my struts. Cost was an issue for me, so I made them. A few hours, some strips of aluminum sheet, construction adhesive and lots of tape (for holding the edges together while adhesive cures) and I was done. No hard numbers, but less rpm was required to hold the same cruise as before installation. My plane seemed to float a wee bit more on landing. I would say it was worthwhile installing them.
-Matt