Check out the butt-ugly wheelpants...

-----------------------------------------------

Dear Larry,

Check out Leeon Davis' DA-9. Makes your example look pretty :-)

To me, the example you've cited looks pretty smart. Lotsa folks, perhaps a
majority, confuse streamlining with something slicker than snot on a door knob.
A more practical appraoch for the typical homebuilder is to compare the faired
vs the un-faired drag.

A simple fairing such as the one used by Leeon reduces the drag of the wheel by
about 90%, weighs only a few ounces and takes only a few minutes to make,
corners and all :-) Or you can spend lotsnlotsa $ and lots & lots of time to
turn out one of those oh-so-perfect, cream your jeans kinda curves... that
reduces the drag by 95% and weighs ten pounds.

I've noticed that the most aerodynamically efficient fairings, and those which
weigh the least, are the ones installed on all those airplanes that never get
built :-)

If it flys, I can live with butt-ugly because there's always a chance I'll find
the time & money to pretty it up.

-R.S.Hoover