Wheel Pant installation drawing

How to keep the Cessna 170 flying and airworthy.

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Poncho73
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Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by Poncho73 »

Is there such a thing as a wheel pant installation drawing??. I have fiberglass reproduction pants and I am looking for the correct geometry/angle to ensure I have a factory look. I have the original style metal backing plates and axle attachments. I searched this forum without result.....also I've noted a number of different brake positioning combinations, my brake assemblies are located on the rear side of the leg. I've seen others mounted on the front side.....confused.....

Thanks
hilltop170
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by hilltop170 »

Poncho-
I don’t have any info on an installation drawing but there has been considerable conversation about wheel pant orientation in the past. Some argue level with the ground in the three-point attitude, some say level in level flight attitude. I think somewhere in the middle looks best but don’t know what the factory actually designed.

N1715D was delivered from the factory with wheel pants so I can reasonably assume their orientation today is what the factory installed but have no evidence of that other than there they are. In the picture, you can see they are neither level with the ground or level flight attitude.
N1715D wheel pant installation
N1715D wheel pant installation
Richard Pulley
2014-2016 TIC170A Past President
1951 170A, N1715D, s/n 20158, O-300D
Owned from 1973 to 1984.
Bought again in 2006 after 22 years.
It's not for sale!
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Poncho73
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by Poncho73 »

Thanks, that’s a nice looking 170. OK that makes sense. Perhaps if someone has a measurement in the three point position, as your is in the picture. Measure from the front of the lower lip of the wheel pant to ground and the very rear of the pant trailing edge to the ground. At least that would get me in the range. Thanks.
hilltop170
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by hilltop170 »

The plane is in Texas and I just came back to Alaska for the summer so I will not be able to make that measurement until next fall. I’m sure others have original pants that could make the measurement for you.

As a rough measurement, I used my iPhone to measure 7° pitch up on the pants from a different side-on picture.
Richard Pulley
2014-2016 TIC170A Past President
1951 170A, N1715D, s/n 20158, O-300D
Owned from 1973 to 1984.
Bought again in 2006 after 22 years.
It's not for sale!
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Poncho73
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by Poncho73 »

Ok. 7 degrees angle of attack if the ground is considered 0. Thanks :D
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n2582d
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by n2582d »

Poncho,
I think this is as close as we have to installation drawings. Of course you could always ask Cessna for drawing 0441143 but that would be rather expensive.

Wheel pant alignment is discussed here.
Gary
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Poncho73
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by Poncho73 »

Thanks Gary, great info. :D
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GAHorn
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by GAHorn »

My B-model has factory wheel fairings purchased straight from Cessna and the mounting plate was pre-drilled (which fixed the fairing AOA) and the fairing lower edge is level with the ground in the 3-point attitude.
Attachments
MVC-001S.JPG
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
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brian.olson
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by brian.olson »

That is a lovely plane, George. I hope my wife doesn't see it and try to convince me to go back to polished chrome.
Brian
1950 170A
N5762C s/n 19716
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GAHorn
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by GAHorn »

Thanks, Brian! But just to "tease" a bit... I'd hate to have to keep up with "chrome" or "polished". That photo was taken in 2007 and therefore about 11 years after it's last "polish" job.... done by it's former owner/restorer who I bought it from. Bill Goebel restored the airplane from a wreck and won the "Restoration Award" with it at Oshkosh in '97. It was also the featured cover airplane of Cessna Owner Magazine in May '97. I bought it from him in Nov of 99 and have never polished it and it still appears about as in that photo taken in '07.
I follow Bill's advice: keep it in a dry hangar.
I also never wash it with soap/water... Instead of soap I use a few cups of WD-40 in water/emulsion and then rinse and dry with old towels about twice a year. (My attempt at humor as part of my "originality" nuttiness is that I maintain that Cessna never produced a "polished" airplane... They only produced natural, AlClad airplanes with painted accent-stripes.... and it's my way of allowing a "proper-patina" as Cessna-intended. :wink:
If you park it alone or next to painted airplanes it still looks pretty good,.... but park it next to Steve Jacobsens brightly-polished 170-A and you will generally disregard it.
If I were to ever paint it I'd paint the entire airplane Dove Grey (the same color as the landing gear legs) and place the red stripes on top of that. That scheme is attractive to me because it reminds me of the Humble Oil and Refining pipeline patrol airplanes of the '50s that I once flew for another operator, and it was a very easily-maintained airplane being completely painted. I've seen a few attempts at full paint-jobs to mimic polish-jobs and few of them are successful at that mirage. I've also seen a clear-coated airplane that looked good but, like mine, it does not stand-out as a show-plane next to a recently polished version. In summary, if you like giving regular, detailed attention to an airplane... a polished one might be just the ticket... and when examining an airplane, one that's natural or polished is easier to spot flaws or corrosion.
But a full paint job is certainly more protective of the airframe and easier to keep looking good for a long time out on the ramp. :wink:
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
hilltop170
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by hilltop170 »

n2582d wrote: Wheel pant alignment is discussed here.

Using my iPhone to measure the angle with the ground on this 1955 B-model with factory-installed pants indicates a 7° angle from level.

My 1951 A-model factory installed pants are pitched up 7°.

George’s 1952 B-model with Cessna supplied pants installed after the fact are level with the ground.

The 1955 B-model in the above picture with factory installed pants are pitched up 7°.

So, if indeed all the pictures that are claimed to be factory original are factory original, it looks like you can choose whatever angle you like better, level with the ground or pitched up.
Richard Pulley
2014-2016 TIC170A Past President
1951 170A, N1715D, s/n 20158, O-300D
Owned from 1973 to 1984.
Bought again in 2006 after 22 years.
It's not for sale!
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DaveF
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by DaveF »

Sounds like wheel fairing mounting wasn't called out in any drawing, it was left to the line workers as "shop practice". Like seat rail rivet locations.
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Poncho73
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by Poncho73 »

Thanks all. Gives me a good starting point.
Last edited by Poncho73 on Mon May 07, 2018 1:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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c170b53
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by c170b53 »

I don't have the plates, guess I have to make something. When fitted with Cleveland's, is the dust plate tossed? Anyone care to post some pic's of the wheel plates on the axle taken from above and one from the side. I know the plates have an offset, but would like an idea as to how much.
Jim McIntosh..
1953 C170B S/N 25656
02 K1200RS
hilltop170
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Re: Wheel Pant installation drawing

Post by hilltop170 »

Jim-
There is a guy in Wichita that makes one-off custom aircraft parts. I talked to him at the C-195 convention last year. He said he can CNC the plates with the proper Cleveland cut-out and has access to a hydro-press but does not have samples to reverse-engineer. Plus, as everywhere else, he said it would take several sets to make it worthwhile price-wise.

There is indeed an offset to the originals but it's not much. I looked at mine a few weeks ago and wondered just what the pants would look like if a straight plate was used. If you are going to make a set anyway, why not make up a straight set and see how they look?
Richard Pulley
2014-2016 TIC170A Past President
1951 170A, N1715D, s/n 20158, O-300D
Owned from 1973 to 1984.
Bought again in 2006 after 22 years.
It's not for sale!
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