I repaired my cowling where the two halves fasten together around the
spinner. It can be quite time consuming to do it right so you won't
have to do it again! I learned as I went, and feel that anyone willing
to be patient can do it. The repairs have lasted 4 years now, with no
cracking. I suggest using either glass or better yet, Kevlar 49, and
a good epoxy resin. At highly stressed places, using just a filler
with no cloth imbedded, I found does not work well. It starts to crack
sooner rather than later. You may need to extend the cloth well into
the unbroken part of the pant to get enough strength, or even cut away
some of the remaining fiberglass so things fit well. If you're willing
to pay an experienced fiberglass man, that will work too, but to do it
right could cost more than a new pant, unless you do it yourself.

Regards,
Bruce Cunningham


"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:_9n4d.234979$Fg5.205968@attbi_s53...
The fiberglass on our "Fancy Pants" main gear wheel pants has been
deteriorating for some time. The holes in the fiberglass through which the
dzu-type connectors pass are "wowed" out -- and now some of them are
completely broken out.

As a result, several of the metal backing plates have fallen off, and we
made our last flight today with just a single dzu connector holding the
right rear clamshell together. (Fancy pants are not single-piece units,
like the factory wheel pants, but two clamshells that connect together.)

I have removed the pants and taken them to my A&P, who is most comfortable
working with sheet metal. I suspect he will want to rivet a "stripe" of
sheet metal over the wowed out/broken holes, cover this with a thin "veneer"
of putty, re-drill the holes -- charge me a small fortune -- and pronounce
them airworthy once again.

I am wondering if this is the proper way to go. Can these things be
re-fiberglassed, or is that a lost cause? Is adding metal reinforcements
smart, or simply inviting failure in other parts of the pant?