Aircraft fairing
Structures that smooth airflow and reduce drag on aircraft.
An aircraft fairing is a component designed mainly to create a smooth surface and lower drag. These coverings fill in gaps and spaces between different parts of the plane, cutting down on form drag and interference drag while also making the aircraft look better.
**Types**
Common fairing locations on aircraft include:
- **Belly fairing:** Also known as a ventral fairing, this sits on the fuselage’s underside between the main wings. It may also house extra cargo or fuel tanks. - **Cockpit fairing:** Called a cockpit pod, this protects the crew on ultralight trikes. Usually made of fiberglass, it can include a windshield. - **Elevator and horizontal stabilizer tips:** These fairings smooth airflow at the tips of the elevator and stabilizer. - **Fin and rudder tip fairings:** They reduce drag at low angles of attack but also lower the stall angle, so their use on control surfaces depends on the specific application. - **Fillets:** These smooth airflow where two parts meet, such as where the wing joins the fuselage. - **Fixed landing gear junctions:** Fairings here reduce drag at the connection points. - **Flap track fairings:** These enclose the flap operating mechanism when the flap is retracted. They open as the flap lowers and may pivot to accommodate sideways movement of the mechanism on swept-wing designs. - **Spinner:** Protects and streamlines the propeller hub. - **Strut-to-wing and strut-to-fuselage junctions:** Fairings at these points reduce drag. - **Tail cones:** These streamline the rear of the fuselage by removing the flat base area, which causes base drag. - **Wing root:** The wing root is often faired to cut interference drag between wing and fuselage. On the top and bottom, this involves small rounded edges to reduce surface and friction drag. At the leading and trailing edges, it uses much larger tapers to smooth out pressure differences—high pressure at the edges, low pressure on the wing top and around the fuselage. - **Wing tips:** Often shaped in complex ways to reduce vortex formation and thus drag, especially at low speeds. - **Wheels on fixed gear aircraft:** Called wheel pants or speed fairings in North America, and wheel spats or trousers in the UK (the latter enclosing both the wheel and landing gear leg).
- Primary function
- produce a smooth outline and reduce drag
- Drag types reduced
- form drag and interference drag
- Common materials mentioned
- fiberglass (for cockpit fairings)
- Alternative names
- belly fairing (ventral fairing), cockpit fairing (cockpit pod), wheel fairings (wheel pants, speed fairings, wheel spats, trousers)
Lore & Background
Aircraft fairings are covers for gaps and spaces between parts of an aircraft, reducing form drag and interference drag while improving appearance. They are commonly found on many parts of an aircraft, including the belly, cockpit, elevator and horizontal stabilizer tips, fin and rudder tips, fillets at junctions, fixed landing gear junctions, flap tracks, spinners, strut-to-wing and strut-to-fuselage junctions, tail cones, wing roots, wing tips, and wheels on fixed gear aircraft.
Specific fairings serve distinct purposes: belly fairings, also called ventral fairings, are located on the underside of the fuselage between the main wings and can cover additional cargo storage or fuel tanks. Cockpit fairings, or cockpit pods, protect the crew on ultralight trikes and are commonly made from fiberglass, sometimes incorporating a windshield. Wheel fairings, known as wheel pants or speed fairings in North America and wheel spats or trousers in the United Kingdom, are a trade-off: they increase frontal and surface area but provide a smooth surface and faired nose and tail for laminar flow, reducing turbulence from the round wheel and gear legs, and also prevent mud and stones from being thrown upwards.
Reader's Guide
Aircraft fairings are notable for their role in reducing drag through smoothing airflow over gaps and junctions, thereby improving aircraft performance and appearance. The article describes various types, each addressing specific aerodynamic challenges: fillets smooth airflow at junctions like the fuselage and wing; wing roots are faired to reduce interference drag, with small rounded edges on top and bottom to reduce surface and friction drag, and larger taper at leading and trailing edges to smooth pressure differences. Wing tips are often formed as complex shapes to reduce vortex generation and drag, especially at low speed. Flap track fairings enclose the flap operating mechanism when the flap is up, opening and pivoting as the flap comes down to accommodate sideways movement on swept-wing installations. Tail cones streamline the rear extremity of a fuselage by eliminating the base area, a source of base drag. The article also notes that fin and rudder tip fairings reduce drag at low angles of attack but reduce the stall angle, so their application depends on the specific use. Wheel fairings serve the additional function of preventing mud and stones from being thrown upwards against the wings, fuselage, or propeller on pusher aircraft.
Did You Know?
- Belly fairings are also called ventral fairings and can cover additional cargo storage or fuel tanks.
- Cockpit fairings on ultralight trikes are commonly made from fiberglass and may incorporate a windshield.
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