{{Short description|Structure on an aircraft made to reduce drag}} {{redirects here|Wheel spat|automotive wheel spats|fender skirts}} [[File:WingRoot01.jpg|thumb|The wing root fairing of an [[American Aviation AA-1 Yankee]]]]
An '''aircraft fairing''' is a structure whose primary function is to produce a smooth outline and reduce [[Drag (physics)|drag]].<ref name="Crane206">Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition'', page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. {{ISBN|1-56027-287-2}}</ref>
These structures are covers for gaps and spaces between parts of an [[aircraft]] to reduce [[form drag]] and [[interference drag]], and to improve appearance.<ref name="Crane206" /><ref name="BingelisSP">Bingelis, Tony: ''The Sportplane Builder'', pages 261-265. [[Experimental Aircraft Association]] Aviation Foundation, 1979. {{ISBN|0-940000-30-X}}</ref>
[[File:Quik gt450 ultralight g-gttp arp.jpg|thumb|A cockpit fairing or "pod" with a windshield on a [[P&M GT450]] [[ultralight trike]]]] [[File:cessna182t skylane n2231f cotswoldairshow 2010 arp.jpg|thumb|Spats on a [[Cessna 182|Cessna Skylane 182T]]]] [[File:AmericanAviationAA-1YankeeWheelFairing.jpg|thumb|An aircraft wheel fairing, commonly called a ''wheel pant'' or ''spat'' or, by some manufacturers, a ''speed fairing'']]
==Types== On aircraft, fairings are commonly found on: ; Belly fairing : Also called a "ventral fairing", it is located on the underside of the [[fuselage]] between the main [[wing]]s. It can also cover additional cargo storage or fuel tanks.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author=Hitchens, Frank |title=Belly fairing |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Aerodynamics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izv0CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT80 |publisher=Andrews UK |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-78-538324-3}}</ref> ; Cockpit fairing : Also called a "''cockpit pod''",{{cn|date=June 2016}} it protects the crew on [[ultralight trike]]s. Commonly made from [[fiberglass]], it may also incorporate a windshield.<ref name="Cliche">Cliche, Andre: ''Ultralight Aircraft Shopper's Guide'' 8th Edition, page C-17. Cybair Limited Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN|0-9680628-1-4}}</ref> ; [[Elevator (aircraft)|Elevator and horizontal stabilizer tips]] : Elevator and stabilizer tips fairings smooth out airflow at the tips.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} ; Fin and [[rudder]] tip fairings: Fin and rudder tip fairings reduce drag at low angles of attack but also reduce the stall angle, so the fairing of control surface tips depends on the application.<ref name="Molland">Molland, Anthony F. and Turnock, Stephen R.:"Marine Rudders and Control Surfaces: Principles, Data, Design and Applications" 1st Edition, section 5.3.2.11. Butterworth-Heineman, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-75-066944-3}}</ref> ; Fillets: Fillets smooth the airflow at the junction between two components, such as the fuselage and wing. ; Fixed [[landing gear]] junctions : Landing gear fairings reduce drag at these junctions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Biermann |first1=David |last2=Herrnstein |first2=William |date=June 21, 1934 |title=The Drag of Airplane Wheels, Wheel Fairings and Landing Gear I1 Nonretractable and Partially Retractable Landing Gear |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a278248.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170429100157/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a278248.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=April 29, 2017 |journal=Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory |pages=2–8 |access-date=Oct 9, 2018 }}</ref> ; Flap track fairings : Fairings are needed to enclose the [[Flap (aeronautics)|flap]] operating mechanism when the flap is up. They open up as the flap comes down and may also pivot to allow the necessary sideways movement of the extending mechanism which occurs on swept-wing installations.<ref>https://www.freepatentsonline.com/y2016/0340023.html, section 0003</ref> ; [[Spinner (aircraft)|Spinner]] : To protect and streamline the propeller hub.<ref name="Bingelis">Bingelis, Tony: ''Bingelis on Engines'', pages 196-210. [[Experimental Aircraft Association]] Aviation Foundation, 1995. {{ISBN|0-940000-54-7}}</ref><ref name="BingelisFF">Bingelis, Tony: ''Firewall Forward'', pages 269-273. [[Experimental Aircraft Association]] Aviation Foundation, 1992. {{ISBN|0-940000-93-8}}</ref> ; Strut-to-wing and strut-to-fuselage junctions : Strut end fairings reduce drag at these junctions.{{Citation needed|date=January 2012}} ; Tail cones : Tail cones streamline the rear extremity of a fuselage by eliminating the base area, which is a source of base drag. ; [[Wing root]] : Wing roots are often faired to reduce interference drag between the wing and the fuselage. On the top and bottom of the wing, this consists of small rounded edges to reduce surface and friction drag. At the leading and trailing edge it consists of much larger taper and smooths out the pressure differences: high pressure at the leading and trailing edge, low pressure on top of the wing and around the fuselage.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Devenport |first1=W.J. |last2=Agarwal |first2=N.K. |date= December 1990|title=Effects of a fillet on the flow past a wing body junction|url=https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/3.10517?journalCode=aiaaj |journal=AIAA |volume=28 |issue=12 |pages=94–116 |doi=10.2514/3.10517 |bibcode=1990AIAAJ..28.2017D |access-date= October 9, 2018 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[File:003 2015 04 23 Luftfahrzeuge.jpg|thumb|The flap track fairings on a [[Boeing 747]]]] ; [[Wing tips]] : Wing tips are often formed as complex shapes to reduce vortex generation and so also drag, especially at low speed.<ref name="Met-Co">{{Cite web|url = http://metcoaire.com/technical/tech_hoerner_design.shtml|title = Why They Work, The Hoerner Design|access-date = 20 January 2012|last = Met-Co-Aire|date = 2011|archive-date = 16 January 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120116213704/http://www.metcoaire.com/technical/tech_hoerner_design.shtml|url-status = dead}}</ref> ; Wheels on fixed gear aircraft : Wheel fairings are often called "''wheel pants''", "''speed fairings''" in North America or "''wheel [[Spats (footwear)|spats]]''" or "''trousers''", in the United Kingdom, the latter enclosing both the wheel and landing gear leg. These fairings are a trade-off: they increase the frontal and surface area but provide a smooth surface and a faired nose and tail for laminar flow, in an attempt to reduce the turbulence created by the round wheel and its associated gear legs and brakes. They also serve the important function of preventing mud and stones from being thrown upwards against the wings or fuselage, or into the propeller on a pusher aircraft.<ref name="BingelisSP" /><ref name="BingelisSCT">Bingelis, Tony: ''Sportplane Construction Techniques'', pages 125-130. [[Experimental Aircraft Association]] Aviation Foundation, 1986. {{ISBN|0-940000-92-X}}</ref><ref>Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 377. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. {{ISBN|1-56027-287-2}}</ref>
==See also== * [[Bicycle fairing]] * [[Motorcycle fairing]] * [[Payload fairing]]
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
{{Aircraft components}}
[[Category:Aircraft components]]