Cable exit grommets/fairings question

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Spark6
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:55 am

Cable exit grommets/fairings question

Post by Spark6 »

Evening, all,

I was in the hangar the other day doing some puttering, and noticed that a couple of the molded plastic (stick-on/glue-on, by the looks of it?) plastic cable exit fairings that the builder used on the wings and fuselage are cracked or missing. I'd like to replace the missing ones, and be prepared for the eventual failure of the others, but every google search term I can think of brings up the large triangular fairings sold on Aircraft Spruce, and nothing else of note. The fairings installed on my Piet are neat little half-circles, that blend in very nicely, and I'd like to keep continuity on the airframe, at least.

My options, so far as I can see, are 1) to sacrifice one of my fairings to make a mould, and try to make some fiberglass replacements, or 2) to remove all the fairings, and replace them with leather or vinyl grommets a-la a Piper Cub or similar.

What have fellow Pietenpol-drivers done? I've got a long, cold COVID-winter to pick away at this, and I'd love some ideas! Bonus points for pictures!
- Barrett
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: Cable exit grommets/fairings question

Post by taildrags »

Well, you're right... I snooped around on the net looking for fairings, fairleads, and all sorts of other keywords and didn't find anything like what you describe either. But hey, if you've got all winter to mess with it, and probably not that many parts to make, why not try making your own? You can get dead-soft aluminum sheet, or even something a little more rigid but still thin enough to form easily, and make a form block out of wood to shape your own. You can take your time making the female mold block into the shape of your existing ones and just use a blob of modeling clay pushed into your form to see how it comes out. Keep rasping and sanding at the mold form till the clay comes out with the shape you like, and then start in with the metal. Use flat pieces, they don't have to be round or semicircular like the final product, and use wood dowels or ratchet sockets to tap the metal down into your form till it looks like what you want. When you're happy with the fairlead shape, then trim the metal outline to the semicircular shape that you want and cement them in place after painting. There's a writeup in Kitplanes about some shaping tips that you might look at, here- https://www.kitplanes.com/cable-exit-fairings/ . Might be fun!

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR
Air Camper NX41CC, A75 power
(with several of the triangular plastic fairings with cracks or missing pieces!)
Spark6
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:55 am

Re: Cable exit grommets/fairings question

Post by Spark6 »

I hadn't thought of the aluminum route - that's an interesting idea. Knowing that I haven't completely overlooked a pre-made solution, I'll do some thinking and see what I can come up with!
- Barrett
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: Cable exit grommets/fairings question

Post by taildrags »

Hey Barrett, check this out. "Dan" in Texas emailed me with this nifty idea, premanufactured parts, not expensive, might give you some ideas. From Dan:

American Champion Aircraft part number 1-9971 grommet.

As measured = 120mm X 47mm a.k.a 4 11/16" X 1 14/16".
$9.71 each.
91 in stock this A.M. Yes, I called and ask 'em.

http://www.americanchampionaircraft.com

800 223 9381 (ask for parts dept.)

aca.aircraft.parts@gmail.com
grommet.jpg
Spark6
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Jul 07, 2020 11:55 am

Re: Cable exit grommets/fairings question

Post by Spark6 »

Oh, very interesting! I’m headed to the airplane today to do some puttering. I’ll have to see if those might fit. I’m taken with the idea of making my own now, but that could be a good pattern to work from.
- Barrett
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