Aircraft fairing

"Wheel spat" redirects here. For automotive wheel spats, see fender skirts.
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.[1]

These structures are covers for gaps and spaces between parts of an aircraft to reduce form drag and interference drag, and to improve appearance.[1][2]

A cockpit fairing or "pod" with a windshield on a P&M GT450 ultralight trike
Spats on a Cessna Skylane 182T
An aircraft wheel fairing, commonly called a wheel pant or spat or, by some manufacturers, a speed fairing
  1. ^ a b Crane, Dale: Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, Third Edition, page 206. Aviation Supplies & Academics Inc, Newcastle Washington, 1997. ISBN 1-56027-287-2
  2. ^ Bingelis, Tony: The Sportplane Builder, pages 261-265. Experimental Aircraft Association Aviation Foundation, 1979. ISBN 0-940000-30-X