Frequently Asked Questions - Aviation

Carbon main wheel fairings with air doors for a variety of light aircraft on 5.00-5 or 6.00-6 wheels. Can add 6 knots or more to cruise speed compared to flight without wheel fairings. Our advanced design minimizes drag and weight compared to legacy wheel fairings. Elegant design allows for quick installation and removal, and provides better ground clearance, reducing potential damage on unpaved runways. Convenient air doors simplify tire pressure checks and feature a secure Camloc enclosure. All required hardware included. Lower gear leg intersection fairings are included for RV-8, -10, and -14 aircraft on 6.00-6 and RV-8 on 5.00-5 wheels. An ARF (Almost-Ready-to Fly) option reduces your time and expense for conversion to a minimum. Expert fabrication by AeroSouth makes a clear-coated finish an option, revealing the natural beauty of carbon fiber. Replacement parts are also available. Aircraft types not currently listed are possible; contact us to discuss. (A 5.00-5 nose wheel fairing is currently under development, 1/2026).  All products engineered and made in the USA. 

Compared to aircraft with no wheel fairings, our carbon fairings can add 6 knots or more to cruise speed. Compared to flight with Van's wheel fairings, a solid two knot speed increase using our fairings has been reported by our customers. For those upgrading from 5.00-5 to the larger 6.00-6 wheels, use of our fairings will reduce the effect of the additional drag to a minimum or only 1-2 knots, according to our customers. Significant weight reductions accompany the use of our lighter carbon wheel fairings.

For most products, 6-8 weeks maximum.

When your order is ready to ship, we will send you an invoice for the full amount, including shipping.  Upon payment, we ship, typically UPS Ground.

Yes - to all countries covered by UPS or USPS.

All our wheel fairings have been designed to minimize the effort and time for installation and the tools required. In most cases, 1-2 weeks are required.  If you choose our ARF (Almost-Ready-to-Fly), option, the time can be cut in half.

This is a little bit of an "it depends" type of question but this will hopefully get you close. Weight difference of tire - 5.00-6 6 ply rating versus 6.00-6 6 ply rating: 4.4 lb compared to 6.5 lb for each tire therefore the total difference will be 4.2 lb. Weight difference of inner tube - 5.00-5 versus 6.00-6: Couldn't find a number but let's assume 1 lb difference therefore the total difference will be 2 lb.  Weight difference of wheel - Matco lists 11.2 lb for each RV-10 wheel - https://matcoals.com/product/whl-brk-wi600-rv-10-config/ versus 6.9 lb for each RV7/8/9 wheel - https://matcoals.com/product/we51-5-wheel-external-caliper-brake/ therefore the total difference will be 8.6 lb but this is a VERY unfair comparison that would be valid only for an RV-14. If you're talking about an RV-8 or RV-7 then the weight difference would be on the order of 5 lb total. Weight difference of wheel fairing - this is a wash. We strived to make our carbon fiber fairings as compact and light as possible while still maintaining low drag and a stylish look. So, altogether, you're looking at 12 lb total weight gain for the switch from 5.00-5 to 6.00-6 on an RV-7 or 8. A little more on an RV-14 but it is important to recognize that you'll be getting increased braking capacity as compared to the wheel that comes in the kit. For RV-10, the weight difference will be very small - essentially zero - since it already has 6 inch wheels and brakes and large size glass fairings.

Our 5.00-5 fairing is designed  to be as tight to the wheel, tire, and (optionally upgraded) brake caliper and disc as possible. Therefore, a 380x150-5 tire would not work with our 5.00-5 fairing, but fits with room to spare in our 6.00-6 fairings..

We are fortunate to work with Sky Designs Aero on many of our products, a company owned by Ken Krueger, former Chief Engineer at Van's Aircraft. AeroSouth products are made in Seven Lakes, North Carolina, about an hour south of Raleigh, and very close to Pinehurst. The nearest GA airports are KSOP (Moore County) and BQ1 (Gilliam-McConnell), the latter home to the popular Pik 'n Pig BBQ restaurant located on the field.

Absolutely! Our faciliity is located in Seven Lakes, North Carolina, about an hour south of Raleigh, and very close to Pinehurst. The nearest GA airports are KSOP (Moore County) and BQ1 (Gilliam-McConnell), the latter home to the popular Pik 'n Pig BBQ restaurant located on the field. If you fly here we will gladly meet you at the airport with your order.

AeroSouth sends out all the latest news in its concise monthly newsletter, a list of which can be found at this link. To signup for our newsletter mailing list, see this link.

No. Our air doors will only fit our wheel fairings. As of January, 2026, all our wheel fairings include air doors pre-installed. We no longer offer an air door kit since most asked us to do the work anyway.  Plus, it is a somewhat complex process better left to our experienced staff.

No, not yet.  A fairing for most RV nose wheel gears is under development as of January, 2026. It will include an air door. We are aiming to have this ready for shipping by the summer of 2026.  Sign up to our newsletter to stay abreast of developments, or contact us to be added to those interested.

No, not yet, but very soon.  A fairings for the stock Van's right-angle tailwheel and the Condor II tailwheel forks is under development as of January, 2026. We are aiming to have these ready for shipping by the spring of 2026. According to our aerodynamic reference books, a 1-2 knot speed increase can be expected, especially for faster aircraft.  Sign up to our newsletter to stay abreast of developments, or contact us to be added to those interested.

Yes!  You ship us your existing Sky Designs / AeroSouth wheel fairings, we will install air doors in them and have them back to you within two weeks.   Contact us to schedule the work.

Yes!  Although we do no painting ourselves at this time, we prepare all our fairings under the assumption that they may be clear-coated. For instance, working hard to maintain the regular twilll patterns of the carbon and sharp edges where carbon plies meet. We provide directions on preparing for clear-coating with all our shipments.

For a modest additional sum, we will bond the aft end of the wheel fairings onto the center section, fill and sands any gaps. All nut plates (except those related to the lower intersection fairings) are pre-installed. All surfaces will be wet-sanded in preparation for primer and paint or clear-coating. Choosing the ARF option eliminates your need to deal with epoxy and riveting, saving you money and especially time.

Our horizontal stabilizer and elevator tip fairings are designed for the RV-9, -10, and -14. Our vertical stabilizer, upper and lower rudder tip fairings are designed only for the RV-10.  All are made from durable, bright-white polyethylene (PE) and come ready for painting and installation using rivets or screws/nutplates.  (No installation hardware is included at this time with these fairings, sorry.)

Yes - in many cases, damaged composite parts can be repaired. When this is not a viable option, we may be able to replace the damaged component entirely. Contact us to discuss your individual case as needed.

Probably, especially if your aircraft has 5.00-5 or 6.00-6 sized wheels and standard brake systems, for instance from Matco, Beringer, Grove, etc. For instance, we are currently (1/2026) working on 5.00-5 fairings for the Bellanca/ACA Decathlon and the Glasair Glastar / Sportsman on 6.00-6 wheels. Contact us to discuss your individual needs.

 Here are some advantages of PE over carbon composite fairings:

1. Lower cost to you.
2. Surface is nearly ready for primer and paint, or clear-coat.
3. Quick turnaround - we can ship within a few days.
4. No issues with Galvanic corrosion (we protect our carbon parts from this, however)

Here are the advantages of carbon composite fairings over PE:

1. Somewhat lighter.
2. More robust.

As far as installation is concerned, they are done the same with rivets and backplates), screws and nutplates, or bonded to aluminum.  Finishing methods are the same.  Both need some form of UV protection, although we use a form of PE (PETG) that includes UV protection additives.

With advances in 3D printing, we expect to be making more parts from PE in the future.  They allow much quicker process from concept to production, quick changes as needed, and lower costs to our customers. Strength however remains their weakness so we are only using these currently for smaller, non-load-bearing components.  Our new tailwheel fairings currently under development will only be made from PE for this reason.  And that smaller parts are disproportionately harder to make from composites but easier on 3D printers.

Remember also that carbon composites are another form of reinforced plastics.  There are some interesting developments in reinforced thermplastics that we expect to be exploring in the future as a means to use more advanced technologies than composites to lower costs and increase productivity.