Covered vs Uncovered Landing Gear

[dothedr3w]

Curious what everyone's thoughts are on covered vs exposed cabane landing gear.

Covered
+ Streamlined look
+ Less drag
- More Work
- Unable to easily inspect for damage
- Possibility for moisture to get trapped

Uncovered
+ Utilitarian look
+ Less work
+ Able to easily inspect for damage
- More drag

I happen to like the look of both, and my assumption is the amount of work is negligible in the grand scheme of the entire build, so those are almost moot points. The big questions are; how bad is the drag penalty for leaving your gear uncovered? How important is it for you to inspect your gear?

What did you choose and why?

[Navycposd]

Uncovered is certainly more drag!
I plan on leaving mine uncovered at installation, I too like the look of them open, but I may be forced to add the fairings and cover them.
A 65hp 2-stroke KF2 has enough drag, I may need to cover the gear to clean it up for a faster and more fuel efficient cruise.

[Kitfox Pilot]

I covered mine strictly because I think they look better covered. JMO

[t j]

You can put the fairing on the gear legs and not cover them. That reduces a lot of the drag and you can still see the legs.

[Navycposd]

I guess I will be doing this!

https://youtu.be/ftq8jTQ8ANE?si=1rMS00upTcxMQaIR

I knew fairings helped, but didn't think the difference was this dramatic for a 1ft length of material!
Granted, we are NOT going even half of his test wind speed.....

[airlina]

Thanks for sharing that, I always knew streamling was important , but this video is a real eye opener Bruce N199CL

[dothedr3w]

Well I guess that about settles it, everything gets fairing. I'd never have thought the difference would be that extreme. Thanks for posting this!