JOHN CRAPARO:
During a flight last week one of the original wheel covers on the right main of 9354S ripped off. We did not notice until we were putting her away in the hangar and cleaning up the bugs. Alan noticed earlier that one of the screws was a little stripped after he had put air in the tires. The metal was actually ripped from the screws. I believe there was metal fatigue present due to screwing and unscrewing the covers over the year. The air blowing under the cover, due to the loose screw, caused the cover to tear loose. No sign that she hit the elevator. Now we need a new cover. Anyone have one for sale? What do you think of the covers with the little port which allows you to get to the valve stem?
The LoPresti covers are worth the money, just to save the wear and tear on the wheel screw holes. I had to buy a certified wheel half once, due to stripped holes, and it cost me $186. At my request a few years ago LoPresti added the 19/23/24 to their STC applicability list. These are the fiberglass covers with the little valve stem access door. You can paint them to match the plane. I caught a set on eBay for peanuts, then discovered our planes weren’t on the STC list. After I lobbied LoP, they went to the FAA and got us added based on previous data, saying that our absence on the list was simply an oversight. I had originally intended to make a set of covers with access doors, but it wasn’t worth the effort when I could get STC’d covers at a decent price.