Definition
Smooth, streamlined coverings fitted over the flap tracks, hinges, and supporting hardware on the underside or trailing edge of a wing. Their purpose is to reduce aerodynamic drag by enclosing the mechanical structures that extend and retract the flaps, allowing air to flow more cleanly around the wing.
Plain English
The smooth, shaped covers that hide the moving parts of the flaps so the air slides past the wing more cleanly instead of getting churned up by exposed brackets and tracks.
Context Anchor
Seen during exterior preflight inspection and in a Configuration Deviation List when a flap fairing is missing, damaged, or not installed.
Derivation
A 'fairing' comes from the old English/nautical sense of 'fair,' meaning smooth or even. To 'fair' a surface is to make it flow smoothly. So a fairing is a smoothing piece — a cover that makes a bumpy area aerodynamically smooth.
Why Pilots Care
Missing or damaged flap fairings increase drag, which can affect climb performance and fuel consumption and may impose specific flight limitations under the CDL.
Intuition Check
Do not think of a flap fairing as part of the flap surface itself. The flap moves to change the wing’s shape; the fairing is the smooth cover around the flap hardware.
Example Sentence 1
During preflight, the pilot noticed that one of the flap fairings on the right wing was cracked and consulted the CDL to determine whether the airplane was airworthy for the planned flight.
Example Sentence 2
The CDL allowed dispatch with one flap fairing removed but required a performance penalty calculation before takeoff.