OK..I was flying around the Columbia River in my favorite Carenado 182 and , walking by, my wife has asked a very good question to which I do NOT have a good answer. Why are they called wheel 'pants' instead of 'shoes'. :( Now it seems to me that is a very intelligent observation. In fact they DO look more like shoes than pants. If they were really pants, then wouldn't the "legs" have farings as well? Maybe they should really be called "socks." Wait-- she just told me, no they can not be socks because they do not cover the bottom of the 'feet' (wheels to us). Humm.. true..Maybe they are really socks with holes..Anyway they definitely are not pants.. so why are they called,, pants? beats me... :(

OK..I was flying around the Columbia River in my favorite Carenado 182 and , walking by, my wife has asked a very good question to which I do NOT have a good answer. Why are they called wheel 'pants' instead of 'shoes'. :( Now it seems to me that is a very intelligent observation. In fact they DO look more like shoes than pants. If they were really pants, then wouldn't the "legs" have farings as well? Maybe they should really be called "socks." Wait-- she just told me, no they can not be socks because they do not cover the bottom of the 'feet' (wheels to us). Humm.. true..Maybe they are really socks with holes..Anyway they definitely are not pants.. so why are they called,, pants? beats me... :(

Following that same logic, they couldn't be "shoes" either, since shoes have soles!The are called "pants" because they are tied around the waist (tight to the strut) and open at the bottom (no cuffs though!).

Actually I usually refer to them as wheel spats, which goes exactly with the analogy to clothing.Al

Only a woman eh. :( My best guess based on your wifes type of logic would be "spats".Best regards Malcolm (Rooster) Hancock

Spats here too :(

Actually I usually refer to them as wheel spats, which goes exactly with the analogy to clothing.Al

Married folks often have spats...Typical of my British cousins to have another noun entirely just to be contrary... :( :(They could have been named trousers instead, but being shoter in length are more like knickers! :(

Married folks often have spats...Typical of my British cousins to have another noun entirely just to be contrary... :( :(They could have been named trousers instead, but being shoter in length are more like knickers! :(

---------------Can't be knickers- in England, knickers are ladies' underwear! In Canada, however I wore corduroy knickers with leather knee patches when I was a kid (wow- almost 70 years ago!). But they ended just below the knee- the bottom ends being laced snug & covered with the tops of long woolly socks.Under all that was long woolen underwear which reached to one's ankles and was referred to as- "Long Johns".There is therefore little doubt that the proper name is Not wheel "pants" but LONG JOHNS !!Alex Reid