No, not the mighty Corvair engine (it runs very cool in the summer temps) but rather it’s the pilot (me) that is hot. As I get older I dislike the heat even more. I can fly early in the morning but the temps are still > 80ºF and when the canopy closes it becomes an EZ bake oven pretty quick.
So I’ve considered trying a smaller version of something like this:
It could sit in the passenger seat if solo or maybe fit in the luggage compartment. Yes it is additional weight but if I’m solo and cool … I’d be OK with it for the really hot days.
So … what have you done to stay cool in the heat?
Dale,
I bought one of those for the Sikorsky X2 and the team scoffed at me. When they moved the program to Florida it got installed and used. It works.
Alternatively you can move north, fly higher, or take up boating.
1 Like
For endurance racing we used “Cool Shirts” which are shirts with a water circulation loop that connects using valved disconnects to a cooler filled with ice water and a pump. Both components can be made at home but we found the commercial shirts much nicer. I would think it might be more efficient to cool yourself directly vs cooling circulating air. Though it can get you wet from condensation.
1 Like
The Igloo cooler solution actually takes the humidity out of the air.
1 Like
Josh Bardell did a great job fabricating a small cooler into a cooling system like what you have pictured above Dale. From what I remember he chose a cooler small enough to give a few hours of cooling air while only pulling a few amps, and put it in his baggage area. You may be able to do a search and find his old Sonex blog to get info on it!
1 Like
Well Mike … I haven’t had much success finding that article but it seems I do recall seeing it at one time.
Now when I search anything to do with Sonex & hot I get a bunch of Aerovee thread returns. 
So I may just toss a few dollars in a project and see how cool it turns out to be (pun very much intended) …
I shot Josh a text. But in the meantime it looks like he deleted his old blog.
1 Like
Dale, here are ideas from what I remember about the one we bought from Sporty’s for the X2 program. Buy yourself a cooler, a little radiator like the one for the turbo cooling system, a little submersible pump, and a fan. Hack two holes in your cooler. One hole will have the radiator mounted under it. On top of that hole put some ducting or something to direct the air to where you want it to go. The submersible pump is on the bottom of the cooler and will pump water through the radiator. The radiator dumps back out into the cooler. Over the other hole mount a fan that blows air into the cooler. It will get back out by going through the radiator and associated ducting, blowing cold air at you. Also the humidity from the cabin air will condense on the radiator and drip back into the cooler. So it not only cools the air, but dries it out as well. It looked like the one in your youtube link did not dehumidify the air. You could also have the fan pull air through the radiator, and the other hole would just be a vent. I can’t remember how Sporty’s did it. You fill the cooler with a bunch of ice and some water on the bottom, to pump through the radiator. That ice bath will stay at 32F until all the ice melts, or at 0C if you happen to fly to Australia.
1 Like
Yes it does, thank you sir!
Hey Brian, you mentioned the X-2 program. Did you work for Sikorsky? If so did you ever cross paths with a test pilot name of Jack Carson. I got a cool story about Jack and I.
Hey Art! I was a second generation Sikorsky guy and worked there for 26 years. Plus I was a coop and security guard before that but it didn’t count towards the 26 years. I know of Jack but never worked with him. My dad Lou probably did.
I flew with Jack and Nick Misky. They each came to work at Air Methods after retirement. I was a check airman in the Agusta 109E helicopter when I was tasked to check out a new hire at Duke University. When I found out Jack’s background I new that I had been outclassed. So on his first initial instruction flight in the A109 I asked him to approach and fly the aircraft as if he were flight testing the aircraft. For then next two hours I learned things I never new about the Sperry autoflight system. (The A109 had the same system the S76 did). It was a fun time working with Jack. Jack did some crazy stuff with the CH53. Great guy.
1 Like
