Tunnel Very Hot

Our newly completed RV10 now has 3.5 hours flight time, and our pilot has reported that the tunnel that runs between the seats gets very hot, almost too hot to touch.

Is this something that other RV10's are experiencing? I spoke to Scott at Vans on the phone yesterday and they have the same problem on the prototype. He suggested adding insulation on the inside of the tunnel against the firewall, and even adding a blast tube into the tunnel from the baffling above the engine.

We are also concerned that this heated tunnel may be creating an occasional fuel vapor lock condition. Sometimes during throttle-back and slow flight, the engine get's a little rough until more power and fuel flow is added. We are thinking the fuel lines inside the tunnel are being super heated.

Any ideas,

Brent

Tunnel heat and flight stats

I have over 90 hours on the RV-10 now, and yes, the tunnel get's way too hot. I actually disconnected the heat ducts and just exited them out the bottom of the aircraft for now, and the tunnel cooled off dramatically. I, too was worried about heating the fuel lines too much. Yesterday, I was at 16000 feet (17,500 DA) over the Sierra Nevadas, with OAT of 22 degrees fahrenheit. We didn't need heat, as we were on top and the solar heating was adequate, but I did try the heat anyway, and it was more than sufficient. Now, before I get flamed about CO, I do have the electronic CO monitor in the cabin right in front of the pilot, with the warning lights and audio. For the colder climates, I think we may need to insulate the tunnel AND the fuel lines.
For those who are interested, I have the MT prop, and the airplane appears to consistently true out at 164 knots at 75% power and 15 gph. I have occasionally seen TAS's of 166-167, and at 16,500 feet yesterday (DA of 17,500) the TAS was 162 knots with a fuel burn of 11.5 gph.
The more we fly this airplane the more we are amazed with it. We left Atlanta on Saturday, and have come through Kansas City, El Paso, Phoenix, Marble Canyon and Grand Canyon, Boulder City, and San Carlos/San Franciso with about 20 hours of flight time ( a couple of Young
Eagle flights along the way added to the total). We are hopefully headed up to VAN's tomorrow to put some names with faces. Then back through Yellowstone, Aspen/Vail, and Lake of the Ozarks.
For those that are building, keep going. This is one of the finest airplanes out there. My wife is thoroughly enjoying it. It rides better than any GA airplane we have ever flown. One day last week we put 4 adults in it and flew 7.5 hours in one day to go to the National Stearman convention in Galesburg, Il. No one complained, and in fact talked about the comfort factors. ALL of the seats are really comfortable.

Vic

Thanks for the input Vic....we are looking forward to a cross country in the near future. Need to get the initial hours flown off, and a paint job, then we're off into the wild blue yonder.

I'll let you know how the blast tube affects the tunnel heat.

Brent