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EZ Cool Pirep
I flew with my EZ Cool cowl flaps for the first time yesterday and I can say I am happy with the results.
My engine instrumentation does not give me a digital readout like I am used to so I don't have much in the way of hard data to offer, but, I would definitely say it made the difference I was looking for. Temps on the ground in Pecos TX were around 98F. Without the cowl flaps I know my oil temps would have gotten up into the yellow zone on the analog oil temp gauge which starts at 220F. I was able to climb directly on up to 7,500' using about 120 MPH climb speed with power on the IO360 w Hartzel CS set at 24 square mixture set ROP. Oil cooler is Vans stock unit mounted to the baffle. Once I leveled out, I left the flaps open until I began to see the oil temp coming down a little from it's max temp during climb of about 210. With the flaps closed and the cruise speed of about 160 knots the oil temps remained right around 195F. I guess that means at least 10F difference in oil temp but I rally think it is more than that as I would not have climbed like that before because the oil temps would have gone higher than I am comfortable with. In the past the oil temp would get up into the yellow, above 220F even just from descending down into the desert heat if it was above 100F on the ground. Descending back into Carlsbad this time, with ground temps of about 102F the oil temps stayed easily below the yellow zone. I opened the cowl flaps as I got close to turning final. Interesting to hear the difference in the sound of the engine as the flaps close up. I noticed a speed increase of about 3 knots from closing the flaps. I had to put 1/8" shims under mine as the cowl is not honeycomb style. To get the installation really right I may need to install some different shims as one corner of the flaps still protrudes a bit. I plan to end up with flush screws going into nut plates on the inside when I take them back out for painting. I experienced a bit of binding at first to the point where one corner would not close all the way, but opening up the fiberglass hole a little more in the tight spots took care of that. Sorry I cannot more actual data but I can say that these cowl flaps have obviously given me what I had hoped to achieve when I purchased them and that is full functionality of my RV6A in the summer temps of the SW desert. I will report more after more flying time in high temps as it happens. Randall in Carlsbad |
More results !!!
...I had some spare time on Sunday the 27th, so decided to go fly my RV-9. It was very hot here in so cal, 100 degrees and matching humidity. So as it turned out a good day to watch and check my temperatures with the new cowl flaps. I tried a 90 kt climb without the flaps open and the cht temperatures soared to 450 by 6000 ft. I descended and tried it again with both flaps open and the engine already heated up. Everything was identical conditions except the results. I went to 8,500 ft and could not get temps over 380 degrees, even with aggressive leaning. After doing this again, I am extremely happy with this products performance. I am very confident that if you are having heating issues, there is nothing you can do that is more effective at reducing them than this installation. This is not sales hype to move product but my actual results. Don't fight and chase this issue as we did for over four years with very costly, marginal results at best. We are confident that you will experience similar reductions in your temperatures should you install this product. Thanks, Allan...:D
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EZ Cool Cowl Flaps Results????
...With almost 200 of these out there now and many installations in progress, I would expect that pilot reports should start coming in at a good pace now. If you have any information or suggestions to contribute, please do so as it helps others that are undecided. Thanks, Allan...:D
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Well here is another one now with a bit more time on them.
Before the cowl flaps were installed my oil temps would climb up to 220 pretty easily in warm weather and especially if I wanted to do a hard climb. Now I find that in 85F OAT, I can sustain a 110 MPH climb on up into the cooler air while keeping the oil temps down below 200F. The flaps really did make quite a difference on my 6A with IO360 and CS Hartzel. Randall |
Same Story
I'm finding that on 90 degree days I'm able to keep CHT right at 400 and climb aggressively, whereas before the flap I would limit climbs to 300fpm on a smiliar day once a couple thousand off the surface, and still see CHTs in the 410-420 range. O-320 with FP Sterba wood prop.
One suggestion for Allan concerning future kits, and this might make sense only to those familiar with the product: With the cowl off the plane, the connector with 2 male pins is attached to my engine mount with a zip tie over silicon wrap. On 2 occasions now, performing short engine runs without the cowling on, the male pins have swung in the breeze to contact something metal and blew the 1A fuse. If the female connector were what was attached to the plane, and a male-male wire used between the plane and the cowl flap, this would not be able to happen. |
Personal inspection
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Just beautiful. A professional job. Outstanding!. I may have to hire you to come and install mine.:D Wondering what your impressions of them are now that you've taken a cross country in relatively hot weather conditions. |
This Makes Sense!!!!!
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so what connectors do y'all recommend be used? I just received my flap (got one) and will start planning the surgery soon.
Also, wouldn't this flap also be a good on top of the cowl for post landing heat venting? |
Very Interesting!
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... There are a couple of other guys that are in the build or testing stage without paint, that are putting the EZ Cool Flaps on the flat sides of the lower cowl at the rear, just below the hinge part line. These should also function well in this area and allow for very easy access as well. We will post the information when it comes in. Thanks, Allan...:D |
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