Smoking Airplanes Smoke System
 

Today I finally got to use my Smoking Airplanes (SA) smoke system. The website is:

http://www.smokingairplanes.com/

I bought the 3.5 gallon tank and two injectors. The kit comes complete with three exceptions (two fixed and one possibly unique to my installation):

1) The anti-siphon assembly would have interfered with the passenger rudder pedals where I placed it so I bought a 90 degree assembly from Ace hardware, cut the hose and solved that issue. I mentioned it to John and I believe that he will include a 90 degree part in future kits. How I did it is shown below:



2) I had to fabricate a 3" x 4" (approximate) aluminum plate to install the two fuses and relay and then bolt that to bulkhead behind the instrument panel. A better part for that function is now being included with new kits. See Breaker/panel relay picture in Bob's post immediately following mine.

3) I put the bulkhead fitting on the passenger side (RV6A). Due to a heat muff on the right side Vetterman exhaust, I did not feel that I had adequate length on the 18" hose. I could have used it had I placed the injector aft of the heat muff and exhaust hangar but did not like that location. I placed the injector at the Y in the exhaust. The 24" hose worked better so I ordered another. Others considering a similar placement may want two 24" hoses instead of one each 18"/24" hose. This is only if you get two injectors and have a similar arrangement as mine).

4) Overall kit completeness: (New addition to original post). Here I will get really nit-picky in assessing kit completeness. In addition to the two items above (#1 and #2) since added to the kit I had to provide the following parts:

a. One grommet in the baggage floor for the vent tube and blue power line
b. Two Adel clamps for the right side injector hose
c. Tube wrap to protect the left side injector hose from chaffing
d. Largish aluminum plate that supports the smoke oil tank because I placed it on thin carpeting instead of directly on the baggage area floor
e. Appropriate countersunk and pan head screws to secure the plate from d. above and to secure the tank holding aluminum brackets
f. AN3 hardware to secure the 3" x 4" plate that holds the fuses and relay
g. Bought a certain size drill to make the holes for the fuses (not needed if you use the new plate added to his kits in November 2010)

Assessment: Except for the drill bit, I had everything needed. My opinion at this point is that the only thing that "may" be desirable to be added is the grommet. That would only be if it is close to universally needed. If you keep adding everything that one or two people may need, you just increase the cost for everyone. So my opinion is that his assertion that it is a complete kit is a good statement.

Based on Bob's comment about a 30" braided hose, I would have needed one too if I had placed the bulkhead fitting closer to the right side of the firewall. I suggest looking at the fitting and hose pictures so you know what we are talking about. Then use a hose of some sort to determine what length braided hose(s) you will need and order the correct length(s) initially.

Bulkhead fitting and two hoses to injectors:



Right side injector. I had to have a 1.5" long piece of steel added to the right side of the injector plate so that I could add a hose clamp above the Y junction of the exhaust.



The instructions were good and often mentioned to NOT cut wires/hoses too early . That is good. I had two areas that I did not understand and will email John to see if I am being a putz or if he needs to clarify it.

I did fabricate a plate that goes between the baggage area floor/carpet and the tank. When I installed the pilot side step I installed nutplates on the pilot side baggage floor and that has come in handy.

The vent went in the bay just inboard of the outer skin and I ran the wire for the pump from that area to the center then up the center post under the instrument panel. In the picture below, the vent tube is in front of the tank bracket. Below the tank bracket is the light gray aluminum plate that supports the tank.



This side view of the tank better shows the aluminum plate that I made to support the tank. The screws under the tank are countersunk. All the screws go through the aluminum plate and carpet before going through the baggage floor skin.



The control 3 way switch, LED and momentary contact push switch were placed on the instrument panel near the throttle.



On the first test flight I opened the valve 3/4 turn versus the recommended 1.25 turn. Several people on the ground thought the smoke was good. Note that there were thin light clouds high so that was a detriment. First pass was using the momentary switch. Second pass should have been with the 3 way switch in Continuous mode but I messed that up so made a third pass that way.



Overall it was relatively easy except for having to work underneath the panel. In hindsight, I maybe should have placed the fuses and relay under the passenger side. It would have been far easier working on it. Someone with a tip up canopy or RV8(A) who placed the tank in the forward baggage area could install it far quicker than I did. I did not keep track of hours since I am borderline inept, take too long to think about placement and drill holes and get in and out of the cockpit dozens of times to get something done.

So far I am pleased with it and plan on using it at suitable times during flights to include, but not limited to, helping other pilots see me when when ATC calls me out to those pilots while using flight following. See VCAS picture at bottom of this link:

http://www.smokingairplanes.com/SMOKE%20SYSTEM%20SPECIAL%20FEATURES.htm

The only real problem is getting smoke oil. I used something called Conosol 260 (spelling?) from a RC hobby shop at $17 a gallon. Today I found a local pilot who will sell 5 gallon containers at $10 a gallon so that helps.

The Canopus 13 oil often mentioned (a few say not to use it) has not been found yet.

Customer support: Excellent. I called John several times and he was most helpful. The 24" hose and another part I ruined were sent very quickly. No need to discuss the ruined part. It was cheap enough and a typical goober award event.

Caveat: I try to do things that make sense but sometimes come up short. If you see something that is hazardous or just plain stupid, do not attribute it to Smoking Airplanes. If hazardous, let me know.

Ron,

Congrats on becoming a "Smoker!" I just did as well, and am also a very satisfied Smokin' Airplanes customer of John's. I was going to post something similar, so I hope you don't mind me dogpiling on this thread with a bunch of pics. Perhaps it'll help others that want to join the ranks of Smokers!!

First, I'll echo Ron's accolades for John. I was fully going the DIY route, having collected links from friends on pumps, tanks, hoses, injectors, etc. Then I visited Rosamond (L00) for a fly-in party at Cougar's place (down the block from Rosie), and met John there.

Next day he and I were crawling all over my airplane at the Smoking Airplanes factory (John's hangar, which I want to move into to live...its that nice!) We figured out most everything I needed to do, from how to orient and mount the tank and pump to what length hoses to use FWF, and most everything in-between. A "custom" set up from the man himself! (Note, one phone call will get anyone the same treatment and same results, even if its by phone!)

Though I really wanted to tinker a bit on this project and save a little money via the DIY route, John's kit and instructions make it so easy, even a Caveman could do it (nyuk, nyuk...that's a pun from another recent smoke system thread..and I'm just kidding around..actually if I can do it , anyone can!!) That being said, there was enough well-guided tinkering to keep me busy and happy. But John includes everything needed, down to wires, terminal lugs, grommets, etc. He really does it right, and provides great support, as Ron said!

Ron, I also made a small cb panel for the two cbs, and I think John used our work to make his for the kit...pretty cool! That 90 bend at the check valve sounds interesting...mine fits under my left rudder pedal, but I don't want to miss out on an improvement (John...you reading this? ;))

Here's my install in pics:

Tank & pump went behind my left seat. Tucks in nicely. My O2 is behind the right seat against the right wall, and I like the reach to, and the view of, the regulator, so I went left side for smoke. Not too bad on the trim issue, and I pack right side first in the baggage area, and burn left tank first (of course). Here's what it looked like going in:


And what the baggage area looks like finished:


From this (forward) side you can see where the orange tank vent line goes through the flap housing cover, and behind that, it goes to the fuselage-bottom mounted flush vent fitting (provided, but no pics). The pump ground wire grounds to the airframe under the seat crossbar, and the pump power wire goes to the panel via the side rail (tucked away above that O2 cannula quick disconnect). The smoke oil feed line runs up the left side of the seat:


Here's a before and after of the run up the side of the cockpit and the footwell, on the way to the firewall:








Though it looks like the gray check valve might be in the way, it's actually well clear of the rudder pedal and my foot. Here's full deflection, and I can't get close to the hose or the valve without a crazy yoga move (and yes, I did just get back from a trip, and I do need to buy some more uniform shoes...and socks!! :eek:) To the right you can see the FW bulkhead fitting.


FWF and panel pics in next post...

Part 2
 

On the other side of the firewall is a T fitting for the two braided teflon hoses that go to the injectors. You can see the T here in the background, and the hose to the left injector. I ordered the hoses in 18" and 30" lengths (for the reach to the right injector) and John will make them any length you need.


Left Injector:


Right Injector:


The external fill kit is a nice option, though cutting a 2"+ hole in my fuselage was pretty intimidating. After the first fill-up though, boy was I glad I did it!! The filler hose is visible in the earlier tank pics...here's the outside of the filler cap (the "smoke oil only" lettering come with it too!):


I decided not to use a remote switch, and just put an SPST toggle (that John included) right above the throttle...perfect place for on/off in formation, and no messing with my stick grip wires...I think remote switches are cool, but I just decided to keep it simple here...so not me! :p Light shows Smoke On! In the lower corner of the pic is the cb panel I made, which I bolted up under the panel, out of the way (they are not pullable breakers):


The other side of the breaker/relay panel:


So how does it smoke? Here's the takeoff at the Rocket 100 race last month:




Fun Stuff! John makes a great product, and is a great guy (for a wise guy! :D)

Hope to see you out there, Sa-Mokin'!

Cheers,
Bob

Ron,

Great idea for traffic visibility!

What's the cost of the system? (ok, found it on the website link)

Can I get colored smoke?

greg

I am not sure but I do not think so. Could be wrong.

I think there are additives that can colour the smoke..some of the European aerobatic military formation teams use color smoke.

Cheers,

Don

What's really nice with a smoke system is to have the the switch in the control stick. We have it at our fingertips while we fly as it's hooked into the firing trigger of our T-6 control sticks. Nice and slick!

From what I understand from the MDW Aviation website (Super-Dri smoke oil) referenced from Smoking Airplanes...not from the regular smoke oil you can't.

This I think applies to jet exhaust, not piston:

Smoke released from aircraft was originally based on a mixture of 10-15% dye, 60-65% trichloroethylene or tetrachloroethylene, and 25% diesel oil, injected into the exhaust gases of the aircraft engines. Most commonly, teams now use specifically prepared liquid dyes and only gas oil, light mineral oil or a food grade white oil without harmful chlorinated solvents.

Some mixtures used for production of colored smokes contain these dyes:

Red:
Disperse Red 9 (older, used eg. in the M18 grenade)
Solvent Red 1 with Disperse Red 11
Solvent Red 27 (C.I. 26125)
Solvent Red 24
Orange:
Solvent Yellow 14 (C.I. 12055)

Yellow:
Vat Yellow 4 with benzanthrone (older)
Solvent Yellow 33
Solvent Yellow 16 (C.I. 12700)
Solvent Yellow 56
Oil Yellow R

Green:
Vat Yellow 4 with benzanthrone and Solvent Green 3 (older)
Solvent Yellow 33 and Solvent Green 3
Solvent Green 3
Oil Green BG

Blue:
Solvent Blue 35 (C.I. 26125)
Solvent Blue 36
Solvent Blue 5

Violet:
Disperse Red 9 with 1,4-diamino-2,3-dihydroanthraquinone
Solvent Violet 13

In any event, it all sounds bad!

The complete kit does come with a small push to activate switch suitable for installing in a stick. Or by looking at the wiring diagram, it would be easy for even me to adapt an existing stick switch/trigger to perform the same function.

I elected to keep mine on the panel since I only have a radio PTT switch on my stick now.