Need More Heat!

[DNeufeld]

I bought my RV6 built so I can't take credit for a well sealed cockpit which accounts for a much of the comfort. The builder had two heat muffs on mine. It was too much even in the North Idaho winter. I took the pilots side off to reduce weight and to clean up under the cowl. One heat muff is comfortable in mine in 15 deg weather with one heat muff. Its all the way open with a little fresh air vent coming in too but it is comfortable. No cold hands and wearing a sweat shirt. There is insulation on the side skins from the panel to the seat back which helps. Probably 2lbs for the insulation?? Same or less than heat muff and all the pluming and control. Much easier to install. That 6 is murder to get under the panel!

[rvbuilder2002]

As already mentioned, one of the key ingredients to good heater performance is stopping cold air from coming in. The best heat system in the world can't do much if you have air coming in that is colder than an AC system provides in the summer.

It is counter intuitive, but the first places to focus on for leaks is wherever the air is going out. This is usually in low pressure areas because of fuselage shape (canopy sides, along roll bar on a tip-up, etc.) If air is being sucked out because of low pressure, there will always be cold air coming in somewhere else to equalize pressure.


Then focus on pathways that air can come in. Don't worry about sealing everything because if you want vent and heat air to enter easily, you have to have a path for air to exit. I prefer to leave the corrugated ends of the baggage bulkhead open and seal everything else. This provides a flow path from the front of the cockpit to the back, maximizing heater and vent performance.

Strips of Kleenex can be used to find areas where air is moving out or in.

Once you have sealed up the cockpit, then work can be done to improve the temp delta of the heating system, but the biggest benefits are usually seen with time spent stopping the cold air from coming in.

[AndyRV7]

When I was a student and renting Skyhawks from my school, I always asked for the 8am slot so I could get there early and start to preheat and de-ice the plane. We had some of the most unsealed planes in the country I think, including one that had a broken cabin air cable that allowed the cabin air flap on the cowl to stay open. I remember flying from Caldwell NJ to Kingston NY one winter morning and being so cold I didn't know if I could fly back. My first exposure, literally, to the potential perils of cold weather piloting.

All I ever did about it was to start wearing my bibbed ski pants, which I bought decades earlier for a trip one winter break with my college buddies. They got me through my days of cold weather rental flights. The bib really is a great invention for sealing out drafts in your attire! The only thing I wished I could have taken care of was how cold my head still was. In hindsight, I guess an in-ear headset with a wool hat would have topped off the outfit, again, literally!!

On my RV-7 annual 2 years ago, I had my mechanic install the aileron boots I had purchased. That took care of a lot of the other cold air that would come into my plane. I haven't needed anything else but maybe a sweatshirt under my coat. No bib, gloves, or hat needed!

Good luck.

[Doug Eves]

I flew my 6 for 1.5hrs two days ago. It was around -20 Celsius at 3500ft and I have two heaters. I few with no coat and was just warm enough where normally both heaters will make too much heat. I think if I put the aileron tube gasket contraptions on that would do the trick. I did however receive a small frost bit on my hand while fueling up and holding on to the nozzle. Looks and feels like a burn. My oil temp never went higher than 120 which concerned me so I put her away to wait for warmer weather.

[vfrazier]

Seat heaters do make a nice Valentine's day gift for your favorite passenger.

Blake has them at:

http://www.flyboyaccessories.com/Heated-Seats-s/9.htm