First Flight in Colder Weather;

USCANAM · #1 10-19-2008, 05:55 PM

revealed a few things here in Southern New England;
1. the single muff heater does not generate as much heat as I thought it would, and
2. there sure are a lot of cold air leaks on the floor.

It was about 40' F. in the air today, and an overcast did not allow any solar heat in our RV9A flip-top.
Never really noticed the cold air coming up the fuselage on either side of the seats before, but it got our attention today.
We have the Classic Aero full Aviator package with side panels, and full carpets but that's not helping.
As for the heater, I'm going to open the flutes on the heat outlets a bit, and try to run the EGT a little hotter, but has anyone been able to locate and cure the cold air leaks on the floor.
Will listen to all warm and hot suggestions
Thanks
Jack
N99552
65 hours

n468ac · #2 10-19-2008, 06:38 PM

We added heated seats, aileron boots, caulked with silicone all the joins around the wing spar to spar box, added foam to all the little V’s in the baggage compartment wall. We also have foam to stuff in the fresh air vents and foam strips to fit between the canopy and the rail.
All these add up to a nice flight in surface temps down to 30 F.

USCANAM · #3 10-19-2008, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n468ac

We added heated seats, aileron boots, caulked with silicone all the joins around the wing spar to spar box, added foam to all the little V?s in the baggage compartment wall. We also have foam to stuff in the fresh air vents and foam strips to fit between the canopy and the rail.
All these add up to a nice flight in surface temps down to 30 F.

Thanks Chris
Good tips to start with!!
Now I wish I knew there would be a problem when building the plane. I think at one time I thought about the aileron boots, but forgot about it until now. I'm suspecting that's the major source of the cold air.
Jack