cabin temp and ventilation

[jpmfgman]

Hello, new to the RV world.

Tell me about the cabin temp and ventilation on the RV's. Is it managable/tolerable in high ambient temps and low altitudes and or on the ground?

[Vlad]

It's hot John to be honest. As a well known Texan on this very forum said - I climbed to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and stayed there

[WingsOnWheels]

Originally Posted by Vlad

It's hot John to be honest. As a well known Texan on this very forum said - I climbed to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and stayed there

On a side note, I have flown in an RV-7 with A/C. That was certainly nice. However, I wouldn't take the useful load penalty for my own RV to add the A/C.

[Mike S]

Originally Posted by n621jp

Hello, new to the RV world.

John, welcome to the good ship VAF.

In our RV 10, the ground ventilation is not the best, as the door style is not something I feel comfortable having open with the engine going. It is fine is the person in the right seat can open the door a bit, and then hold it a few inches open, but I would never trust it with the door all the way open. As pilot, I do not have an extra hand to deal with the door. But, also, the 10 does not have the huge greenhouse roof like the other designs, so it is not as bad for having the sun heat things up.

For the rest of the designs, wether slider, tip up, or side tip, the canopy can be opened safely while on the ground during taxi.

The stock vents will pass a fair amount of air, but it is not really doing much cooling-----just outside temp blowing at you.

[panhandler1956]

On the ground in my -8 I can run the canopy open so it's not too bad. In flight you'll want to climb on really hot/sunny days. The worst is on let-down after been up in the nice air - feels like you are getting dipped into a hot bath on a sunny day. The ventilation is good, but the air coming in isn't cold.

[Bob Axsom]

My wife Jeanine and I built our RV-6A for travel and cross country air racing. The air plane is based at Fayetteville, Arkansas (many days over 100 F). It has a sliding canopy commonly called a "slider" in the RV world. The canopy is stable at all times in windy conditions during ground operations. When the canopy is open it is just like sitting in a convertible car with the top down and when you start the engine you get a nice breeze during all operations on the ground with an effective windshield to keep the direct blast off of you. Before you takeoff you must close the canopy. The fresh air vents do a good job of keeping it comfortable (more on this later). There is a light weight retractable shade available, which we installed, that is very effective for controlling direct sun heat and glare on bright sunny hot days.

Ok back to the vents. I developed cover plates that I mount in the NACA vent openings for racing to reduce drag. Under some conditions it is very uncomfortable in the cockpit with those vent covers in place. It makes you realize just how effective the vents really are when you don't have them. In the cockpit we have the aluminum "eyeball" control outlets and at cruise altitude I almost never leave them fully open.

I think this configuration (slider, retractible sun shade, fresh air vents) is very effective. I have no experience in the other configurations.

Bob Axsom

[Ron Lee]

I also fly to avoid hot times whenever possible.

When airborne...fly high.

[Wayne Gillispie]

50 hrs of family travel so far and only flew low when TS were nearby. We just burn up for 10 min on each end of the trip and stay at 8500 or above for cooling, safety and efficiency.

[John Clark]

In the words of my favorite co-conspiritor, "Climb and maintain 70 degrees".

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAAST Team Representative
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA