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Powder7410

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I am very interested in building an RV-9a but live in central texas and desperately want to have the ability to give the plane air conditioning, without it Flying is miserable during the summer.

I know that Airflow Systems makes A/C systems for the 6,7, and 10. Would the system for the 7 work in a 9 since they have the same fuselage? And how about the 9a?

Does anyone know of someone who makes a system specifically for the 9/9a?
 
If it fits the -7, it will work on the -9.

However, the -9 is GW limited. I would recommend getting one of those coolers with a fan and put that in your baggage compartment. That way you can remove it, when things cool down.
 
For anyone that is interested, I've been talking with Airflow Systems about their a/c units.

They produce systems to fit the 6/7 as well as the 6a/7a. It can be adapted to fit a 9/9a as well. The complete system weighs just under 40 lbs. with little to no effect on the CG due to the positioning of the components and creates a maximum of 2 kts of drag on any aircraft with less than that seen on the RVs.

I've considered going the cooler route but don't know if it would be worth the loss of baggage space since I plan on using the aircraft for mostly cross country trips.
 
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Powder7410 said:
...I plan on using the aircraft for mostly cross country trips.
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If you "plan on using the aircraft for mostly cross country trips,"

1) at what altitude do you plan to fly?
2) how long do you plan to stay at that altitude?
3) how long do you think it will take to climb to that altitude in the 9A?
4) will you be operating from an airport with a control tower or an airport without a control tower?

If this were my airplane, my answers would be the following, even if I lived in Texas:

1) between 8,500 and 9,500 ft MSL
2) as long as possible based on the distance travelled
3) probably less than 7 minutes based on sustained ROC of about 1500 fpm.
4) I am based at a medium sized, non-towered airport and it seldom takes me longer than 5 minutes to get from my hangar to the run-up area for departure.

Bottom line...build the airplane, fly it at least 100 hours and then decide if you need an air conditioner. JMHO :D

As you may have realized by now, I am not in favor of installing A/C on an RV. An RV-10 might be an exception. At 9500 ft MSL, the outside air is usually cool even over Texas on a hot summer day. At 1000 ft MSL, yes it is hot, but you can get a lot of airflow from those cockpit vents when you're doing 150 knots.

You've got plenty of time to build the plane and then decide if you want cool and dry air from an air conditioner.

P.S. Maybe some of the folks from Texas will chime in. I only live in Alabama. :cool:
 
We have one of the little "cooler" A/C units that Louise uses in the RV-6 on occasion. A full load of ice lasts her about the time it takes for her commute to College Station from Friendswood - 35 minutes of flying, 42 block to block. It is great for going out and shooting three approaches and coming back. But it pretty much runs out of ice after that, and it does take up a significant portion of the baggage compartment. As Don pointed out, flying an RV is totally different than flying around in a Cessna - for cross-countries, you just climb up to where it's cool and dry - and stay there. Yes, it will be hot on departure and arrival, but that doesn't last too long. here in the Houston area, for my 20 minute acro flight, I am up above 4,000 in a sort time - that is usually above the convection layer, and the air is much drier.

I for an airplane that was going to be flown locally, at low altitudes, with two people and no luggage (training mission)....maybe A/C would be reasonable. But for a traveling machine? I'd only consider it in a -10, and it would effectively be a two-seater for travel.

Paul
 
When it is hot out, the FO in our airplane has the final item on the departure checklist, "climb and maintain 72 degrees". Texas, tipup, Towered field, and we still haven't died of heat exhaustion, not even close.

With that said, if/when I build a -10, it might have a/c...
 
Powder7410 said:
... The complete system weighs just under 40 lbs. with little to no effect on the CG do to the positioning of the components ...
Click to expand...

Wow, if all that's true, then I'll be looking to put one in my 9A. For my wife and I, the 40 lbs will be well worth it. We current fly a nice little Cherokee 180, and the only negative part of flying, for us, is baking when anywhere except cruise altitude. Do you know how much load it puts on the engine (hp)?

John
 
Climb???

Can these AC units be used during the climb? My understanding with other aircraft was that AC could only be used during ground ops and at level flight.

T.
 
Another thought: Leave early on cross countries. Then you are not exposed to the worst temps.
 
We've been having 97? temps

Here in Georgia, we often see 100 degrees but with the -10's 1500 FPM climb, in minutes the Dynon shows under 80 OAT's.....same deal with our -6A.....they get to comfortable temps very quickly, so I haven't considered AC.

Best,
 
RVNineA said:
Do you know how much load it puts on the engine (hp)?
Click to expand...

That's a good question and I'll see if I can get an answer from Airflow Systems.


Av8torTom said:
Can these AC units be used during the climb?
Click to expand...

My introductory flight to RVs was with Alex DeDominics in his RV-10. He as the Airflow Systems A/C system installed on both his RV-10 and his RV-7. From engine start to when he pulled the mixture he had the A/C running and did not change that no matter what we did from shooting T/Os and LDGs to stalls to straight and level. Granted that was on the IO-540 of the RV-10 but one would think that if it caused a significant drop in performance, you would want to turn it off during times when power is vital such as T/Os, stalls, and LDGs even on the big engine of the 10.
 
Airflow AC

I did some transition training with Alex in his 7. Like Tom said, we had it on from engine start to shut down doing primarily t & g's and stall practice. The system works as well or better than anything I've experienced including a good bit of time in an SR22. If you can afford the cost in dollars and pounds it's a great system that makes a pleasure out of tooling around in an RV when everyone else is just trying to stay in the shade - IMHO.
 
I just spoke with airflow systems, I plan on installing this in my RV-7 so I'll be detailed about how we go about doing that
 
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