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Cold weather flying

By kit do you mean limiting inlet cooling air? I’ve thought about this but haven’t come up with a good solution yet. It would be trial and error in cold weather testing to get CHTs in a more ideal range.
 
As a fairly new (April) non-builder owner, who watched the build and have flown the plane in Phoenix since 2010, I am extremely interested in this thread. Aircraft is currently hangared in KY so the Nov-Mar flying factors are significantly different than what I’m familiar with 😁 Following closely!
 
There are a number of things you can do to the cabin to seal out winter temps , ensure control tubes are sealed off were they enter the cabin, seal off the slider skirt ( if you have one ) closed cell Insulation make your interior quite & Warmer , one place I missed on my first build was the spar web gap Pictured here! IMG_2155.jpeg
 
My RV-9A was built in Atlanta and spent its first 10 years in the southern US. The only thing I have done to enhance its flyability in winter in Minnesota is add a weather seal to the rear of the canopy and a cockpit-controllable oil cooler shutter. It already had aileron boots and a heater muff on the Vetterman exhaust. I would disclaim that I don’t fly it when the ambient ground temps are below 0 degrees F.
 
When I’m flying in 0-10F ambient out here I can’t get the cylinders any higher than about 300F. Oil also doesn’t get to where it needs to be. I do have an oil door that’s full closed when flying in this cold of weather.

Certified planes make a plug that snaps or bolts onto the cowl inlets to bring up the temp. I know of Diamond aircraft that do this.

For the humans, yes I also have the control tube sleeves to stop the air from entering the cabin.
 
elev666 said:
There are a number of things you can do to the cabin to seal out winter temps , ensure control tubes are sealed off were they enter the cabin, seal off the slider skirt ( if you have one ) closed cell Insulation make your interior quite & Warmer , one place I missed on my first build was the spar web gap Pictured here!
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How did you seal that area?
 
wirejock said:
How did you seal that area?
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That looks like window AC foam. The only thing I don’t like about it is it retains moisture. I know this because I use it on my canopy and front baggage door. I’ll live with it in those spots but I’d think again to put it at the spar. Good thinking though on how to stop the air in that spot.
 
Majorpayne317641 said:
That looks like window AC foam. The only thing I don’t like about it is it retains moisture. I know this because I use it on my canopy and front baggage door. I’ll live with it in those spots but I’d think again to put it at the spar. Good thinking though on how to stop the air in that spot.
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Sounds like a chunk of closed cell foam would work.
 
I use a piece of foam 1/2" pipe wrap insulation cut to fit. Tucks in nicely and doesn't retain moisture.
 
Juliet Delta said:
Has anyone put a winterization kit on there RV7A. Also are you instrument guys running static wicks
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I fly in Minnesota and Wisconsin down to zero Fahrenheit. I put a couple strips of blue painters masking tape on each of the cowl cheeks to make them a little smaller. That works very well to bring the CHT up to the mid 300 range. The tape amazingly stays put even at 160 knots. I completely cover the il cooler. I have two heat muffs with the inlet air for the cabin heat going into the first heat muff and then routes the hot air from that muff directly to the second heat muff. That way the air coming out of the second heat muff is very toasty.

Many years ago I talked to the guy that invented static wicks for aircraft. As I recall he said the only time you need them is if you are going close to supersonic.
 
Osprey2gp4 said:
I fly in Minnesota and Wisconsin down to zero Fahrenheit. I put a couple strips of blue painters masking tape on each of the cowl cheeks to make them a little smaller. That works very well to bring the CHT up to the mid 300 range. The tape amazingly stays put even at 160 knots. I completely cover the il cooler. I have two heat muffs with the inlet air for the cabin heat going into the first heat muff and then routes the hot air from that muff directly to the second heat muff. That way the air coming out of the second heat muff is very toasty.

Many years ago I talked to the guy that invented static wicks for aircraft. As I recall he said the only time you need them is if you are going close to supersonic.
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Do you have a picture example of your painters tape set up? I thought about this but I was worried about it getting ingested. Does it hold up to rain?
 
Id be cautious about the foam against the spar. I had to build new aileron pushrods due to corrosion from foam (Boots) on them. I put a 2" piece of aluminum tape across the entire top spar gap under the seat pans. Removes easily during inspection, and blocks the same air flow.
 
Desert Rat said:
Which is why Cessna puts them on a 172?
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I know that they bleed off the build up of electrical charges. When I was going through A&P school I asked the question why do some have it and others don’t? The answer was 200 kts.

I guess there is a more involved answer about how much electrical charge builds up at what speed, to require the static wicks.

While working at a regional airline with 168 or so CRJ200’s I listened in to a group of engineers discussing lightning strikes. It was ery obvious that they did not have any good tools to explain why some aircraft were repeatedly struck by lightning and others were not.

Going back to the first answer. You will not find many static wicks on aircraft that don’t visit 200 kts.
 
rockyfatcat said:
I know that they bleed off the build up of electrical charges. When I was going through A&P school I asked the question why do some have it and others don’t? The answer was 200 kts.

I guess there is a more involved answer about how much electrical charge builds up at what speed, to require the static wicks.

While working at a regional airline with 168 or so CRJ200’s I listened in to a group of engineers discussing lightning strikes. It was ery obvious that they did not have any good tools to explain why some aircraft were repeatedly struck by lightning and others were not.

Going back to the first answer. You will not find many static wicks on aircraft that don’t visit 200 kts.
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You also don’t see any static wicks on fighter jets and I think they go over 200 kts!
 
rockyfatcat said:
I know that they bleed off the build up of electrical charges. When I was going through A&P school I asked the question why do some have it and others don’t? The answer was 200 kts.

I guess there is a more involved answer about how much electrical charge builds up at what speed, to require the static wicks.

While working at a regional airline with 168 or so CRJ200’s I listened in to a group of engineers discussing lightning strikes. It was ery obvious that they did not have any good tools to explain why some aircraft were repeatedly struck by lightning and others were not.

Going back to the first answer. You will not find many static wicks on aircraft that don’t visit 200 kts.
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Yeah, I got some version of the same answer, but It's definitely not a one size fits all answer. My bringing up the 172 was somewhat tongue in cheek. Back in the day when we first got Loran, I learned pretty quickly that flying in certain types of precip would wreak havoc with reception. same with ADF. That hasn't been an issue for years now in slow piston singles, but the static wicks are still there, probably just because we've always done it that way.

As far as lightning, where and what it strikes is a complete mystery sometimes. Back on my family farm, there's a field in front of the house. When I was a kid it had a couple of dozen trees scattered around. There aren't nearly as many now because over the last 50 years there have been around a dozen lightning strikes in that field that I can recall as opposed to 2-3 over the rest of the property. That seems odd to me because it's at the lowest elevation of the whole farm. My dad theorized that there is perhaps some kind of mineral deposit in the soil that's absent elsewhere. I don't know that I buy that, but it's undeniable that particular field has always been more prone to lightning strikes than the rest of the property or any of the neighbors.

When I was a kid he also told me that oak trees are more likely to be struck than any other species by a large margin and now that we have the internet, Dr. google backs him up. I wonder how many research dollars were spent to "discover" that when they could have just asked a few old farmers?
 
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Majorpayne317641 said:
I tested this while I have inlet inserts on order from Steve at RVplasticparts.com. It actually works and raised temps about 30 to 40 degrees across all cylinders.
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Maybe your next test could be moving the tape strip & compare covering the inboard 1/3, than the outboard 1/3. See what different effect each have.
 
wirejock said:
How did you seal that area?
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I used closed cell neoprene foam because its known to not retain moisture , but after seeing other corrosion issues with pushrod tubes in this area , I’ll be checking the condition there @every annual
 
Majorpayne317641 said:
Anyone with a RV-8 in series dual heat muff set up? Or some other options for more heat? My heat is anemic in the cabin once you get in the teens in cruise. I’m considering going with this: https://customweldingproducts.com/products/
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That’s exactly what I have in my RV-8 and it puts out good heat. I do not have a dual heat setup, just one heat muff that gets input air from the right intake into the muff then scat tube back to the heater control box on the lower firewall. I contacted Acft Spruce and they put me in touch with the guy that builds these. I needed a custom orientation of the scat tube connectors so Dave Edwards made one with reclocked connections to simplify my installation. My heat is much better now, give Dave a call, 702-306-3590.

FYI- I made a mockup with cardboard and duct tape and sent it to Dave, the real one he sent back fit perfectly.
 
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olyolson said:
That’s exactly what I have in my RV-8 and it puts out good heat. I do not have a dual heat setup, just one heat muff that gets input air from the right intake into the muff then scat tube back to the heater control box on the lower firewall. I contacted Acft Spruce and they put me in touch with the guy that builds these. I needed a custom orientation of the scat tube connectors so Dave Edwards made one with reclocked connections to simplify my installation. My heat is much better now, give Dave a call, 702-306-3590.

FYI- I made a mockup with cardboard and duct tape and sent it to Dave, the real one he sent back fit perfectly.
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I did contact him and got mine on order. Thanks!
 
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