Cowl cooling mod.

[Mike S]

I have been fighting high CHT issues for as long as the plane had been flying.

The recent thread about sealing the piano hinge wire slot got me to thinking of what else might be causing air to enter the lower cowl and upset the low pressure area that should reside there.

Here is a shot of the lower cowl where there is a long slot for the nose gear to move forward when landing.

Due to the three blade prop, I extended the slot to make it easier to remove the lower cowl.

Here is a close up of the slot while sitting on the ground, in flight the slot gets longer----and yes, I know I need to clean it

I made a block off plate of some scrap alum-----(formerly scrap, I should probably say), and glued a bit of wet suit material to it for a flexible seal.

Tomorrow I get to see if it did any good

Launching for the big O in the early hours of Friday.

 

[PCHunt]

It's hard to tell from the photos, but don't you have to leave some room for the nose strut to move forward?

 

[Mike S]

It's hard to tell from the photos, but don't you have to leave some room for the nose strut to move forward?

Yes, I did leave room, hopefully enough room--------

The photo angle is skewing things a bit.

 

[fehdxl]

Wheel pants couldn't hurt either...another 15 kts of speed would surely help cool things down. Then again, maybe that picture is way old. -Jim

 

[Mike S]

Wheel pants couldn't hurt either...another 15 kts of speed would surely help cool things down. Then again, maybe that picture is way old. -Jim

Yep, first flight photo, only used it to illustrate the hole in the cowl.

Pants are on, leg fairings too. And yes, apx 15 MPH gain.

 

[Bob Axsom]

Certainly cover the hole but fair the intersection as well

Here is my approach.

Bob Axsom

 

[Bill.Peyton]

Mike,
Did you see a reduction in temps with the Mod?