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Flightline AC louvers

B

Bill Cannon

Member
Hi all,

I purchased the flightline ac through my panel builder so he could mount the controls to the panel. I am having everything besides the control switches dropped shipped to me since the panel builder has no use for them. The only parts I have in my possession so far are the inlet and outlet assemblies and the instruction disc. I figured I'd go ahead and cut those in and mount them. The only problem is the instructions don't tell you which side of the aircraft the inlet should go vs. the outlet. The inlet has the forward facing louvers and the outlet aft. Since I don't have the evaporator/condenser unit yet I can't look at it and figure out the ducting.

Any help appreciated,

Bill
 
On mine, the inlet is left and the outlet is right. Locate the registers with the side skins and stiffeners in place and drill the corner holes (this way yoiu won't inadvertantly locate them with shop heads under the stiffeners or too close to existing holes). Using the holes you just drilled, cleco the louvers to the outside of the bottom skin and use them as a guide for marking the initial cutout. This is also not a bad time to finish match-drilling. After making the initial cutout, enlarge the opening with a file as needed. I made my opening slightly loose as I had my louvers powder-coated; after the coating it was a perfect fit.
 
Nice System

Hi Bill,

With the Flightline AC the condensor will be below the mounting tray and the evaporator will be above. Be sure to add appropriate angled stiffeners to the tray AND to the condensor during the installation. For the LARGE condensor hoses the INLET louver will be on the starboard side of the airplane and the OUTLET will be on the port side.

Be sure to plan ahead on your cold air supply/return to the evaporator. I came up with what I think is a real nice approach that allows you to remove the rear bulkhead panels (upper and lower) WITHOUT having to undo any hoses or clamps. It also diguises the vents so no one will even know they are there.

Also, if you're using the supplied compressor be sure the mounting pad on the engine will accomodate the compressor bracket. If not you'll have to drill into the engine casing like I did....determining the casting thickness and drilling into an expensive IO-540.

Some folks mount the 5 relays in the tailcone....I chose to mount them right behind the panel mounted control box on one of the panel support ribs for wiring and maintenance ease. This saved quite a few wire runs to the tailcone.

John at Flightline AC was an absolute gem as far as customer support goes. I would recommend him in a heartbeat!!

Good Luck and Have Fun!!
 
Thanks to both of you. It seems that the inlet/outlet side could depend on some variables I just cant see without seeing the heavy parts. I will call flightline tomorrow and chat to get a better understanding before I cut anything. I have the tailcone attached already and the cabin top fitted but not secured. I want to get the ac installed before final cabin top install so I need to call flightline about the back order status anyway.
 
Yeah, I fitted my louvers with the package tray temporarily installed. But I notice one of the pictures on the website shows the blower 90 degrees from the installation I received, so it is possible the installation has changed. I got my kit early 2010. There was also no mention of stiffeners on the tray and I wonder if Rick has a different installation. Here is a link to my kitlog entry where I was testing the fit of all the equipment in the tailcone including the registers and their shrouds visible in the second photo. Rick, if this is similar to yours, I'd like to know. I agree that John has been an angel for helping out but the instructions I received are somewhat sketchy and I'd love to hear some field reports before I get into trouble.

Also, I'm intrigued by your comments about the engine. Was yours a Van's-supplied engine? If not, was it a different model? John's instructions looked like you could simply bolt and go (swapping the flywheel) but if I need to specify that the bosses be pre-drilled, that would be handy to know.
 
Glad I asked.

Also, when I get to cutting the rectangular holes what is the method you guys used? The instructions say a precision cutting device or something to that effect but I really don't think a Ginsu knife is going to work :)

Bill
 
Reply

flion said:
Yeah, I fitted my louvers with the package tray temporarily installed. But I notice one of the pictures on the website shows the blower 90 degrees from the installation I received, so it is possible the installation has changed. I got my kit early 2010. There was also no mention of stiffeners on the tray and I wonder if Rick has a different installation. Here is a link to my kitlog entry where I was testing the fit of all the equipment in the tailcone including the registers and their shrouds visible in the second photo. Rick, if this is similar to yours, I'd like to know. I agree that John has been an angel for helping out but the instructions I received are somewhat sketchy and I'd love to hear some field reports before I get into trouble.

Also, I'm intrigued by your comments about the engine. Was yours a Van's-supplied engine? If not, was it a different model? John's instructions looked like you could simply bolt and go (swapping the flywheel) but if I need to specify that the bosses be pre-drilled, that would be handy to know.
Click to expand...

Just looked at your pics. My condensor is opposite of yours, flipped 180 degrees. And my drier is on the starboard side whereas yours is on the port side. No biggie exept that your louvers would be opposite mine (unless you crossed the ducts above the elevator push/pull tube, not recommended).

On the stiffeners, I could see there could be a bit of a 'sag' in the center of the forward mounting plate so I added additional angle to make it stronger....no chance of sag on it now. I also added 3/4" angle stiffeners from the lower condensor to the aft mounting plate for strengthening purposes.

On the case, if you are using the engine driven compressor mounted on the left side below the governor be sure your case has the (2) 3/8" mounting holes predrilled and tapped. I'm not the only one that had to drill and tap the case in place. This engine is a zero OH from a reputable company....not their fault but it could have been drilled when the engine was being built. I forget the model number but calls to Divco and other case shops couldn't 'verify' the thickness of the case for drilling. I got as many 'guesses' as you could imagine.
 
Thanks for the reply, Rick. I suspected as much. I guess that means the Bill will just have to wait to get his tray assembly from Flightline before he can be sure which way the compressor is oriented.

I'm still confused about your stiffeners - any chance of pictures? You mention a 'forward mounting plate' and an 'aft mounting plate' but my tray was a one-piece welded aluminum unit. I felt the unit was a bit flexible but the compressor mounting adds significantly to the lateral stiffness and the compressor frame stiffens the unit both laterally and fore/aft. Still, I'd like to see your setup for comparison, before I get too far into the build.
 
rv6rick said:
Be sure to plan ahead on your cold air supply/return to the evaporator. I came up with what I think is a real nice approach that allows you to remove the rear bulkhead panels (upper and lower) WITHOUT having to undo any hoses or clamps. It also diguises the vents so no one will even know they are there.

Have Fun!!
Click to expand...

Could you elaborate with some pictures? I would be very interested in the approach you took!!

Thanks in advance

Weasel
 
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