Subject: Simple Cockpit Cooling
From: ACRE NL
Date: 8/4/2002, 5:06 PM


 Mark wrote:
 >
 > Paul,
 >     - No offense taken if you deem this one too far off topic but:
 >
 >    - I've been wondering if there's not some way to get some cool air
into
 > the cockpit without the weight and complexity of a conventional
 > automobile-style A/C system.  It's moist where I am in the southeast, so
 > evaporative cooling is out.  I've been wondering if using ice might not
 > work.  Bring about 5 lbs of ice cubes with me to the airplane in a
cooler.
 > Dump them in a hopper in the cocpit followed by a cup or two of water.
The
 > water is cooled by the ice, flows into a heat exchanger in my cockpit
 > vent/blower system, the water keeps recirculating around and melting the
ice
 > while the air passing through cools down and blows on the
pilot/passenger.
 > I wonder if this might not bring down the temps a noticable amount during
 > those hottest minutes of taxi and climbout to altitude.
 >    - I can work the numbers on how much heat the phase change would
"drain"
,
 > but the real question is how cool the air would be coming out of the
vent.
 > If we figure the water is approx 34 deg F. and the ambient air is 100
 > degrees, is it reasonable to think there's a way to get 75 deg F. air
from
a
 > reasonable size heat exchanger?
 >
 > Mark

Last year at Oshkosh there was a vendor selling what amounted to an ice chest
with a ventilation fan that ran air up into a tube that exhausted into the
pilot/copilot's head area. Would hold up to 20 # of ice if i recall correctly.

Bill Schertz
KIS Cruiser #4045

The stock car guys use cool suits as I recall. Probably available
off the shelf.

Paul Lamar
 
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