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

Gordon Robertson wrote:

I dont think this idea would work too well.   In my car, I put a

block

of

soft chocolate in the outlet of the air conditioner, and in about 1

minute

it was as hard as if it had been in the freezer.   I think the

outlet

temperature of a car air conditioner is much colder than 32 deg F.

Gordon Robertson

I hate to say this, but someone already makes a commercial version
called the "icebox or coolbox" for aircraft that does just that. It is
advertised here in aviation publications extensively. A block of ice, a
12V fan, and some tubes to blow on your neck. Gives a half hour of cool.
[Marc Wiese]

 
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