Subject: CarterCopter have another set back
From: ACRE
Date: 7/7/2004, 4:25 PM


     BTW IMHO it is also going to take some highly cosmetic sanitary installations
     THAT WORK under ALL ambient temperature situations to put the
     rotary on the map. Lots of engine glitter.  The new (late) Powersport
     engine had the cosmetics but the airplane did not cool well under
     all conditions.

Certainly looks nice. Wonder why it didn't cool well? : )

Brian Trubee

Mainly because the rad was too close to the firewall. I mentioned 
this to Ray Richardson (Power Sport owner) and we discussed it at length on 
here many times. The new (late) Power Sport suffered greatly from the not 
invented here syndrome.

Also passing the cooling air over the engine and exhaust  first thereby warming it up
and decreasing the all important heat transfer factor delta T did not help.
The difference in temperature between the cooling air and the temperature
of the rad is critical. Liquid coolant boils somewhere around 220 degrees F while cooling
air can be 100 F or higher. That leaves only a 120 degrees F delta T. Roughly
speaking one degree F in the reduction of Delta T results in
1% less cooling. In other words if it cools on a 80 degree F  day it
may not cool on a 90 degree F day as you have lost 10% of your cooling. 

The situation is way less important for an air cooled aircraft engine. 
In that case the cylinder head temp is 400 F to 450 F with about a 300 F 
delta T. So 1 degree higher ambient temperature results in only a 
0.33% drop in cooling. We need to live with liquid cooling
so it is absolutely essential that it be done right.
 
One thing they finally got right was doing away with the oil to water
heat exchanger. 

Paul Lamar
 
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