Congratulations Al.


Just one thing, are they coil packs I see on top of the engine?
If so please read Tracy Crooks email re operating temperature. We don't
want another in flight engine failure, it rather spoils one's day.

Ian Beadle

Very good point Ian.
You are absolutely right. Here is a minor point on this subject.
I think Al is running a 2.17:1 PSRU so his RPM's may be less
than yours, hence the pulse rate will be lower. However I can't
say if it is low enough to keep the coils alive. We still need
to set up a pulse generator and measure the heat increase
on the coil surface as a function of pulse rate.

In the mean time and before he flies it again Al should build
a box around the coils and feed in some cold air.

Paul Lamar

Ian; Paul;

Yes those are the coils. They are in the air blast from the exit of the
in-cowl radiator, which is generally less than 145F even on a 90F day.
Highest temp Iâ??ve seen is 163F at the end of climb with OAT of 90. I
have an auxiliary fan behind that rad, which I run during taxi after
flight, and for 5 minutes or so after shutdown. I am running the 2.17 :
1 redrive.

These coils now have about 25 hours on them, including dyno runs, runs
on plane with cowl off, and runs with cowl on during tuning, taxi tests,
etc. (before there was a fan) when the temps were the highest. Solid
state devices are generally rated to 150 C (300F), so temps of 150F are
not an issue; although I donâ??t know what the internal temps in the coils
are. Iâ??m aware of the concern, but not too concerned about a failure of
one of 6 coils. I donâ??t know what the in-cowl temps were on Tracyâ??s
installation. Weâ??ll see how it goes.

Al



Al, you DA MAN! Heartfelt congratulations to you and for that
beautiful plane! Best, John Bell


The Rotary Engine NewsLetter. Powered by Linux.
ACRE NL web site. http://www.rotaryeng.net
Copyright 1998-2006 All world wide rights reserved.