Has anybody used an electric cooling fan on an aircraft(for
extended taxi operations) and how does an electric fan compare to the
viscous fan on my 13B Turbo engine?

Regards,

Pierre

The large diameter high HP version certainly work at low taxi speeds.
The current drain should be at least 30 amps or about 360 watts which is
about 1/2 HP.
The big advantage is you can switch it off when you don't need it. The
downside is
it blocks some of the air flow through the core.

The engine driven mechanical viscous fan on the other hand can be as much as
3 or 4 HP
or more at  high engine RPM. Not practical for an aircraft due to ducting
limitations.

Paul Lamar ...No rotor no motor.

Here is my experience with an auxiliary cooling fan.  For my pusher canard
Velocity, I got pretty good draw through the in-cowl radiator from the
negative pressure from the prop - but not enough.  I added a 10" high
performance Spal fan
(http://www.jaycorptech.com/showproduct.aspx?productid=11&categoryid=2)
which mounted very nicely on 16 x 11 radiator.  It pretty much gives me
unlimited time waiting for takeoff; and is a good way of reducing in-cowl
temps by letting it run for awhile after shutdown.

I did not notice any decrease in cooling during flight after installing the
fan, nor do I notice any difference whether it is left on, or not, during
flight.

It's rated at 1070 cfm, and I find it draws about 11 A.  If I find the
coolant temps above about 180F before I get cleared on the runway, I turn it
on.  It is on my checklist to turn it off prior to takeoff.

Al

How is the oil cooling saga coming Al?

Paul Lamar

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