Cooling Solutions Seen at Oshkosh

[Darrel Starr]

Here are some shots from Oshkosh showing different approaches to cooling the higher horsepower engines powering SC type aircraft.

1. The "King Cub" built up on our airport KANE, with an 0-390 Lyc has 3.25 wide cheek openings and a 1 - 1.5 inch deflector strip along the bottom opening.
2. The 180 hp Husky has a deflector strip along the bottom opening but the 200hp Husky has a wide movable cowl flap that opens up a large hole in the bottom cowl. It also has two oil coolers but the Husky guys would not open up the cowl.
3. The 180 hp American Champion Scout has a large movable cowl flap on the bottom very much like the 200 hp Husky.
4 The "Backcountry" Mackey SQ2 (Backcountry is the new name for Turbine Cubs) has no side cheeks but does have a big cooler mounted on the firewall with the exit of hot air through a duct exiting on the side of the boot cowl where the hot air will be sucked out. Their more standard Super Cub (the green and white one) has cowl cheeks and a large lip on the bottom cowl opening.
5. The new Cubcrafters Super Sport Cub with the 180 hp engine has a tightly sealed plenum to force air down over the cylinders and on top of the plenum, under the top cowl, is a long narrow cooler that gets air from the plenum. Also there are two scoops in the top cowl.

Wide cheek openings on the "King Cub".

Deflector on 180 Husky, Movable cowl flap on the 200

The Champion Scout, 180, also has movable cowl flaps.

The Backcountry Mackey is VERY innovative, note cooler. Their "1957 Chev" style Super Cub has a large lip on the bottom.

The Cubcrafters Super Sport 180 has a tight plenum and top mounted cooler.

 

[Crash]

With the wider width of an O-360, you have to come out pretty sharp at the top of the side cowl before you roll it toward the bottom.

I have a rear baffle mounted oil cooler that I keep 1/3 to 1/2 blocked off, even in the summer, to get my oil temps up....

Crash

 

[Darrel Starr]

Crash, how wide are the cheek openings on your SC?
Darrel

 

[Crash]

Crash, how wide are the cheek openings on your SC?
Darrel

They're 3 1/8" at the widest part.

Crash

 

[fobjob]

Attaboy, Darrel!!!

 

[Speedo]

I've often thought that a plenum which doubles as the cowling would be the way to go, as it would eliminate redundant parts.

 

[Tim]

I wonder if one could buy a plenum like cubcrafters has for an 0-320 that would be slick. My engine is off for overhaul and I need new baffels.

Tim

 

[Darrel Starr]

Suggest you call Vera at Cubcrafters to see if they will sell the plenum. It seems they would, after all they will need to supply spares for their production planes. Prepare to pay cubic money.
Darrel

 

[N370GL]

Noel at Blue Sky Aviation in Lewistown MT will build a plenum, I have one on my supercub.


http://www.blueskyaviation.net/plenum.html

 

[55-PA18A]

Does anyone make/sell the deflector strip for the bottom of the Cub cowl, or is that something you need to make yourself?

Regarding the plenum: looks like it would make it kind of tough to take a good look at the engine during the preflight.

Jim

 

[Ursa Major]

Does anyone make/sell the deflector strip for the bottom of the Cub cowl, or is that something you need to make yourself?

Jim

Charlie Center sells one.

 

[hotrod180]

The engine plenum is an old idea... look at a 1948-1952 Cessna 170. Maybe it didn't work that well, as they went to a pressure cowl in 1953, but my old 48 model cooled just fine. More recently, the Jabiru engines are sold with a fiberglas plenum. And a friend of mine has a plenum (sold by Vans?) on his RV-7. It connects to the round nosebowl inlets via a pair of neoprene sleeves- pretty slick.

Eric

 

[fobjob]

Speaking of Charlie Center, do they have an internet presence? Anyone have any links?

 

[Gordon Misch]

http://www.crosswindsstol.com/