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Hot cockpit in Zodiac CH601XL
I fly a Zodiac CH601XL. Recently, I flew it from KFFZ (Mesa, AZ) to KBRG (Belen, NM). In spite of the fact that I typically flew at 10,500 or 11,500 MSL the air temperature in the cockpit was about 100 degrees. That was true even when the OAT was about 40 degrees.
The plane has two eyeball vents. However, they do almost no good in bringing cool air into the cockpit.
Does anyone have recommendations for reducing the air temperature in the cockpit? Thanks!
UPDATE
In response to my previous posting (see above) I received several very helpful suggestions, including:
1. Drill a 3" hole in the aft bulkhead of the baggage compartment to promote adequate airflow through the cockpit.
2. Install larger eyeball vents.
3. Install Vans vents on the sides of the cockpit.
4. Install a Koger ventshade.
I will try these and provide a report at a later date on how they worked!
Thanks to everyone who offered useful recommendations.
Gene
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by David Krakowsky on
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Hi Eugene
Wow! That’s hot!
I’m in Florida and I manage the cockpit temps by utilizing a koger
Sun shade, honestly I don’t see how you can fly in a bubble canopy without one, I also have two air vents in my canopy in addition to the two naca vents in the fuselage.
When I get up to 4000 feet it’s nice and cool.
Dave
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Permalink Reply by Patrick Hoyt on
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I live southwest of Fort Worth, Texas. I closed off the NACA inlets and installed the vents that VANS sells. Also put in some sun shades from Walmart which have been on for a couple years now, and are $1000 cheaper than the shades that Koger was selling (650 canopy).
Much improved. No performance degredation with the vents.
Patrick Hoyt
N63PZ
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The vent on the Pilot's side of my plane is about 3 inches ahead of the leading edge of the wing, just aft of where the existing NACA vent was.
The vent on the Passenger's side is about 21 inches aft of the leading edge of the wing. This location was chosen simply so I could reach it in flight if no passenger is seated there.
The vents don't lead anywhere. They simply open to the interior of the cockpit. I don't have any tubes or eyeball devices or anything like that.
If I were to do it again, I think I'd cover the pre-existing NACA vent cut-out with a piece of .025 aluminum, and place the vents (on both sides) approximately even with the front of the leading edge of the wing, and roughly even with the top of the thickest part of the wing at the root.
The reason I'd try it in that location is due to flow separation that happens further aft, as shown in this video of some tuft testing of my vents. It's counter-intuitive, but it is possible to reduce drag by introducing turbulence ahead of areas where flow separation is ocurring. That video shows "closed" and "open" footage of my vents in flight, and looking at the area at the wing root (just above the flap) it's clear that flow separation is reduced when the vent is open.
Patrick Hoyt
N63PZ
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Yes, those are the ones that I used.
- Pat
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I can’t get a shot of the vents in the canopy, but they are the standard plastic vents that aircraft spruce sells, they are pop in that rotate for air flow.
next time at the airport I’ll take a pic for you.
but they are on the forward sides of the canopy.
as far as a Walmart sun shield, the Kroger shield covers almost the entire canopy, is adjustable to any length in a second.
the Walmart shield wouldn’t cut it here in Florida.
$1000 less, must be a typo as the Kroger is less than $200 and is the best improvement I have ever made to my airplane.
Dave
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No typo. I personally walked the guy from Koger over to see my airplane at Oshkosh 2013 when I was shopping for a sunshade (he originally wanted to sell me a one-piece sunshade for a 601, and he'd never seen the two-piece split canopy of the 650).
He measured the canopy sections on my airplane, and then gave me a quote of well over $1,000. He said it was double the price of a custom sunshade because it was really two separate custom pieces.
If he's now selling them for anywhere near $200, then either something has changed (maybe he can make them cheaper now), or maybe he's selling a one-piece one-size-fits-all sunshade that they mass produce, instead of something for the two-piece canopy.
If it works, it works. And if it works for $200, then that's even better. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the Walmart shades are only $190 cheaper, but I imagine the Koger ones do look a lot nicer.
I was stationed in Florida. Don't recall it being any hotter there than it is here in Texas, but I was a lot younger then. It's right at 100 degrees here right now, as I type this... ;-)
- Pat
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Permalink Reply by Warren L. Taylor on
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Eugene, do you have any sort of vent behind the cockpit to pull out the hot air?
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Permalink Reply by Jerry Griego on
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Hi Eugene. Thanks for this post about the 601 being hot, despite the outside air temperature being 40 degrees. I live in Socorro NM. 41 miles south of Belen. I fly a 701. But I am building a 650B. I wondered about temperatures in the glass canopy. I saw a picture with snap vents in the canopy. For a total of 4 vents.Does a person need to provide an escape route for all the incoming air. I assume you have a sun shade. I also thought about a tinted canopy.
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Permalink Reply by Mack P. Kreizenbeck on
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Jerry,
Take a look around your fuse and I think you'll find plenty outlets for the escape air.This subject was addressed before after I went out and purchased grills for escape vents and of course, they could not be returned.
Mack
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Permalink Reply by Carl Orton on
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Patrick gave an excellent report on the Vans vents. Just wanted to say that I’m in DFW and had them in my Sonex. You will not believe how much air comes thru those vents!!! It’s almost inconvenient to have anything like paper or pieces of fabric with you because it’ll just be blown around. Again, no ducting involved. Just the little flap that was by my knee. Easy open/close. I often flew with only one side open, even here in Texas.
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Permalink Reply by Gary Motley on
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Hello Eugene,
Another thing to consider is hot air from the cowling being sucked into the cockpit. While flying there is actually a negative pressure created within the cockpit if not well vented from the outside with positive pressure. Be sure to review the firewall sealing for potential entry points of hot air. Just an alternate possibility to consider. Many times problems can be caused by an assortment of issues with cumulative effect.
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Permalink Reply by Gary Welch on
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If its 100 degrees in the cockpit with the outside air temp at 40 degrees, you may need to look at the airflow thru your cowling. You must have a very high temp in your engine compartment to generate that kind of cockpit temperature.
You have 40 degree air going into your engine compartment and 40 degree air coming on thru your vents - and its still 100 degrees in the cockpit. That just doesnt seem right.
I fly my 601 xl in 100 deg. takeoff temps but by the time i get up to 5500 feet or so, it's cool in the cockpit. My engine is an O-235 and I have the larger Vans SV eyeball vents connected to the standard NACA inlets.
I do have the Rosen sunshade.
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