That looks wonderful, Al, BUT.... I have to wonder..  any loss of lift or disruption  with the use of that arrangement? Anyone else doing it that way or are you the first that you know of.. 

Only one other that I know of that has flown, and it was on a lesser scale – two aircraft coolers side by side.  Similar location, just behind the spar on a Velocity.  The cooling was very effective, and no noticeable effect on flight characteristics.  I have about twice as large (long) an opening, and on both sides (other wing has a coolant radiator of similar configuration.  Still it is a relative tiny amount of flow, and if the top fairings maintain attached flow as planned, I’m confident the effect on aerodynamics will not be an issue.  But it is an experimental concept, that’s for sure.

 Finally... temperature issues. I remember when we did post cure on the airframe on a hot july day, we coated it in black plastic in the yard. I dont recall seeing 200 degree F temps... what are you using to keep the foam near the radiators from approaching that temp and post-curing additionally?

The coolers are supported by pads of coolmat insulation, and there are air gaps everywhere else for some bypass cooling.  There will no doubt be some further post cure of the upper fairings.   The temperatures will be an issue on the ground, and I’ll be watching this very closely during preflight testing.
 
I LIKE what I'm seeing but I am concerned too (I plan someday to build my own, so I don't have to mooch off Chris all the time for airplane priveledges)
 
Dave

I to have been wondering about this. I'm actually going to be running a similar set up through a CFD program here in the next couple weeks [ time permitting] So I should get a pretty good idea as to its effects.

I’d be very interested in what you find there.

My major question is how does/would/will it cool on the ground? Esp. in  a pusher configuration.. It will be interesting to hear once Al gets it flying.

That is certainly a good question.  I was hoping that there would be sufficient natural convection to handle it for the oil cooler, but my test runs on a hot day are indicating the core thickness, tight fin/tube matrix, and angle of the oil cooler result in too little airflow, so-o-o. . we’ll see.  And this is with the cooler out in the open, not in the wing root.  On the coolant side I have an in-cowl radiator as well where I can add a cooling fan if needed.  The backup position on the oil side is the addition of a compact oil-water heat exchanger inside the cowl.  I’d say the odds favor both the fan and the heat exchanger.

My configuration would be a bit different as I'm going to try and put it right infront of the flap line.. and using it something like a SLOT in the back of the wing.. the induction will be located a bit farther ahead.. near the 30-40% chord

Jarrett Johnson

That should be better.  I’m limited by the location of the spar, and I can’t cut any holes in that.

Al