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I intend to put a belly scoop on my
rv-8. after checking out some snowmobiles I have been playing with the
idea of mimicking their radiant cooling. I was thinking about plumbing the
belly scoop by running say 6-8 parallel 3/8" tubes along the belly the 7' back
to the scoop and then another set for the return. obviously there would be
some drag from this configuration, but it enables me to make the scoop
smaller. how much is a good question. I don't know the math to
figure this out, yet. for looks I'd like to keep the belly radiator down
to 8" x 25" x 4", which seems to be minimal.(3 rotor, 300hp,
turbo'd)
since other planes
don't do this, there may be a reason against this. I would guess that wwII
planes wouldn't consider it since it makes them very vulnerable to
bullets. perhaps the drag is too great, I don't know. I remember
seeing a plane with it's wing stiffeners on the exterior, which seems crazy to
me, but obviously it can work. many planes have corrugated elevators,
which seems draggy. the air on the belly must be pretty turbulent, at
least against the skin. van certainly doesn't worry about the rudder
cables and horns being exposed.
what is the consensus
of the group about my wacky idea? can someone take a stab at how much heat
this might radiate? another thought about the exposed plumbing was that it
would be MUCH easier to work on versus running it under the floorboards and thru
the spar and gear leg towers. I also recognize that this plane will
be a platform for many future changes and ideas, so I prefer not to make
anything too permanent at first. C&R is quoting me $700 for a custom
radiator, so I'd prefer to buy just one! kevin Portland
or
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