Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/134623
Ed Anderson went against the status quo when installing his 13B Mazda Wankel rotary engine in an RV-6A with the "spark plugs up." PSRU is by Real World Solutions. is a benefit. Lastly, mounting points, bends, and transitions (and attachments) to flexible lines can become points of failure—at a minimum, maintenance issues. Oil Cooling Another radiator? While not all alternative engines have remote oil coolers, a lot of builders add them anyhow. Like the radiator, it's all about location, location, location. To work efficiently the oil cooler needs a supply of cool air and a way to move that air through it freely. They do, however, add another layer of complexity and add additional points of failure. But in many cases, an oil cooler makes all the difference with helping get and keep engine operating temperatures under control. In some cases, water-to-oil heat exchangers have been used to help control the oil temperatures in applications where ducting cooling air to an oil cooler wasn't practical. cooling system. There are nearly as many theories and ideas about the proper way to manage exhaust (without causing restrictions) as there are engines, but most will agree that straight exhaust, following the shortest path to the slipstream, is the most efficient and cost effective. But talk with the engine supplier as there may be some easily overlooked subtleties. The Viking 110, for example, has a single opening in the bottom of the engine onto which the exhaust system attaches. The exhaust runners are cast into the head itself. Is it in the way of your nose gear strut or bracing? Exhausting Stuff The rotary engine has some of the hottest and loudest exhaust of almost any engine and has been known to destroy a muffler in a matter of hours. Turbocharged engines can be the easiest to provide an exhaust system for and usually don't need a muffler; but the heat of the turbo itself has to be managed, and getting cool air to blow over the intercooler can be an issue, if one's installed. Now it's time to remove the spent air/fuel mixture. The exhaust system can be nearly as difficult to create as the And then there are exhaust augmenters—equal-length runs. Should it be wrapped or ceramic coated? Mandrel Photography by Pat Panzera EAA Experimenter 31