Lightning Fan

My Feedback: (17)

Just re-started working on a very old Spitfire kit that I have (a Sterling kit, complete with references to Controlaire RC gear and set up for U/C as well). At any rate, folks that know the Spit also know there is not any forward cooling duct that could be faked up to provide even engine head cooling (except for some of the Tropic Spits set up with a rather large air filter upfront). Has anyone come up with a method other than hacking a hole in the bottom of the cowl to provide cooling air?

Doug D.

Finished a TF Spitfire this year. Your pretty much limited to cutting a hole in the cowl in front of the engine carb and cylinder. It doesn't have to be any wider than the cylinder, in fact a little narrower will be okay. It directs most of the cooling air striaght to the fins. But your exit hole (if the engine fits completely inside the cowl) will need to be twice as large as the inlet. It can be behind and at the very bottom of the cowl. Can E-mail you some photo's if you want to see.[&:]

tiggerinmk

Posting the pictures here would be better, if that's ok.....

I was looking into a GSP Spit, RCV has a picture on their site of it with their SP120 in it. The engine fits in with no protrusions due to its profile but there are two big holes hacked into the cowl. This to me, looks worse than a cylinder head sticking out....

If I still go ahead on getting this plane, I'm now thinking of the Enya 1.55. With the pushrods behind the cylinder, this engine has a sleeker profile and may look better poking out the bottom of the cowl....

Doug D.

If these load up correctly here's the images of the front of my TF Spit. I've enlarged them a little bit since the first flight for a little more flow of air. [&:]

Doug D.

Guess I need to do one at a time.

Doug D.

Here's the last. May be this wil help, maybe not !

tiggerinmk

Thanks for the pictures, is that a Laser in there?

It's a shame it needs to be cut up so much, guess there's no way around it....

Doug D.

Yes that's A Laser 1.00. Runs rather well and plenty of power ! [&:]

Wayne22

My Feedback: (2)

I pondered this quite awhile, and could not justify (to myself) cutting 2 large holes in the cowl for cooling air. I side mounted the engine leaving the cylinder head sticking out in the breeze. To me, at least, this left the view from the left side pretty much as Supermarine had intended it....

This pic was taken without the spinner attached....

Tony_M

I'm about to start building a BT 83", and have pondered long and hard on this question.

The solution I intent to use is having 2 lower cowls, one for flight with all the ugly holes, and the other for static, along with a nice big prop. hardly ideal, but a working solution for this plane. The next Spit I intend to build will be 1/4 scale and will require a better solution for flying. Wouldn't it b great if someone could come up with a liquid cooled engine. I know its harder than it sounds, but I have heard that someone has done this, not sure on what scale. Commercially, there must be a market for such an engine, thinking of all those narrow, fully cowled single seat fighters with no obvious forward air vents, namely Spits and Mustangs. Both these planes have provisions for venting radiators nicely. A simple pump and heat sensitive bypass valve would keep the engine at optimum temps.

C'mon guys, I've seen the work some of you produce and can't imagine its beyond the realm of possibility.

Richard's 1/3 scale Spit seem to coolit's 2 cylinder flat twin quite nicely via a duct running from one radiator inlet up to the engine, and exiting the other rad, with a small hole cut in the lower cowl in the shape of the squadron ID letter. Obviously the bigger scale allows such complex ducting to work well enough, but the problem of cooling RCV type engines on smaller 1/6 scale aircraft is there to be solved.

Doug D.

Tony ! If yor interested in large Spitfires, Look at Clark Industries. Quarter scale, and he sells it with th engine and retracts as part of the kit. Does a very nice job of hiding the engine in the cowl. There at www.clarkindustries.on.ca/ Very impressive airplane, if I had the room I'd have there Hurricane. Wouldn't moma just flip???
Also if that's a bit to large Mick Reeeves has a nice 1/6 scale Spitfire as well. www.mickreevesmodels.co.uk/ I hope that's right ! [&:]

Tony_M

Thanks Doug, I've been drooling over the Clark Spit for too long. I like the sound of a twin and the fact that it can spin a big prop. That's about as good as it gets in my view, but price and honour dictates my 1/4 scale must be scratch, properly scratch. The BT Spit is just to get a feel of things- structure wise. If I am to duct the cooling via the scale rads, I'll have to do some major fiddling with the internals.

Ultimately, I'd like to develop a water-cooled 2 pot with reduction gear to swing a scale prop with either constant speed prop or variable pitch, suitable for a 1/4 scale. Then I might try something a bit easier like walking on water.

Wayne22

My Feedback: (2)

That's the kinda thinking we need to get some advances in scale!!! I wish you the best of luck in your quest....

tubig

i too have joined the ranks of how to cool an engine in a spit (in this case a TF). i have an idea to use some sort of ducting that will guide air from the engine compartment down to the carb intake and then out an enlarged hole in the back of the intake. the front of the carb intake will be open and air passing through this opening through the carb intake body and out the same exhaust "port" will create a vacuum that will pull the hot air from the engine. now to figure out how to get cooling air into the engine compartment besides at the spinner without making any more holes. maybe through the dummy exhaust stack?

Darrell B.

Mick Reeves models has what they call bendie pipe. This stuff looks like it would work for all kinds of ducting.

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

My Yellow spit uses a duct that is right behind the Cylinder. The duct is throught the fire wall and is made of light ply. It travels along the bottom of the foward fuse and exits throught the oil cooler on the bottom of the wing. It's very unobtrusive and keeps the engine (Moki) cool. Attached is a picture with the wing off. The exit hole is under the oil cooler which also has a slot cut into it. The whole thing works pretty well. You could disguise the air intake opening with screen that is painted. The same goes for the exit .

Doug D.

Looks good BobH ! [&:]

avipatable

I dont know if anyone is still interested in how to cool a Spitfire without big holes in the cowling but check out Detlef Kunkels Grey Nurse Spitfire. It has NO holes anywhere! He has a fan inside the fuselage that gets air in and out somehow! Maybe in the airintake and out the radiators? If anyone knows how it works Id be keen to know! You can see pics on rcwarbirds.com and go to the ww2 fighters bit.