Fully cowl engine?
04-10-2005 | 12:48 AM
#1
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From: bsb,
Fully cowl engine?
I am have seen the compact dimension of thr RCV engines
which can be fully enclosed inside the cowl.
My question is: can it be fully enclosed ifor a true scale
appearance in an aircraft like the Spitfire or Hurricane,
with no openings other than for the glow plug?
These two aircraft do not have any front end openings
for air-intakes, radiator opening, oil cooler.
Will the engine overheat fast? Or is there a way to channel the
air from somewhere else into the engine bay?
Chris
which can be fully enclosed inside the cowl.
My question is: can it be fully enclosed ifor a true scale
appearance in an aircraft like the Spitfire or Hurricane,
with no openings other than for the glow plug?
These two aircraft do not have any front end openings
for air-intakes, radiator opening, oil cooler.
Will the engine overheat fast? Or is there a way to channel the
air from somewhere else into the engine bay?
Chris
04-10-2005 | 01:02 AM
#2
My Feedback: (24)
RE: Fully cowl engine?
Yes, the engine will overheat fast if there is no air inlet to cool the cylinder head and no exit hole for hot air to escape. In fact, the RCV SP engines are notorious for overheating because the cooling fins on the cylinder head are perpendicular to the airflow. One must construct a special baffle to direct cool air over the cooling fins, as suggested by the owner's manual.
04-10-2005 | 01:14 AM
#3
RE: Fully cowl engine?
I am building a TopFlite Spitfire MkIX and will be using the RCV 90SP. The engine still requires a good amount of air for cooling. The recommendation from RCV is a minimum of 1 square inch air inlet, and 2 square inch air outlet. This means that I will still need to cut holes in the cowl, but I won't have a head sticking out and they shouldn't be too noticable while the plane is on the ground. The design of the TF Spit does not lend itself to a ducted air system. Perhaps other models would. As for the glow plug, the plug is uncomfortably close to the prop and I would not even try to use a standard glow igniter. Use either an onboard glow system, or at a minimum, a remote glow harness. I plan on using an onboard glow system.
The 90SP is still a very tight fit in the TF Spit cowl. In addition to cooling holes, it looks like I will need to cut a small hole on the side of the cowl because the trottle linkage rubs up against it. I will also need a hole for the needle valve.
Overall, in a Spit, I think that the RCV SP will still be more concealed than other engines. I like the ability of turning a 15" 4 blade just as much as the compactness. If it works out well in my Spit, I'll use it in my next two builds too, A TF P-51B, and a Marutaka A6M5 Zero.
You can see photos of my Spit in my gallery.
Scott
The 90SP is still a very tight fit in the TF Spit cowl. In addition to cooling holes, it looks like I will need to cut a small hole on the side of the cowl because the trottle linkage rubs up against it. I will also need a hole for the needle valve.
Overall, in a Spit, I think that the RCV SP will still be more concealed than other engines. I like the ability of turning a 15" 4 blade just as much as the compactness. If it works out well in my Spit, I'll use it in my next two builds too, A TF P-51B, and a Marutaka A6M5 Zero.
You can see photos of my Spit in my gallery.
Scott
