Rotax - Cold Weather Ops

[ChrisConnor]

I have no carb heat on the 912ULS in my P92, and din't have it on the 912ULS in my previous P92. Of course, I have it on my certified aircraft, and use it every time I land. As far as shutting it off once the field is made, I've never seen that in print. I was taught it stays on until you land. If you need to go around, sequence would be throttle to full, carb heat off, etc. (per Cessna CPC Manual of Flight).

[montanapilot]

I think that somebody posted a device - louvered, as I remember - that is used, instead of tape, to control the amount of cooling air coming into both radiators (or maybe it was just one). If that's the case, could you post it again? Also, does anybody have any way that they're using to control oil and coolant temps in the winter aside from taping?

[slingpilot]

In July, I installed a REIFF Heat system, designed for the Rotax 912 ULS on my Sling. I just purchased a Switchbox (switchboxcontrol.com) for the hanger. You download the free App and can turn on or off any of two outlets. For now I have outlet one hooked up to heat. I’ll probably hook outlet 2 to my battery minder, once the temps, hit the freeze level.

[montanapilot]

I have a Tanis, also with a remote on/off. What I'm looking for, however, is not an engine heater, but somebody had some kind of a louvered cover for one of the radiators that had a control in the cockpit so that you could adjust it in flight. I'm trying to find something better than tape, the problem for us in this part of the world is that the temps in the winter can change by 30 degrees from day to day, so sometimes you have too much tape, and sometimes not enough. If would be great if there were some way to regulate the air coming into both the oil and the coolant radiators in flight.

[Flocker]

Oct 28, 2019 1:35:14 GMT montanapilot said:

I have a Tanis, also with a remote on/off. What I'm looking for, however, is not an engine heater, but somebody had some kind of a louvered cover for one of the radiators that had a control in the cockpit so that you could adjust it in flight. I'm trying to find something better than tape, the problem for us in this part of the world is that the temps in the winter can change by 30 degrees from day to day, so sometimes you have too much tape, and sometimes not enough. If would be great if there were some way to regulate the air coming into both the oil and the coolant radiators in flight.

Here you go:  Radiator Shutter Post

[Ed Midgley]

[montanapilot]

That looks great. Can you adjust it from the cockpit or do you simply set it up prior to flight?

I spoke with Josh at Tecnam US today. He said that Tecnam has a "winterization kit". It's a plastic plate that covers the oil radiator. The plate has a small hole in it. I asked him that since there is just that one hole (and, therefore, no ability to adjust the amount of air that enters), if it works at all temperatures, telling him that ours can vary 30 degrees in just a day. He said that he hasn't heard of any complaints and that it should work at all temperatures. I don't quite understand how that can be, but what do I know? Does anybody have that "winterization kit"?

[Ed Midgley]

I have a vernier cable to the cockpit to adjust the flap. 
I bought one of Tecnams baffles. The problem is just what you said and it takes four screws to remove it. You can have it if you want but, I don’t recommend it.
The aluminum piece in the radiator hose has a Chevy V8 thermostat in it. I have good heat down to zero.
I had to convert to Experimental to install these legally.
Ed

[ChrisConnor]

Oct 28, 2019 22:39:17 GMT Ed Midgley said:

Where did you get the baffle pictured?

[montanapilot]

Thanks for that, Ed. You saved me a few bucks. It just didn't make any sense that the one hole would work at all temps. What you did is perfect. Perish this thought, given what I went through to get the LOA for the fuel flow transducers, but did you ever talk to Tecnam US about trying to get an LOA for that installation?

[Ed Midgley]

I made the flap myself. Since my plane was already converted to experimental I didn’t ask about an LOA.
When I first had my plane in 2015 I asked Tecnam to sell me a coolant thermostat and they refused.
I’m going to Italy in January and have made arrangements for a tour of the Tecnam facility.
I intend to bring up the subject of the thermostat. Their in southern Italy and the US importer is in South Florida and apparently don’t think people fly in cold weather. I flew at -8f last winter and kept my coolant at 180f and the oil at 216f.
I don’t know what their thinking!
Ed

[ash31mi]

My Astore came with the winterization baffle described by montanapilot. Looks good, 4 screws to install, approx 3 inch diameter hole in the baffle. The only problem is it can provide too much or too little coverage for the winter temperatures in Arizona where the air temperature range can still be quite large. This winter I’ll probably stick to using tape adjusted to the day’s flying.

[montanapilot]

Do you have any idea at what temperature that opening works okay? If that size of a hole works when it's relatively warmer, then one would just put some tape on it when it's colder. It would be a lot easier to cover some of the opening in that baffle with tape than it is to tape the radiator. If it's too small to provide enough cooling at warmer temps, then my idea won't work. "Warmer" here in Montana means 45 degrees.

[ash31mi]

Montanapilot, my best estimate for using the baffle is when temperature on the ground (2,500 MSL for me) is at or below 45F, then climb to 7,500 and descent seems to keep the engine temp mostly within bounds. Anything warmer than that the engine temp is exceeding the upper green limit when climbing more than a couple thousand feet. Anything cooler, and it’s hard to keep the temperature up when descending out of the mountains without a lot of coverage over the radiator.

I’d be very interested in having a cockpit-adjustable opening.

[montanapilot]

Ed M. - could you give me a call or e-mail me your contact number? My e-mail is [e-mail], and phone is 406-261-7950.

Thanks,
Marshall Friedman (Montanapilot)