Air conditioning options

[BaldEagle]

Just curious: what are y'all using to survive the summer in your Mooney?  I known there's an STC out there for air conditioning but I'm looking for a more economical solution.  It seems some folks have had some success cobbling together a cooler with a bilge pump and heat exchanger, but that doesn't seem practical for trips (having to beg the FBO for ice) but seems like a good solution for flying around the local patch.  Any other solutions?  Anything available off-the-shelf that would do the job?

[kortopates]

Altitude!!


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[ArtVandelay]

Fly early, fly high.

[DonMuncy]

Maybe since I have been in Texas forever, I am not that upset about heat, but preflight, taxi and a few minutes to get to 3000 feet, is just not enough to justify having to deal with air conditioning or a cooler arrangement.

[Lance Link]

I have found evaporative cooling hats to really help.  The ones I have are from Mission.  I soak them in ice water while I pre-flight, then soak my hair with the water, snap the hat a few times, and clime aboard.  I am not kidding.  Amuses pax to no end.  But it is very effective an lasts quite awhile.  I am intrigued by the electric units from Arctic Air.  Looks like a potential approach for around $7K all in.  Somebody please be the early adopter for me!

[gsxrpilot]

Put it in for Annual.

But seriously... we try to spend July somewhere north of Texas. This year we went all the way to Churchill Manitoba to get cool weather in July. That might be overkill. But it was cold.

August she's down for the Annual... and I'm not in a hurry to get her back. So get all the stuff done that has been put off all year when I'd rather be flying.

It'll still be too hot in September, so we'll put the turbo to use and only spend time below 12,500 climbing or descending. 

Finally, do all the other shit that has to be done, at the office, around the house, clear out the "Honey Do" list, etc. So when the nice weather is back starting in October... I can just go fly.

[M016576]

38 minutes ago, gsxrpilot said:

Put it in for Annual.

But seriously... we try to spend July somewhere north of Texas. This year we went all the way to Churchill Manitoba to get cool weather in July. That might be overkill. But it was cold.

August she's down for the Annual... and I'm not in a hurry to get her back. So get all the stuff done that has been put off all year when I'd rather be flying.

It'll still be too hot in September, so we'll put the turbo to use and only spend time below 12,500 climbing or descending. 

Finally, do all the other shit that has to be done, at the office, around the house, clear out the "Honey Do" list, etc. So when the nice weather is back starting in October... I can just go fly.

A turbocharger is an excellent A/C unit!

[KLRDMD]

1 hour ago, Lance Link said:

I am intrigued by the electric units from Arctic Air.  Looks like a potential approach for around $7K all in.  Somebody please be the early adopter for me!

I have one in my Baron, they're great.

[KLRDMD]

36 minutes ago, M016576 said:

A turbocharger is an excellent A/C unit!

Once you're at altitude, sure. But what about the 15 minutes on the ramp and taxi way before taking off and the 15 minute climb after that until it gets cooler ? Then the reverse on the way down and landing ? That's close to an hour of every flight that altitude doesn't help.

[KLRDMD]

7 minutes ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

Suck it up, Buttercup!  

In 120º weather . . .  sure . . .

BTDT. Many times. Don't want to do it again.

[ArtVandelay]

Once you're at altitude, sure. But what about the 15 minutes on the ramp and taxi way before taking off and the 15 minute climb after that until it gets cooler ? Then the reverse on the way down and landing ? That's close to an hour of every flight that altitude doesn't help.

15 minutes on the ramp? Obviously you’re not waiting for the engine to warm up, so what’s taking so long?

[Boilermonkey]

We have a B-kool cooler, and use reusable ice packs.

[MBDiagMan]

It is definitely the time on the ramp in hot weather that is the killer.  Getting it out of the hangar is not terrible, but after having been tied down in the Texas heat at a destination for a few days, loading, preflighting and such will make you want to get in the air and climb.

My son in laws Baron is air conditioned, and we went on a short flight around Galveston Island July Fourth.  The problem was getting to the plane and getting loaded.  Sure, once engines were started, we began getting some relief, but if it had not been air conditioned, we would have gotten relief a few minutes later anyway.

[Piloto]

A cheap an d reliable alternative is to drink plenty of ice cold water before flight. It will cool your body right away. Later in flight I dispose of the water in my  body though a relief tube with no dripping mess. Works really well.

 

[Piloto]

Another cooling aid is to keep the cabin door partially open until ready for take off. The post 1980s M20J Mooneys have Wemac eyeballs vents plus the rear plenum that really helps on cooling down.

José

[exM20K]

Keep the windows covered with sun shades until you’re ready to go.  I’ll even leave the back window sun shades in for the trip then it’s really hot and sunny. Other than that, the B-Kool works as advertised.

[larryb]

I am surprised nobody has mentioned the kool scoop vent.



https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/koolscoop.php

[gsxrpilot]

10 minutes ago, larryb said:

I am surprised nobody has mentioned the kool scoop vent.
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/koolscoop.php

They don't work in Texas. All they do is heat up the cabin quicker by efficiently filling the cabin with 100+ degree air.

[larryb]

I visited Texas this year. I found it useful to displace the 130 degree air with nice cool 100 degree air.

[KLRDMD]

9 hours ago, teejayevans said:

15 minutes on the ramp? Obviously you’re not waiting for the engine to warm up, so what’s taking so long?

Home base, KAVQ. My hangar is about as far away from the typical departure end of the runway as possible, and it is a very busy uncontrolled airport. Any number of times I've had to wait for 5+ airplanes doing touch and goes before I can get out. Yes, from engine start to airborne can be 15 minutes.

KTUS, class C airport, clearance delivery, ground control, 11,000+ ft runways, airline service and an F16 ANG base, 15 minutes on the ground is not unusual.

[ArtVandelay]

Home base, KAVQ. My hangar is about as far away from the typical departure end of the runway as possible, and it is a very busy uncontrolled airport. Any number of times I've had to wait for 5+ airplanes doing touch and goes before I can get out. Yes, from engine start to airborne can be 15 minutes.

Another good reason to fly early, if you can.

[KLRDMD]

1 hour ago, teejayevans said:

Another good reason to fly early, if you can.

Absolutely. And for pleasure often you can. Most of my flying is business on somewhat of a schedule so I get hot and bumpy on all too often an occasion.

[Skates97]

 

 

On 8/11/2018 at 3:24 PM, BaldEagle said:

Just curious: what are y'all using to survive the summer in your Mooney?  I known there's an STC out there for air conditioning but I'm looking for a more economical solution.  It seems some folks have had some success cobbling together a cooler with a bilge pump and heat exchanger, but that doesn't seem practical for trips (having to beg the FBO for ice) but seems like a good solution for flying around the local patch.  Any other solutions?  Anything available off-the-shelf that would do the job?

I built one from a cooler and associated parts. I keep a couple of empty 2 liter bottles in a bag and fill them with water before heading to the airport. On the way I stop and buy a couple 10 lb bags of ice and that setup keeps cold air blowing for at least a couple of hours. If the flight is longer then at least I have a nice fan blowing on me after the ice is melted.

On 8/11/2018 at 3:29 PM, kortopates said:

Altitude!!


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The last couple of flights I made it was still 70-75 degrees at 10,500' which doesn't do much to cool you down when the sun is beating in on you. 

7 hours ago, exM20K said:

Keep the windows covered with sun shades until you’re ready to go.  I’ll even leave the back window sun shades in for the trip then it’s really hot and sunny. Other than that, the B-Kool works as advertised.

I do the same thing, having the shades in the rear windows makes a huge difference.

[EricJ]

I have a B-Kool that gets used frequently, for ground ops and takeoff/landing until sufficient altitude to not need it.   Filling it with ice makes it super cold but it won't last as long,  filling it with freezer packs and some fill ice around them makes it last a long time, but not quite as cold.   I think it's a must-have in AZ in the summer.

They're simple machines, so making your own if you're so inclined is definitely an option, and you may wind up with a better system.

[jonhop]

Personally I use the human heat exchange unit, otherwise known as sweat to stay somewhat cool. I'd probably sweat more if I had to load the airplane full of ice before the preflight even though it would feel good once settled in the cabin.