Arctic Air

[AustinChurch]

I'm considering purchasing the "real a/c" from Arctic Air for the Mooney (12V 200CFM model).  Does anyone have experience with these units?  I fly a lot for business and I'm tired of smelling/looking like I ran to my appointment...Plus the Mrs. complains of the heat whenever we fly and you know what they say, "if momma ain't happy, nobody's happy"!!!

[jetdriven]

My hangar neighbor has one. He freezes ice in pie pans so to have block ice.  he stacks them 4 or 5 deep in the arctic air, plugs her in during the preflight, nice and cool ready to start up.  He turns it off at 3000', and then back on during descent 4 hours later. Still cold air.  Cabnin stays about 60 degrees. He has an F33 Bonanza though, but I think it wil work.

[Dale]

I purchased a 38 quart Arctic Air for my Mooney in early August of 2011.  I live in south Florida and the heat was getting very intense in the early afternoons, especially for passengers.  I was also flying to meetings in a suit and the hot days in a long sleeve shirt with a tie were getting really difficult.  The Arctic Air was perfect for cooling the cabin down to about 75 degrees on a 95 degree day.  I originally started using it with crushed ice, and it worked fine, but I found that large blocks of ice simply lasts a lot longer.   I now freeze large blocks of ice in some tupperware containers and the block ice will last hours longer than the crushed ice before melting. 

I purchased the 12 volt model and hooked it up to a portable 12 volt battery pack which supplies more than enough power for a few hours of operation.  I turned on the Arctic Air prior to my preflight and shut the cabin door.  By the time I am ready to go the cabin is very cool and in the 75 degree range on a horribly hot 95 degree afternoon.  I am now able to do my complete runup with the cabin door shut in a very refreshing cabin temperature.  My passengers were very, very pleased with the interior cabin temperature on really hot days and I was not sweating in my long sleeve shirt and tie. 

I have used the Arctic Air on my flights down to Marathon, Florida, where it is really, really hot.  The Arctic Air is a really welcome relief compared to prior trips I have made to Marathon without it.  I put the cover on the plane when I arrived and the plane sits on the hot tarmac for most of the afternoon.  With the use of block ice I still have sufficient ice when I go out to start the preflight of the plane and turn on the arctic air system.  If you are not using block ice you can get some crushed ice from the the FBO at Marathon which has an ice maker.   By the time I finished my preflight the cabin interior was very comfortable.  It is not quite as cold as turning on the Arctic Air while the plane is in the hangar, but it nevertheless reduces the interior cabin temperature to a comfortable temperature even with the outside temperature at Marathon hitting over a 100 degrees.  It is easy to remove the water from the unit with the pump out line and refill the unit with additional ice. The arctic air (and the use of block ice) has really solved the problem for me of staying cool when I am on business trips where I am in a long sleeve shirt and tie and really don't want to sweat in the cabin during runup on a hot day and want to look refreshed when I get to my destination for my meetings.

If you are thinking about getting one of these units for your Mooney, the Arctic Air works really well and it operates as advertised.  I understand some flight schools are now offering to have the arctic air in the plane during instruction to make the cabin more comfortable for the students and their instructors during flight instruction.  It will certainly help solve the problem of a hot cabin by reducing the temperature in the airplane cabin to a comfortable level during runup, takeoff and low level flying.  Removing the water from the unit is a breeze, as it pumps out in seconds.  The unit is simple to operate and cost effective for the mission of cooling the interior of the airplane cabin and can easily be removed from the airplane when the weather is cooler outside. 

[carusoam]

Austin,

 

As far as the real AC goes, it looks very interesting.

 

There are three requirements.

 

(1) a big generator, I think the system is 12 volts only.

(2) heat ducted away from the unit into the tail cone.

(3) moisture drain, either out the vent in the floor (do you have one?), or collected in a container to be emptied.

 

I think the big hassle is having enough electricity to run the compressor.  The other details are just a few small holes here and there.

 

Ice is starting to look like a good option....

 

Best regards,

 

-a-

[AustinChurch]

I have been trying to decide whether to go ice or the "real a/c".  The ice is definitely more cost effective ($4100 dollars cheeper) and I like the idea of firing it up during the pre-flight.  I just wasn't sure it would work well enough here in the deep south, but based Dale's PIREP, it sounds like it works very well.   Thanks everyone for the PIREPS!!! 

[robert14]

I am based at Chino Airport in Ca. It was 107 deg the other day when I fired up my arctic cooler while taxing. It is great. I stop at the 7/11 on the way to the airport and buy 2, 20lb bags and 1, 5 lb bag of ice for $13.00. I have the vent blowing cold air on the back of my neck during taxi and climb. it works best if you close all the vents. You should have a CO detector in the cockpit while using the cooler. I turn it off and open the vents during cruise. The ice will last for about 3 hours of operation. If not being used, the ice will last about 4 days in the cooler. To remove the water just unfold the return line (1/2 inch, 5 ft clear plastic tube) and siphon over the side. Takes about 15 min to drain.

[David Mazer]

I have the ice version and a hangar neighbor has the real deal A/C.  He is  happy with his after multiple installation issues were overcome but won't use it on take off.  I like my unit also but ice can be a hassle.  The bags of ice just don't last very long and I have gone through many plastic buckets to make blocks.  I finally had one made out of sturdy aluminum and it needed to be reenforced because the welds cracked.  I also upgraded the bilge from 500 gph to 800 gph and increased the tubing size to its maximum.  It works better but for a shorter period of time this way.  Other than that, it works great for me in FL.

[tyrefoote]

I also built my own for <$100.  Two bags of ice I get 1 hr use.  Mil Jug block ice 1:20 use.   Biggest disdvantage is the weight of the cooler.