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Anyone with Sam James cowl on a 9 at Oshkosh?

dwranda

Well Known Member
I'm looking to see one and talk to anybody who has a Sam James cowl on their 9. I'm getting close to the end of the fuse kit and need to order the finishing kit. Need to decide on the cowl. I would love to talk to someone on the pros and cons.
Thanks,
Dave
 
Hi Dave, I will be there and I have the James cowl on my 9A. I am usually in the back side of HBC and plan to arrive on Friday evening. Tail number is N1605A.

Darin
 
On the 7a I did the long SJ with a 3" spacer and CS hart. Held on with a full Skybolt kit, no interference with alt or exhaust. Close clearance with the wide angle 200 up front inside with a custom plenum.
 
Darin's plane would be a good one to look at, I probably won't make it this year (my plane is in paint right now). I used the long James cowl, 3" prop spacer with Whirlwind prop, Skybolt fasteners, fit great.
 
I agree with Greg. Darins plane is a great one to look at. He was nice enough to make a 2+ hour flight to my airport to let me look and take pictures.

Have fun at AV and say hello to Darin from me. When you start working on your cowl, contact me and I can give you some tips that will help. If you have fuel injection, your life will be easier.
 
Just in case you have not drunk the Kool-Aid yet on the SJ cowl you are welcome to come look me up in HBC if you want to look at a standard Van's cowl as comparison. I have the non-snout lower cowl with snorkel intake (think smooth bottom cowl). I will most likely be somewhere toward the back of HBC also. N number 446RV, red and white RV9A.
 
Snout Vs. Scoop

Not sure what you are referring to here.

Steve: I think he might be referring to the "snorkle" possibly not having as much ram air pressure going to the carb as a standard Van's cowling w/central scoop? :)

Doug
RV-9A Mazda 13B, FWF
RV-3A sold
 
Sam James Cowling for 9A

I'm looking to see one and talk to anybody who has a Sam James cowl on their 9. I'm getting close to the end of the fuse kit and need to order the finishing kit. Need to decide on the cowl. I would love to talk to someone on the pros and cons.
Thanks,
Dave

If you end up needing a Sam James cowling, I have a buddy in the OKC area who decided not to use it on his 7A, and would make you a great deal on it I bet.

Doug
RV-9A Mazda 13B/ FWF
RV-3A Sold
 
Steve: I think he might be referring to the "snorkle" possibly not having as much ram air pressure going to the carb as a standard Van's cowling w/central scoop? :)

Doug
RV-9A Mazda 13B, FWF
RV-3A sold

Or James cowl with horizontal induction, in my case.
 
Or James cowl with horizontal induction, in my case.

In terms of combustion air, at least one measured result says the standard Vans snorkel has pressure recovery comparable to a horizontal "ram air" intake.

So far, no measured result I've seen has a James cowl matching upper plenum pressure with a standard Vans cowl.
 
Ok, got it. Well, I am going to leave the detailed performance discussions to those of you who have the education, insight, knowledge and gumption to analyze all of the important aspects of whether one performs better than another.

What I can say from experience flying with this setup is; with the ECi IO-340, ECi forward facing cold air induction, ECi fuel injection, Van's stock IO-360 cowl and snorkel, Vetterman 4-pipe exhaust, 1 slick, 1 Lightspeed Plasma II is that I have no complaints about the ability of my engine to breath! She is breathing pretty well with the stock cowl and snorkel. Here is a pic flying back from OSH last year. If you examine all the parameters displayed not sure what you could garner from the data other than the engine is humming along rather nicely! :cool: I kinda like the MAP reading considering that is pretty much where the breathing part comes in.

oiR.jpg


Way back in the last decade when I was building I contemplated going with the Sam James Cowl. After a great deal of reading and talking with everyone on this forum who would discuss it, Vans staff, and even Sam James at Sun n Fun, I came to the realization that there was going to have to be some additional fiberglass work if I went the SJ route. There was no additional composite work with the Vans cowl. After it was cut I did not have to build up anything, add any fiberglass or redesign anything.

The same goes for the snorkel. Many have posted they had to cut the snorkel and re-glass it to make it fit. Did not happen here! I bolted it up to the intake flange and custom built the bracket on the pilot side intake to hold the K&N Filter and the top of the snorkel. That was it. It fit like a glove (and I am not talking OJ style either :p)!

I am sure the SJ will be great but just in case you wish to see how the other side lives please do come say hello at HBC after July 22nd. Lets talk RV's.

Live Long and Prosper!
 
Hi Dave, I will be there and I have the James cowl on my 9A. I am usually in the back side of HBC and plan to arrive on Friday evening. Tail number is N1605A.

Darin

I will definitely look you up. Do you follow any kind of a ritual as to when you are with your plane? Maybe you can pm me your cell if you want and we can connect that way there.
Thanks!
Dave
 
Just in case you have not drunk the Kool-Aid yet on the SJ cowl you are welcome to come look me up in HBC if you want to look at a standard Van's cowl as comparison. I have the non-snout lower cowl with snorkel intake (think smooth bottom cowl). I will most likely be somewhere toward the back of HBC also. N number 446RV, red and white RV9A.

Steve,
I would absolutely love to look at your plane and talk to you. Really like the smooth bottom cowl look. When would be a good time to find you at your plane? You could also p.m. me your cell and I could get ahold of you that way there.
Thanks,
Dave
 
If you end up needing a Sam James cowling, I have a buddy in the OKC area who decided not to use it on his 7A, and would make you a great deal on it I bet.

Doug
RV-9A Mazda 13B/ FWF
RV-3A Sold

I will definitely keep that in mind!! Thanks!
 
I agree with Greg. Darins plane is a great one to look at. He was nice enough to make a 2+ hour flight to my airport to let me look and take pictures.

Have fun at AV and say hello to Darin from me. When you start working on your cowl, contact me and I can give you some tips that will help. If you have fuel injection, your life will be easier.

Why is life easier with fuel injection??
 
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