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RV-12 cabin air gaps in winter flying

jeffvw

I'm New Here
Our flying club in Maine just bought an RV-12. We have a pre-heat system and winterization kits, so the plane is happy enough even with -10?C. The pilots, however ...

Air flows through the cabin from the forward left and right edges of the canopy at the hinges, from along the side rails, out the rear where it curves over the roll bar, and just generally around the cabin.

What recommendations do people have for materials and how-to for closing up some of these gaps for winter flying?

Thanks in advance everyone. Such a fun plane to have in a club when the others are 172s.
 
Weatherstrip kit

Does it have Vans weatherstrip kit installed? If not download plans and in particular add the foam near the cowl hinges. I only get drafts from center between the seats around rear of flaperon handle. A good place to cover up with your jacket.
 
I switched out the Vans weatherstripping on the canopy side rails for some D section weatherstripping. I stuff a couple of shop towels in by the spars. I have different length block off plates for both the coolers. Need water temp above 190 to get any kind of effective heat. I also picked up a cheap automotive heated seat cushion this year. It works good.
 
I winterized my cockpit long ago before Van?s offered a kit. Went to the Aircraft Components and Equipment store (ACE) and bought one each of every kind of foam weather stripping they carried. Then over a succession of flights sealed every air entry location with whichever product fit best.
 
Does it have Vans weatherstrip kit installed? If not download plans and in particular add the foam near the cowl hinges. I only get drafts from center between the seats around rear of flaperon handle. A good place to cover up with your jacket.

I haven?t been able to find those plans. Do you have a link?
 
The canopy seal kit mentioned above really helps a lot. I recently sealed up my canopy with that kit before a cross country from California to Wisconsin for the holidays and it worked well. When installing keep in mind you're working to prevent suction pulling air out as much (or more!) as preventing ram pressure pushing air in. I'm still finding spots where there's suction; for example I left the rubber the original builder added to the canopy side rails and now that the front and back are well sealed I've noticed some suction out the sides, which I really didn't expect.

Another suggestion is the "Bender Baffle" to slow down air going through the water radiator; this makes cabin heating *much* more effective. Between the two mods I was warm (sometimes too warm!) and comfy the whole trip with just a few drafts, mostly around the wing spars.
 
Thanks Dale - -

Best mod I have done so far. Force the CHT's up to 205 - 210, and you will have lots of heat.
 
Probability of CO?

What is the probability of CO from the exhaust coming back in to the cabin through airframe/spar and canopy leakage areas? Anybody measure with a CO detector?
 
detection

CO detection is a must have in my opinion in airplanes. I' m still building, but I keep room on the panel for one.
 
CO detection is a must have in my opinion in airplanes. I' m still building, but I keep room on the panel for one.

The electronic one in Sxxxxys works real well and doesn't require panel space. Or, it is integral with portable Dynon ADSB-In, I think I read!

Hope somebody in the know attempts to answer the 'Probability of CO' questions two posts down.
 
Hope somebody in the know attempts to answer the 'Probability of CO' questions two posts down.

It is not a question that is easy to answer....
The probability is dependent on the build of the airplane.

There are some owners that say they have so much cold air coming in that the cabin heat seems to not even function.
There are others that say there cockpit /canopy is well sealed and they stay quite warm.
Each indicates a different amount of outside air entering the cabin, and depending on where the entry point(s) is of said air, will depend on the probability of any of it containing any Co.
 
It is not a question that is easy to answer....
The probability is dependent on the build of the airplane.

There are some owners that say they have so much cold air coming in that the cabin heat seems to not even function.
There are others that say there cockpit /canopy is well sealed and they stay quite warm.
Each indicates a different amount of outside air entering the cabin, and depending on where the entry point(s) is of said air, will depend on the probability of any of it containing any Co.

Scott, is it conceiveable some amount of exhaust could find its way inside the cockpit say thru the main gear/fuselage junction openings in all phases of fight and the vent and/or heater forced air clears it out?
 
I have some concern in my Cherokee because it has a heat muff around the exhaust, but less about my RV-12 due to the radiator heater. Having said that I did pick up a couple of CO monitors on Amazon. Cheap insurance. ($25 each)
 
[...]but less about my RV-12 due to the radiator heater. [...]

Quick note for people reading this in the future : while the RV-12 uses a radiator heater, the RV-12iS does not and uses a more "regular" heat muff around the muffler for heat.
 
Aside from the seal kit, which I think works well, I've worked to seal all of the fuselage openings, such as:
- sealing the base of the vertical stabilizer.
- sealing around the steps where they insert into the fuselage.
- blocking some of the wedge openings in the baggage compartment aft bulkhead with foam wedges I cut out of rubber foam.
- Installed intersection fairings on my gear legs (with leg fairings)
- Installed stick boots on the control sticks. In practice, I didn't find much air inflow around the stick openings once the wing seals were in place, but the boots and carpet made a definite improvement in cabin insulation.

If you close up all of the holes in the aft bulkhead, then you will restrict heat in-flow as well as it has to have an exit somewhere. After some experimentation, I've found that blocking none makes for a cold baggage compartment, all of them reduces heat inflow, but 1/2 works well and is a sweet spot.

The biggest benefit is limiting cold air and rain intrusion, but it might also reduce drag a little bit.

Disclaimer: I use a heat muff with bypass valve.
 
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