Eyeball Vent Alternative - PIREP

The Rocket makeover saw me removing the two eyeball vents from the panel. The existing units had a huge footprint, leaked when shut and didnt flow much when open. Time for an upgrade. Perusing the "traditional" source selection provided some well crafted examples - but with eye watering prices to accompany them. I've looked for surplus sales on the VAF classifieds, but even with the good guy pricing I have a hard time spending that kind of coin for a vent. I dont want a whole air conditioning system... Just a vent.

Fortunately the aviation section of the Summit catalog came to the rescue with a whole plethora of candidates. Here's what I purchased:

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vta-499193/overview/

Looks to be a solid piece, seals well when closed and has a larger aperature than the old part. Best of all, no flanges to make room for or locate... One hole in the panel and just screw the thing together - done.

Best of all, it's less than $12 bucks!



Hope this helps somebody in their panel planning.

Hose size

Thanks! What hose size?

This unit is 2.5 inches at the hose

Great find!

Thanks for the heads-up. Just ordered 4 of these for my overhead console. With these and the AeroSport dual-butterfly NACA controller, I think we have overhead ventilation nailed down. Now to install all this fluff

They look nice but how do they stay closed with high pressure air from the NACA duct trying to push it open,,,and if they do stay closed, do they actually seal shut so no air comes through cruising 9000' at 150 knots?

Keeping in mind I have not flown these yet, the vanes feature an aerodynamic balance design - much like the ear forward of the hinge line on a rudder. If I had to eyeball it, the hinge line looks to be at the 40% chord line of the vanes. I suspect there is not much of a weathervane effect in play here.

Also a bit of semantics here, but if fed from a NACA duct as I'm planning, they are not going to be subjected to a lot of pressure as they would from a genuine scoop. NACA ducts are a great low drag way to let air in, but they need a equally easy way out... Seal the cabin or choke down the vent vanes and the NACA duct stops flowing. It just doesnt have a great deal of "push". This is why they work so badly when trying to feed an application where a high delta pressure condition is required - like engine primary cooling.

These things are almost 3" in diameter, worth considering.

Dave

Take a good look at vents for Vans RV 10, have 2 ft and 2 rear in RV4, even get lot of prop air waiting for departure ! Tom

Not yet in my hands

but pretty sure from the pictures that these vents will direct the air sideways the more they are closed-off, unlike a butterfly or twist-to-open aircraft vent that always blows right where it's pointed.

Reinforces my decision to install a servo butterfly airflow control in series with my overhead console air supply: aim the vents wide open, dial the flow rate electronically from the servo controller. At least that's how I anticipate it working. I sealed the butterflies in Geoff's controller with RTV to achieve a nearly airtight seal when closed, after PIREPs of drafts seeping through.

Did a test flight today with one installed, not going to suit my needs. If anyone wants a pair, let me know.