Overhead Console Leaking

I have the Aerosport overhead console and the other day I jumped in and noticed that water was dripping out from around the front two air vents.
I was flying in some rain for quite a while earlier that week but did not notice anything at that time. When I opened up the naca vent to get some more air flowing in the console to dry things out, it pushed about a half a cups worth of water out.
The only possible place that I can believe water would come in is through the door hinges, but mine are covered and filled in, except where the hinge pin is.
There was a thought that maybe it was coming through the rear NACA vents but the water was only in the front two air vents and did not leak anywhere else.
Any ideas on how this is getting in there?

How about the bolts holding the hinges on, or an antenna?

The top of the hinges on the cabin have been filled in so it is completely flat on top. You can see a bit of the screw head through the paint, but very little. No cracks there so doubt any water is getting in.

There is a GPS antenno towards the back, but if that was leaking the water should also be in the rear air vents as it is behind them.

Do you have a cutout in the console for the lift strut bracket?

I do have them cut out but also have been glassed and sealed around them

Brian
My thoughts are you were in some serious rain. But I think it possibly came in either through the NACA side vents and the air flow forced it all the way to the front vents. Do you have a control valve on the overhead? If you do was it open or closed when flying while in the rain? If open and front vents were opened slightly that would force it to the front I would think.
If the GPS antenna was leaking the airflow from the NACA'S (if open with front vents only) would probably forced it to the front also.

I have been in some serious rain with My RV-10 and have never had this issue.
Where are you NACA'S located in the rear.
Lets figure this out

Geoff

Hmmm, with about a two foot rise from the typical rear naca vent location to the rear of the overhead console, it's difficult for me to fathom how water would make it all the way to the front air vents. I would think it would have to fill the hoses up significantly for that to occur. In my installation, the scat tubes go almost vertical from the naca, so there really isn't a way for water to accumulate.

The other interesting anomaly is that water is only coming out of the front vents and not the rear vents. I think this would imply the leak is someplace forward in the overhead.

Since the hinge bolts are glassed over, that only really leaves the GPS as a potential culprit. The same for the door strut holder.

Is the GPS mounted to the cabin cover in the overhead area? Did you add any sealant to the GPS antenna since there are almost no perfectly flat spots to mount the antenna?

I'm sure that Geoff will be able to help you figure it out.

Good luck!

bob

Geoff, I do have your control valve also and it was closed as the outside temp was 40°. And yes it was fairly heavy rain. Just so it is clear, this is not due to the overhead console.

The GPS antenna is located on the top of the canopy and there is a cork gasket that was used. The location is directly over the rear access panel of overhead console.

There is a small gap where the hinge pivots, this is the only spot I can think of that would allow water under the hinge but would still have to penetrate through the bolts. Even if this is the case, I cant believe it would allow that much in.

As for the rear vents, they are located just behind the rear cabin area in the tail cone. Same spot most others put them. The hoses go directly vertical to the next rib and then forward to the control valve.

Maybe just need to pull the access cover and run a hose over the canopy to see if I can replicate.

Could it simply be that the water came in through the NACA vents while flying in the rain and upon landing while pitched downward gravity pulled all the water forward?

jwilbur said:

Could it simply be that the water came in through the NACA vents while flying in the rain and upon landing while pitched downward gravity pulled all the water forward?

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Not likely. You've got a 2" scat tube with about a 2' rise. Unless the scat tube is installed lower than the naca vent, there shouldn't be any water accumulating. If the scat tube did go below the naca vent, it would pool the water much like a trap does on a sink.

If the wind and rain are significant to fill the scat and rise to the level of the overhead console, you most likely have other issues to contend with while flying.

Wondering if there was ever anything figured out about this? I had this symptom last month flying in Florida rain and had water spitting out the front vents. I don?t have antennae penetrating the roof, typical 2 naca vent in rear, aero sport vent control. Wasn?t a lot of water but an annoyance I?d like to figure out.

rleffler said:

Hmmm, with about a two foot rise from the typical rear naca vent location to the rear of the overhead console, it's difficult for me to fathom how water would make it all the way to the front air vents. I would think it would have to fill the hoses up significantly for that to occur. In my installation, the scat tubes go almost vertical from the naca, so there really isn't a way for water to accumulate.

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I once was on lake michigan during a pretty serious thunderstorm. The 50+ mph wind would break up the water on the wave crests and create large collections of water droplets in the air, streaming with the wind. I suspect 190 mph wind speeds in that 2" tube could easily make tiny droplets with any standing water that could be blown into the console. I have no doubt that flying in meaningfull rain would result in the lower portion of the tube filling with some level of water, ESPECIALLY if that tube dips below the level of the naca vent.

Larry