Georden
Well-Known Member
I'm looking for some input/ideas for cooling on a 2 seat helicopter of around 100hp. Every helicopter i've seen (piston) uses a fan similar to what an aircooled car would use.
The drawback to this that i see is that the fan is really only needed for hover and low speed flight, in cruise it should be possible to use airflow in the same way a fixed wing does.
Just a quick search seems to indicate around 7-10% of engine power (based on VW engines) goes to driving the fan, so eliminating that drag during cruise would give me either more power or less fuel consumption.
So, the ideas i can come up with to do that are: electric fan(s) or a fan clutch. Both these ideas give more things to break down.
The other idea i had was to somehow use the fan to make thrust and offset it's drag on the engine. This would eliminate the need to turn off the fan, but presents other challenges.
So to sum it up, anybody got and other ideas or input on how to come up with the best system?
The drawback to this that i see is that the fan is really only needed for hover and low speed flight, in cruise it should be possible to use airflow in the same way a fixed wing does.
Just a quick search seems to indicate around 7-10% of engine power (based on VW engines) goes to driving the fan, so eliminating that drag during cruise would give me either more power or less fuel consumption.
So, the ideas i can come up with to do that are: electric fan(s) or a fan clutch. Both these ideas give more things to break down.
The other idea i had was to somehow use the fan to make thrust and offset it's drag on the engine. This would eliminate the need to turn off the fan, but presents other challenges.
So to sum it up, anybody got and other ideas or input on how to come up with the best system?
