Corky Scott wrote in message . ..
On Wed, 1 Sep 2004 20:56:39 -0400, "Morgans"
wrote:

I have to agree, about the exhaust augmenter. Why not make the ducts right,
and put an electric fan in behind the radiator, ala many/all front wheel
drive cars. at your speeds, the drag should be low.
--
Jim in NC

That's plan B.

Corky Scott

A fan is more weight and complexity and another failure point.
None of those are welcome in a light airplane, especially with all the
propeller blast that can be employed with minimal drag if enough
informed thought goes into the design. I find that allowing the ideas
to churn around in my head for a couple of weeks often points out
problems before any material is cut, and avoids the endless fiddling
that often follows hasty construction.
Some people enjoy fiddling. I'd rather get something to work
properly first time and use the free time to come up with another
far-out idea.
You might consider some device to control rad airflow, as there is
usually too much flow at cruise and it just costs speed. Some sort of
cowl flap, though with the exhaust pipes the shapes might be
complicated. I'd like to see an automatic cowl flap, with a manual
override, using an actuator like the VW Beetle had on its fan intake.
When the sensor bellows got warm (it was in the cooling outflow) it
expanded and opened the fan duct. I wonder if the
thermostatically-controlled radiator coolant flow could be employed to
operate a cylinder to open cowl flaps? More complexity and another
failure point...

Dan