exhaust ducts on the bottom of the fuselage. To increase the cooling value of air entering the chin, two pieces of 3mm Depron® foam are used to create a baffling structure in the chin. The first piece is essentially a vertical former that directs air from the chin pan to- wards the motor/upper fuselage. A rough template for this piece is easily made by forming a piece of solder around the outside of the chin pan.
gearbox. Shifting the vertical Depron® for- mer forward would be prudent for shorter motors and motors that “throw” air from the backside (like the Hacker A60 series).
With respect to the cheek inlets and “hood scoop”, while the relative locations of these inlets are not particularly useful for cooling the Neu F3A-1 motor, they still contribute to the total airflow into the fuselage and cool- ing of the ESC and Li-Pos. For installations using outrunner and large diameter direct drive motors, the cheek and hood inlets can be quite effective at reducing motor temper- atures, especially if small “kick” plates are installed at the aft edge of the inlets to direct air towards the center of the fuselage (and motor).
Putting the pieces together shows the path incoming cooling air is forced to take.
Thin solder used to form a rough template for Depron® baffling.
The second piece of Depron® effectively re- stricts airflow from entering the aft chin pan, and forces the air to pass by the Castle Creations Phoenix ICE2 80HV ESC. The aft
edge of the second piece has a small strip of 1⁄8-inch thick foam which mates to the “floor” of the fuselage, sealing the air into the upper fuselage.
The next Depron® ducting desirable (three cheers for alliteration?) is at the loca- tion of the ESC, which is mounted to the front fuselage former, at which point the fuselage is approximately 6 inches wide. Top to bottom, “side” baffles are installed to di- rect the airflow more tightly to the ESC. The exact shape of the side baffles is not critical, and can be roughly determined by tracing the inside radius of the former to which the ESC is mounted. The side baffles rest on the front face of the former and are captured at the top of the fuselage by a tongue (the baffle) and groove arrangement, with the edges of the groove demarcated by the former and 1⁄4-inch strips of 3mm De- pron® glued to the inside of the fuselage. The bottoms of the side baffles are held in place by a small piece of tape (onto the for- mer and fuselage floor) making for a very light “cooling” system that is very light and easy to remove for maintenance on the ESC and motor.
As the incoming cooling air passes by the ESC, the remaining component to cool is the pair of Thunder Power ProLite G6 5S 5000 Li-Pos. While the Li-Pos occupy the bulk of the fuselage width, there is substantial room for airflow above the Li-Pos through the canopy. This is easily remedied by adding a 3mm Depron® floor to the canopy. Additionally, I used a piece of 3mm Depron® to increase the vertical extent of the plywood wing tube support former to meet the canopy floor. The end result is that all in- coming air from the chin, cheeks, and hood inlets is directed to the motor, ESC, Li-Pos, and then out the exhaust ducts.
Baffling installed in the chin pan. The astute readers will notice that the in-
coming airflow is being redirected largely to the aft end of the Neu F3A-1 motor. This is quite intentional, as the cooling fan equipped F3A-1 actually draws air in through the rear of the motor and “throws” the air out of the motor at the location of the fan, which is between the armature and
FLYING MODELS
Baffling along side the ESC is held in place with a tongue and groove arrangement.
Canopy floor baffle seals at the top of the wingtube former, forcing cooling air close to the batteries.
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