Van's Air Force
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Defrost fan grills
- Thread starter Swingwing
- Start date
Kyle Boatright
Well Known Member
What I did was find some black nylon screen material and ran the screws for the fans through the screen to keep the screen taught. The screen is sandwiched between the glareshield and the fans.
PilotjohnS
Well Known Member
3/8” holes
I drilled 6 or 8 3/8” holes in a circle. If anything falls in it isnjust going to hit the floor anyway.
But I only put a fan in front of the pilot. Wish I put one on the passenger side too. I use them to keep the G3x screens cool; it seems to really help on the hot days when the sun is shining from behind onto the screens.
I drilled 6 or 8 3/8” holes in a circle. If anything falls in it isnjust going to hit the floor anyway.
But I only put a fan in front of the pilot. Wish I put one on the passenger side too. I use them to keep the G3x screens cool; it seems to really help on the hot days when the sun is shining from behind onto the screens.
wirejock
Well Known Member
Carl Froehlich
Well Known Member
+1
Photo is what I did for a single, smaller fan on the RV-8. On the RV-10 I used two 3.25” fans, one on each side.
Get creative on your hole pattern. The best one had a combination of 1/4” and 3/8” holes in an alternating pattern.
Carl
cajunwings
Well Known Member
RV8JD
Well Known Member
Not that Carl, but I'm pretty sure it's covered in dark cloth to minimize its reflection in the windscreen.
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I made a plate just like this, then bought a cheap PC fan cover made out of plastic. Put both over the fan and observed the feel of the air flow. The latter seemed to flow A LOT more air. So, I sanded the top with 400 grit to make it Flat (as in no gloss), cut a hole for the fan and installed it instead of punching holes in the dash.
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wcalvert
Well Known Member
O Brother
Help me understand the goal of this cover ... just what exactly are you trying keep out? or increase airflow? or just make it look better.
My fans are uncovered and seem to work fine, anything that falls in goes right on thru and the tech look of the fan blades is appealing.
"I like the smell of my hair treatment; the pleasing odor is half the point." - Ulysses Everett McGill.
Sorry, couldn't resist
Help me understand the goal of this cover ... just what exactly are you trying keep out? or increase airflow? or just make it look better.
My fans are uncovered and seem to work fine, anything that falls in goes right on thru and the tech look of the fan blades is appealing.
"I like the smell of my hair treatment; the pleasing odor is half the point." - Ulysses Everett McGill.
Sorry, couldn't resist
Attachments
Help me understand the goal of this cover ... just what exactly are you trying keep out? or increase airflow? or just make it look better.
My fans are uncovered and seem to work fine, anything that falls in goes right on thru and the tech look of the fan blades is appealing.
"I like the smell of my hair treatment; the pleasing odor is half the point." - Ulysses Everett McGill.
Sorry, couldn't resist
So, does running the fan without a cover make it smell better?
Being serious now, I did not want something to fall in there as I assumed it would break the blades if it was spinning. Even worse would be a passenger grabbing something and getting a finger in there. That is more of a 10 thing as the dash is large and accessible therefore folks are tempted to put things on it. On the 6, the area is so small that no one puts anything on it.
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Carl Froehlich
Well Known Member
This is the SkyView GPS antenna/receiver. The cover is to eliminate the reflection on the windscreen.
This is where I mounted this antenna on all the builds - it has been flawless.
Side note - mounting a Garmin GPS antenna in this location goes against their install instructions and can create problems.
Carl
wcalvert
Well Known Member
My fans are blacked out so no reflection, and since they're pretty small 2" fans they wouldn't do much damage to your fingers.
And ever since getting my Ensign butt chewed off by a crusty maintenance chief on day one, NOTHING goes on my glare shield except light!
Cheers
And ever since getting my Ensign butt chewed off by a crusty maintenance chief on day one, NOTHING goes on my glare shield except light!
Cheers
One other idea
I installed 2 fans and drilled a pattern like others but I supported the fan from below, so no screws coming through the top. The ledge that the fans sit on swings away after removing 2 screws. This allows the fans to be removed and you don’t ever have to worry about accidentally touching the acrylic windscreen with a tool or screws. Everything is done underneath.
Just a thought.
I installed 2 fans and drilled a pattern like others but I supported the fan from below, so no screws coming through the top. The ledge that the fans sit on swings away after removing 2 screws. This allows the fans to be removed and you don’t ever have to worry about accidentally touching the acrylic windscreen with a tool or screws. Everything is done underneath.
Just a thought.
Carl Froehlich
Well Known Member
Yep - As I did my Naval Aviator son (he was a LT at the time) when he shoved his knee board onto the glare shield on my old RV-8A.
I reminded him I was the white hat that would have to fix the glass.
Carl
