That looks neat. The brushless motor is a big win for efficiency and avoiding the safety and servicing problems of brushed motors.

Any idea on the cost?

If we could put together an STC to use a system like that, and put it in the nose (to help with avionics upgrade tail heaviness), that would be awesome. I really have no idea what the BTU/hr of the current system is, but it sure wouldn't hurt to be more.

Mike C.

Is there a way to vent it already in the nose? Any pre-existing louvers?

Chip-

Not generally. Would have to be added.

Mike C.

Where's your hydraulic pump and does that have louvers? That's why the P100/300 has them up front.

Chip-

We get that from the ACM on nearly all flights in the summer down here in the South. The CJP brain trust suggested turning on the freon system to try and dry the air and/or turning up the temp on the ACM.

The first time it happened I ended up turning the bleed air system off so I could see the runway.

Just add a disco light and some music and label it a feature.

Chip-

We get that from the ACM on nearly all flights in the summer down here in the South. The CJP brain trust suggested turning on the freon system to try and dry the air and/or turning up the temp on the ACM.

The first time it happened I ended up turning the bleed air system off so I could see the runway.

We get that from the ACM on nearly all flights in the summer down here in the South. The CJP brain trust suggested turning on the freon system to try and dry the air and/or turning up the temp on the ACM.

The first time it happened I ended up turning the bleed air system off so I could see the runway.

Have you cleaned the coalescer bag, checked the poppet valve, and/or checked the drain line from the water separator? That might help the humidity control.

Is that the "silk sock?" We removed it and washed it during my 1-4 a year ago. I also run my ACM in Auto mode so it should be deicing and such by itself. I have what is likely a dodgy temp sensor somewhere as when the plane is cold soaked (like single digits overnight on the ramp in Angel Fire, NM) it will trend the cabin colder and colder despite what I do with the temp knob. If I switch to manual I can get heat so I think the valves are fine. I haven't been sufficiently motivated to pull the plane and let it sit out overnight in the winter and then crawl around with a multimeter....

I'm not familiar with the drain line - I would assume that my mechanic would have looked at it when he R and R'd the sock?

I'm pretty sure it's related to ambient humidity as it is only a problem during the summer when coming into hot and humid locations but I am open to other's knowledge and experience.

Holy crap! That was a lot of stuff to go wrong on a single flight. One thing I like about my bird is that it is bare bones (except for the avionics). No TRs and manual brakes. Damn fine job stopping with nitrogen without blowing the tires - I have heard that in the heat of the moment (end of runway coming up fast), most people grab a handful of emergency brakes and lock up the tires. I have personally blown the gear down in my plane during a Phase 1-4 but I have never operated the emergency brake handle. I hope that if I ever need it that I will be able to slow her down gently...

Yes on the silk sock. It's inside of the water separator. There is a drain line that runs from the water separator to one of the heat exchangers (if my memory serves me right). Old school technology. If that line is obstructed or the heat exchanger is full of crud, the water separator could be less effective. Those are just things I would be looking at. Your mechanic may have already done them.

I also wonder if the turbine speed is playing a role in this. The book says the ACM can't really do anything unless the throttle is more than half way up its travel range. (No specific turbine speed given.) Maybe pulling the power back on descent reduces air flow through the ACM which reduces the water separator's effectiveness. Just another theory.

I personally have not seen the fog on my airplane yet.

My system was converted to R134a in 2012 which was a new compressor and condenser assembly, so relatively young. It is an automotive part.

This was unexpected since the maintenance tracking said it still had the R12 system in it when I bought the plane. So I lucked out and had the R134a conversion I didn't expect.


Shortly after I bought the plane, I found the system setup all wrong. Wrong pressures, wrong balance, very poor performance, etc. It got carefully tuned and adjusted and now works decently. Also, all the evaporators fins were clogged with carpet dust. After 4 hours of carefully cleaning them, much better.

The freon system being way out of whack was one of many things wrong with my plane when I bought it. Almost all those things took very little money to fix, but took careful diagnosis to find the root cause. I don't think the Textron service center knew how to detect these problems or how to fix them without gratuitous part replacements.

Mike C.

Well, you do live in Arizona Come on over here to the South and you too can experience The Air you can Wear. A regular hop for us in the Summer is Oklahoma to the Alabama coast - we go from really humid to stupidly humid in the same trip.... I never have an issue in the winter.

We have some summer trips planned to that part of the country. One of my friends is a timid passenger. If I get the fog, he’s going to lose his mind. I can’t wait