Talk about airplanes! At last count, there are 39 (and growing) FAA certificated S-LSA (special light sport aircraft). These are factory-built ready to fly airplanes. If you can't afford a factory-built LSA, consider buying an E-LSA kit (experimental LSA - up to 99% complete).
I'm learning to fly in a Flight Design CTSW and on those really cold days the heater is kind of marginal, which got me to thinking- this airplane is cold in the winter partly because on sunny days the high wing shades the cockpit. I would think that a low-wing aircraft would be a lot warmer on a cold day because of all that canopy area (at least if the sun is shining).
Then I wondered- how cool do those same low-wing airplanes stay in the summer when the temperatures are passing 90 degrees? Most of those things seem to have large, clear canopies. Do they have sufficient ventilation to keep you cool? I have spent a lot of time flying right seat in low wing airplanes but they all had solid roofs overhead. Even then there have been a few times when the airplane seemed more like a flying sauna than an aircraft.
I know you can climb to altitude to get cooler temperatures, but what about the solar heating from all that glass area? To stay warm in the winter time you put on more clothes. To keep cool in the summer you take clothes off, but the idea of flying nude does not appeal to me (or any of the people that might fly with me- I think ).
So, do any of you have experience with the low-wing, huge-canopied LSA's out there? Were they as warm as I imagined in the summer and if so how did you cope with the heat?
I have both summer and winter experience (Maryland) in an Evektor Sportstar. The winters are great. When its 30 deg out, on a sunny day you can fly in shirtsleeves. Summers are a bit grim. It is absolutely necessary to taxi with the canopy held open a bit, and to keep all vents open in the air. If the temp goes over 90 deg, I would scrub the flight if it involved staying at low altitudes.
I flew a Tecnam Sierra low wing all summer. Very hot. You must taxi with the canopy slid all the way open and when you land, as soon as you clear the active, again slide the canopy all the way open. When in the air there were air vents you could open which helped, but it was still very warm. I have never flown it in the winter.
Steve Wilson
Huntsville, UT
Kitfox
Convertible Nose Wheel & Tail Wheel
912A / Warp Drive Prop
Have spent a bit of time in Tecnams & CTs, and the low wing Sportstar and found that the low wing was the coolest of the bunch. This particular Sportstar has the little sliding sunscreen on top. I found that on the ground with the hatch popped open and my arm underneath it was as cool as the others. In the air its ventilation was better as well, now without the that sunscreen you would probably die through lol. The high wing airplanes all had windscreens that go quite a ways up into the roof and that along with skylights and not such good ventilation made for a cockpit that was as warmer or warmer than the low wing airplane. Althrough I think you will be warm in either in truly warm climates (100+). I spend a fair amount of time in high wing Cessnas and don't find they are really a lot cooler than the Sportstar.
LP Aero makes a UV blocking plexiglass. I wonder if it could be added to the Lexan bubble material on low wing LSA. Would protect you and your interior fabric.
Rosen makes some soft screen sun shades that work good.
I cover the cub skylight all summer long because my head burns. Instructor sits up front and you can't see out the skylight anyway.
The glider guys are big on UV protection and skin cancer. Notice the hats they all wear. It can be a big problem and I wonder if the bubble canopies magnify slightly.
Cub with the door and window open all summer is great. Slip to the left or you lose your hat.
The round clear plastic snap vents work well and seal up ok in winter.
"Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add but when there is no longer anything to take away." Antoine de Saint Exupery
The glider guys are big on UV protection and skin cancer. Notice the hats they all wear. It can be a big problem and I wonder if the bubble canopies magnify slightly.
No they don't magnify, if they did...flying would be very different. What they do is let in all the sun and give you a false sense of being inside. You are also at a higher altitude where the UV is greater. Just imagine flying a bubble canope is like tanning all day in the arizona high desert.
________ Honda Odyssey specifications
Last edited by SP_Laser on Tue Feb 08, 2011 4:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Planes are going to be could in the winter at 100+mph no matter where the wing is. The heigher you go the colder it gets. In order to keep weight and price down LSA's aren't designed to provide good thermal efficiency. I live in northern Illinois and it gets very hot and very cold here. It's hot in the summer until you get moving and it's cold in the winter until you stop. If you really want to fly, dress appropriatly and fly.
Would make for a sight on cross country refuel stops.
"Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add but when there is no longer anything to take away." Antoine de Saint Exupery
I can just imagine grandma looking up from the grocery store parking lot. They open up right over it depending on the wind.
There is a lookout on the mountain almost eye level to our downwind leg for RW 19.
At least once a summer I look over to see a group moon going on.
my fathers dream is to start the mile high club with the Queen Air. I told him he better reinstall the cockpit curtain. He mumbled something about video cameras.
"Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add but when there is no longer anything to take away." Antoine de Saint Exupery
). 
