I appreciate all the help with insurance and financing advice from all of you as buy my first plane. The first week of April I am planning on flying my new (to me) Beech musketeer up from Vegas. I have done it a few times in the summer when it is warmer but never in April. I lined up a hangar in Calgary but nothing after that to keep the engine warm. Any suggestions for a portable, safe to carry in the airplane, heating system to help me get started on a cold morning. I don't know if plugs are readily available at places like Whitehorse and such.
Alcan Preheater
- Thread starter spamalot
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TBLOOMA
New member
propane and 12v powered red dragon, works awesome.
I made one out of a bunch of stove pipe reducers after seeing one years ago. 3" scat on the top and a whisperlite stove in the bottom. Reducers from like 9" down to 3". (I think there are 4 total reducers stacked) Few bucks a piece from lowes. Had mine about ten years now. Doesn't leave the cub in the winter.
Alot more elaborate ways to do the same thing................IE making one from ammo can (nicer no doubt), but that's the easiest IMO. Take it apart and all of the reducers fit inside each other.
Reducers like this:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=DnZ4Td_nKIP2tgPaoNjzAg&ved=0CFQQ8wIwAA#
Alot more elaborate ways to do the same thing................IE making one from ammo can (nicer no doubt), but that's the easiest IMO. Take it apart and all of the reducers fit inside each other.
Reducers like this:
http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=DnZ4Td_nKIP2tgPaoNjzAg&ved=0CFQQ8wIwAA#
Grizzly 1
New member
FYI: Any airport with hangars (e.g. Whitehorse, etc) will have power available for you and your extension cords or plug-ins.
If you are flying the Beech you should be fine as Grizzly said. OR go buy a Honda 2000 watt generator and a 1500 watt electric heater. A nice insulated cowl cover will help keep the engine warm. So keep the generator in the hotel room. (Easier to start warm) Then take it out to the plane, start the generator, plug in your heater and go get breakfast. By the time you are back your engine should be plenty warm. There are several places that make insulated engine covers if you don't a;ready have one.
You won't need much preheat in April but you should always carry a survival stove. One that's small and can burn avgas is a smart choice. With about $5 in parts from the heating aisle at Home Depot you can make a heater that will work fine in the temps you can expect and it can utilize the stove you'll already have in your gear. A sleeping bag or a blanket draped over the cowl will work if you don't have an engine cover yet. Dog blankets from Costco are cheap and durable and are about the perfect size. Those can multi-task, too.
My ammo can heater (shown in another thread http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/87973-DIY-Engine-Preheater ) was intended to improve upon the commercially available Northern Companion by using the same concept (MUCH cheaper) but with two duct hoses that are small enough to fit into the cowl flaps of a 180. Those smaller ducts happen to fit nicely into the cowl cheeks of a Cub as well. My ammo box heater is the best remote preheater I've ever used. It stores all the needed parts and is tough as nails. Like all hot air heaters you need to allow some air venting near the top of the cowl.
My ammo can heater (shown in another thread http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/87973-DIY-Engine-Preheater ) was intended to improve upon the commercially available Northern Companion by using the same concept (MUCH cheaper) but with two duct hoses that are small enough to fit into the cowl flaps of a 180. Those smaller ducts happen to fit nicely into the cowl cheeks of a Cub as well. My ammo box heater is the best remote preheater I've ever used. It stores all the needed parts and is tough as nails. Like all hot air heaters you need to allow some air venting near the top of the cowl.
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Grizzly 1
New member
They usually are at larger airports (that is, near larger Canadian cities).
I still think, after more than twenty years of using them, that most catalynic heaters are both safe and efficient.
