Untitled - Aero Resources Inc

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planes. "We want to become the premiermodifier of piston singles andtwins," LoPresti declares.Current LSM mods include newengine cowlings, main landing gearfairings, flap hinge fairings, and flapand aileron gap seals. A chart on oneof the company's brochures for its socalledMach I kits (all of the previouslymentioned mods except for the enginecow\) breaks down the effects of eachof the drag reduction devices bymodel. For example, installing flaphinge fairings ("splitters") on a PA-28140 Cherokee increases speed 2.5miles per hour (about 2.2 knots). Addflap seals and enjoy another 2.5mph-5 mph (4.3 knots) total. AnArrow modified with splitters, flap gap"feel seals," and main gear fairings("spats," which smooth airflow overthe retracted but slightly exposedmain landing gear wheels and tires)will pick up 10 mph (8.7 knots),according to LSM.The company's major modificationis a new fiberglass engine cowldesigned to significantly reduce coolingdrag and, nearly as important inLSM's opinion, look good while doingit. New cowls currently are available•Once a Comancheowner sees and flieshis GTO, he's goingto realize it's awhole new airplane.for the Piper PA-30 Twin Comancheand PA-24 Comanche (l80, 250, 260,and 2608 models). Next in line for thecowling treatment are the PA-32Cherokee Six/Lance/Saratoga and thePA-28R Arrow series.LSM's expectations for the cowl arehigh-a 15-mph (13-knot) gain in topspeed for the Comanche and 8 mph (7knots) for the Twin Comanche. (Thestock "tiger shark" cowling on theTwin Comanche is more aerodynamicallyefficient than the stock Comanchecowl.)The company has taken all of itsmagic-flap hinge fairings, aileronand flap gap seals, main gear fairings,and the cowl-and installed it on aComanche 260. In characteristic fashion,LoPresti has given the tricked-outairplane a fast new name: the GTO60 • MAY 1994•
(Gran Turismo Omologato, as in Ferrari,not Pontiac; LoPresti prefers thenobility of the prancing horse-hedrives a Ferrari-to the tire-smoking,in-your-face attitude of the GeneralMotors muscle car; if it were otherwise,he probably would be flying aComanche 400).The LSM cowl gives the 1965Comanche a contemporary look,much like Piper's new firewall-forwardtreatment for the Saratoga andSeneca. The Piper and LSM cowls lookvery similar but were developed independently.In fact, cowls featuringthose distinctive circular, protrudingcooling inlets have been used on otherdesigns-Ed Swearingen's SX-300 andLance Neibauer's Lancair kitplanes,for example.LSM arrived at the specific shape anddimensions of the circular inletsthrough trial-and-error flight testing.Experimental cowls were coated withdyes that, in flight, revealed areas ofhigh- and low-efficiency airflow into thecooling inlets. LSM didn't start out withcircular inlets, but that's where it arrivedafter testing a variety of other shapes.The cowl also has a refined shape forthe induction air inlet below the spinner.As with the cooling inlets, themouth of the induction air scoop iscloser to the propeller than on thestock cowl to capture more of the energyof the prop blast. The air then travelsdown an expanding duct to furtherpressurize it. Beech took the sameapproach several years ago with theKing Air, extending the air intake on thePT6 cowl to just behind the propellerdisk. Beech calls it the "pitot cowl."Each side of the new cowl is hinged.Unscrew a half-dozen cam locks oneach side, and you can then lift thecowl to reveal the engine and accessories.Although the hinged panels donot extend as far down the sides of thecowl as on the standard Comanchecowl, it's still possible to get a socketon the lower set of spark plugs withoutremoving the lower cowl. The nosebowlalso can be removed withouttaking off the entire cowl.New baffling is installed as part ofthe cowling change, and the oil cooleris relocated from below the engine tobehind it.The cowl also features longer nosewheeldoors that completely enclosethe nose gear when it is retracted. Onthe stock airplane, the short nosewheeldoor is connected to and actuated byAOPA PILOT· 61
Page 4 and 5: the gear. Initially, it worked the
Page 6: I ----------.--------pressure show

Untitled - Aero Resources Inc

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