composite-arf question.....

[TonyThomasian]

I used my smoke pump for my very first time a couple of days ago. I was doing some hovering while my smoke was on. There is 2 big holes in the middle of the fuse in the bottom of the plane for cooling i think.?.?.?.?.? All comp-arfs have that. Anyways, when i landed after hovering w/ the smoke on, i noticed that there was alot of smoke oil IN the fuse and INSIDE of the canopy. I'm thinking while hovering, the smoke oil got through the 2 holes and into the fuselage...... Does this happen to you guys that own composite-arf planes? I would not want to cover the holes, because i have cannisters in them and i dont want the inside of the plane to over heat. So is this bad? I have 2 recivers and a matchbox in the fuse, right were the smoke oil is getting into.
thanks

[Supermod56]

The cooling holes are not cut at the factory, the builder does that. To prevent that from happening, I didn't cut the holes in mine, I wrapped the cans in Header tape, keeps the heat in. Some guys say that's bad, but that's the way mine is, and works great The other option is to completely enclose the exhaust compartment like the other brands are, real tough on the Comp-ARF. Or no smoke, if you notice the instructions on the Comp doesn't show a smoke system.

Tom

[Tampa Bay Flyer]

May want to try installing some Louvers over the Cooling Holes.
May be a quick easy fix.

[Supermod56]

Great idea! I might do that to mine, wonder where you can get em??

[KrisW]

Depending on the size of the holes (I use 1.5" behind the gear plate for cooling holes) you can create a low pressure area by cutting a piece of phenolic tubing at an angle, and gluing it to the belly with the large part forward, creating an air dam that will tend to suck air OUT of the fuselage instead of allowing it to get back inside.

You can see them on the belly of the plane, between the gear, in the enclosed picture.