My speed 400 motor is getting very hot after flights.. There are cooling slots in the front of the firewall and a couple of slots on the side for cooling.. but it doesn't seem to get enought airflow. This is for the Tucano, I've built it to plans. Does anyone else have this problem? How should I go about increasing airflow to the motor? it is all enclose. I was thinking of adding a airscoop but it will counteract the cooling slot in front causing airlock..

I'm in the middle of building the Tucano and was wondering if the cooling would be adequate. The holes in the motor mount look great but the exits on the side seem small in relation. Isn't the rule of thumb that the exits should be two to three times as large as the intake?

I think I might add a duplicate set of cooling exits behind what is shown on the plans, or maybe even three for a grill-like effect.

There isn't any provision for cooling the battery compartment but it shouldn't get too toasty in there.

Nigel, any thoughts?

I believe you can now get air admitting spinners to aid cooling. Possibly Robbe.

J yhink this may be something to do with the climate you enjoy!
Over here in the UK I don't know of anyone having this problem but even in the hottest summer we're lucky to get anywhere near the 30s!
In the kit I supply a CNC-cut motor disc which has holes exactly matching the motor front; there are 3 1/4" holes drilled in the "chin", and the two oval exit holes in the fuz. sides to match the motor can side slots.
The combination of these 3 airways seems to be MORE than enough cooling for ours, and we are using 6v motors with 8 x 800AR cells giving 7-8 mins flat-out aerobatics.
If your airways are the same, then it must be the hotter ambient temperature to blame. I could always send you the CNC cut disc if this would help.
As for battery cooling, again not a problem over here but if that is also an issue perhaps a scoop and an exit hole may help?
I'm sure I could put up with an overheating motor if we could have weather like yours over here!
Best wishes,
Nige.

Excellent, that means in I won't have to cut any extra cooling holes. A small advantage of living in Canada.

Hi Nigel,

I do have cooling holes and the slot on the bulkhead, but the side vents don't match up to the vents in the motor.. perhaps that may be the problem.. but I've always wondered about this one, is that the cooling holes for the motor is behind the spinner.. is that still going to be effective? I guess I'll just cut another set of slots near the motor vents too..

thanks nigel!

p.s weather here is about mid 20's Celcius, so it's not overly cool, or hot either..

Hi Engr,
You may have touched on something significant in your last post:
Most of us in the UK use the excellent Paul Gunther push-on props. Whilst they are less scalish, they perform superbly in terms of speed and duration, what's more they DO allow cooling air into the front of the motor. Try one, I think this will both improve your performance AND cooling.
BTW - "MID 20s" ! ! !
We'd DIE for mid 20s! Today it is 12 degrees - quite warm for the Lake District in the summer!
Best wishes,
Nige.