Comparison between all aftermarket fans available

[tchavei]

Hi guys

After seeing alot of comments about which fan would be probably the best and which not (some of them rather deceiving and in my personal opinion rather unfair), I decided to conduct a series of tests to find out exactly which one would provided the best bang for the buck.

I got my hands on a G-force HEv2 fan, a 3Dx Fan, a G-force SHO fan and a QuickUk fan so the review is about all of those.

I spent a few weekends swapping fans, recording data e test flying so this wasn't exactly a one day task.

I'm not affiliated with any of the Manufacturers mentioned in my comparison and my biggest sponsor is still my Visa.

If this report helps just one person to make the right choice when he/she goes out and buys an upgraded fan, it already was worth the hours I spent on it.

You may download it in PDF format here: http://www.skynetlabs.org/diversos/fanreport.pdf

I'm currently also testing a bunch of aftermarket and home modified tail rotor grips. I'll let you know my findings in a few weeks.

Best Regards
Tony

[wacojoe]

Very nice report. Thanks a bunch for sharing.

[Azlum]

Nice... but it would have been nicer if you had included the Align metal fan. This is what I'm using and so far it works great.

[tchavei]

wacojoe: you're welcome :)

Azlum: Thx for the feedback. Well, I would have but it wasn't available at the time and the stock plastic fan was playing havoc (woobling) in my machines. I finished the field tests some time ago but only now had time to make the graphs and compile my data. Maybe in the future I'll get a align metal unit and compare it to the rest.

Tony

[milesale]

Wow, I really appreciate all the great information and the time you took to compile this report. I agree that there have been a lot of deceiving/unfair comments about some of the fans out there. That's why it's so great to see a report like this based on some real flying data. I'm sure it will help many people make a more informed decision about their choice of fan.

Just out of curiosity (maybe I missed it), what were the weather conditions during testing?

[maaatvee]

Just bodged this together in photoshop!

Cheers Mat

[tchavei]

milesale: Thx for the comments. Ihope I keep up with future reviews. All tests were conducted under the summer heat (90-98F).

maaatvee: Thats really interesting. I didn't thought of crossing the data directly in only one chart. However, please keep in mind that temperatures won't give you much information as they can be changed at the tip of the main needle. For example, I could run the HeV2 much richer and get lower temperatures. My objective during those tests was to keep the engine between 100 and 120C (210-250F) and check how far I could go before the engine started to bog. This means that I had some trouble in keeping temperature high enough with the 3Dx and SHO and had to backup on the HeV2 fan. Its the amplitude of the temperature variations with the rpm data that shows how the engine was keeping up. :)

Tony

[Filby]

Nice work! This is some really great testing that you have done here. Not only does it prove the G-Force's statements about the power gain of the HE fan but also Krause's statements about how a fan robs quite a bit of power! Also there were a few people bagging someones statement that fans can overcool the engine so you cant tune using temp as a guide; this is also proven in your tests! Thanks again for doing the hard work!


PS I would also love to see the Align fan in comparison.