The other interesting thing about this is the fact that it is electrically driven.
Boeing, on the 787, decided this is quite a good way to do all kinds of stuff.
I wonder how much power it draws from the battery. If it is say 15A (on a 28V system) then it would be a really neat solution just because of that. Engine driven compressors are messy heavy things.
EDIT: here it says 120-150W. That’s nothing, really.
There is a negative review here of the original (Kickstarter funded) version.
The original unit cost about $500. The new one is $1100 
One review is here which reveals it weighs about 8kg plus the battery. Another here. It sounds like the battery is fully external.
I wonder how many people here have aircon? On the TB20/21 fleet it is probably a few %, with most of them in the US.
I do, which given I don’t have a window, is lucky because it get HOT in the cabin
Peter wrote:
I wonder how many people here have aircon? On the TB20/21 fleet it is probably a few %, with most of them in the US.
My guess in the US you either need FIKI or Aircon, not sure why you think you need both in the UK
Aircon adds extra weight to aircraft (30kg?) that is very problematic for performance on hot days on a standard 800m European runways but not that much on standard 3km federal runways
This has crossed my mind, given EGKK 121420Z 11011KT CAVOK 33/16 Q1012
Has there been any activity in this area, for aircraft below the bizjet level?
The problem is that retrofitting aircon to a piston plane is a messy exercise
Obviously it is possible to do. The Q is how much power would it need. Normally, in higher-up piston GA, you have say a 70A alternator. Most modern planes draw 30A at most (24V). So one could pull say another 30A, which is 840W at 28V, which is more than 1 HP! 1HP is 745W. That has got to be more than enough power.
And the huge advantage would be that, as per the bizjet system above (the link is dead now) you can run it from ground power.
An electric system could be mounted in the rear cavity of the plane, where there is usually plenty of room.
An STC would also be a lot easier because you need to only justify the case for the electrical load being within the capability of the aircraft. This would be subject to a load analysis and if there is no slack, it is a simple no-go.
Many King Airs have electric AC systems. It saves a whole bunch of long system lines from a nacelle. I have STC’d an electric system into the nose of the Twin Otter, which worked very well. But, these systems are heavy, and use lots of electricity, they are not well suited to light airplanes.
The Continental engines which drive belt driven accessories from the back of the starter adapter, are not well suited to take more load. A few did run AC units from the starter adapter, and the starter adapter repairs became frequent and costly.
What sort of power is typically needed?
A Twin Otter is a vastly bigger plane than what most of us fly.
On a quick google, I found this
Pull down = 6 to 7 kW of cooling power (~3kW of input mech power)
Maintain = 1.5 to 3 kW of cooling power (~1kW average mech input power)
which is too much to get electrically, in the GA context. OTOH one could down-spec it a bit; most people don’t need the aircon performance of a modern car.
Yes, I know about the infamous Conti IO550 starter adapter driven alternator which was used to power the Thermawing panels. The owners had huge problems, due to the drive being too weak for the job.
But then I found this:
It takes about a 1/4 HP to run it on low on a cool day to over 10 HP on a hot and humid day with the fan on full.
which reportedly came from an aircon specialist at GM.
FYI, RV10s can mount a mechanical AC. It is geared from the IO-540 via a special gear, which is optional from lycoming.
Kelly Aerospace.
50 amp peak load, 45 amp normal load, 65 lbs, 27k$.
You can get electric AC compressors in all power ranges (Alibaba is your friend). The question is how much cooling one really needs. I think it’s not necessary to cool down the cabin to 18°C on a hot day. 500W (electric) should be better than nothing when it’s blowing into your face. But the latter is more of a problem because you need a lot of pipework for that unless you can put the condenser close to the firewall. If you can’t do that and mount somewhere behind the rear seats you have to route some 5cm+ diameter pipes from the back to the front.
