Air intake vent tape

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Rich
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Air intake vent tape

Post by Rich »

The taping approach to silent the front vent noise is mentioned in various locations, but I did something that may be a little different. I taped the upper vent (to allow rain/melt water draining) using glider tape. I need to make a cutout to stick behind the glider tape as it isn't fully opaque:
Vent Tape.jpg
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Steve
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Re: Air intake vent tape

Post by Steve »

Rich: The experiments my son and I did years ago showed that taping the upper half gave the best noise reduction and actually increased the airflow…
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Derek
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Re: Air intake vent tape

Post by Derek »

Neat trick, thanks for sharing! Rich, let us know if you second Steve’s opinion that you get less noise and more airflow.
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waynemcc999
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Re: Air intake vent tape

Post by waynemcc999 »

My few of my data points on vent tape:
(1) before the Brett nose gear fin, I taped the bottom NACA vents, did some measurements, and liked the results.
(2) after the Brett fin, I had a noticeable (but not terrible) increase in whine from the pilot vent.
(3) I moved the glider tape on the pilot side to the upper vent... the whine went away but the airflow went WAY down.
(4) I'm now back with the glider tape on both bottom vents.

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Rich
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Re: Air intake vent tape

Post by Rich »

Derek wrote: Sat Sep 17, 2022 10:04 pm Neat trick, thanks for sharing! Rich, let us know if you second Steve’s opinion that you get less noise and more airflow.
I can't give a comparison between upper and lower. I could see it being more efficient because the lower section aligns nicely with the curved shape within. You can confirm this yourself by reaching in toward the rear. I figure that would produce a less turbulent airflow.

The result is definitely satisfactory with respect to noise and the amount of air coming in. I just need to tweak the cosmetics a bit. It's worth noting that I have the nose gear fin.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Rich
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Re: Air intake vent tape

Post by Rich »

BTW, it might make a difference in what type of panel vents you have. I have the rectangular plastic vents.
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Re: Air intake vent tape

Post by chili4way »

Three NACA inlet treatments: (L-R)
  • 2022 DA40NG showing the new lower-only NACA inlet (no upper inlet)
  • 2019 DA40NG with the classic two-port NACA inlet
  • 2018 DA40NG using sailplane tape to block the lower port
NACA duct.png
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Steve
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Re: Air intake vent tape

Post by Steve »

Diamond should acknowledge the research and development work done on this forum leading to the improved vent design…
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Re: Air intake vent tape

Post by Chris »

Steve wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 4:43 pm Diamond should acknowledge the research and development work done on this forum leading to the improved vent design…
I'm hoping they'll incorporate the Bretfin someday.
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Re: Air intake vent tape

Post by Boatguy »

Steve wrote: Sun Sep 18, 2022 4:43 pm Diamond should acknowledge the research and development work done on this forum leading to the improved vent design…
I think they implicitly did acknowledge it as shown by the 2022 plane which has no upper vent. They just didn't give credit.
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