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Friends,
For the last 6 years we have been offering Gold oil systems. The basic element of the system is the Filter housing, which comes in forward and reverse models. There are a number of posts on these parts here on this site, and also on our main page, Flycorvair.com.
Some aircraft, particularly larger, slower climbing ones, benefit from having larger than stock oil coolers. The Gold oil system is a ‘modular’ system that accommodates this. The additional parts in a HD oil system are the Sandwich, a block off plate, two oil lines, and the HD cooler. These parts cost a builder about $500 to up grade to the HD system. The HD system has roughly 2 to 2.5 times the oil cooling capacity of the stock system.
The HD system has been long proven on many large slow climbing planes. Our work with it actually predates The Gold oil filter housing. On the ‘black’ HD oil systems we mounted the oil filter and sandwich on the firewall, in a configuration knows as a ‘four hose’ set up. We flew these in 2004 on our own 601XL, and later installed them on a number of larger, slow climbing planes. The Gold oil system was an improvement aimed at having all the same functions, but keeping the components all mounted on the engine, and utilizing a much more compact and simplified arrangement. It also ended up costing builders slightly less than all the elements of the previous ‘Black’ system.
One of the hallmarks of the system is that it is designed to directly work with all the other systems we promote. Adding an HD system doesn’t start over from scratch with a builder: the Sandwich goes between the Filter housing and the filter; the larger cooler fits directly in the baffling kits; the arrangement fits inside all the cowlings we sell; The system fits with all of our motor mounts and intakes. It even clears the new rear alternator arrangement.
This particular story is about a new cooler we are working with. The two photos below are a little fuzzy, evidently I didn’t have enough coffee when I was holding the camera, however they have enough information to give the general arrangement. The installation pictured is our Zenith 750 fire wall forward display, with a mock-up engine on it. In addition to displays at airshows, I use the unit to test fit lots of small detail items on installations. Some people like to look at drawings or CAD files, but nothing is as good as having the assembly in real life in front of you. Now that Americans spend half their waking hours staring at a screen of one sort or another, Reality is going to have to stage a big marketing campaign to win back people’s attention. Maybe reality needs a catchy slogan like “We have always been 3D! or “Available in high definition every where.” I appreciate that builders can get info here, but unless the time ratio of shop to screen is about 10-1, your plane isn’t going to progress quickly. Read the information, understand it, and then go to your shop and put it to good use.
Above, the new cooler in the baffling. The Cooler is an Aero-Classic 9 row cooler. It is the same size as a Niagara 20003. It is a fully certified, FAA-PMA part. It is available from Aircraft Spruce as part number 08-00641. It sells for $248. I still like the Niagara’s, but they have gotten astronomically pricey. This one is about $140 less. This cooler is bigger than the 20002 that we recommended for installations like 601’s. The 20003 we recommended for aircraft like the 750. In Niagara’s system, there is a large price increase between the 20002 and the 20003. In Aero-Classics, the 7 and 9 plate coolers are only $4 different. The weight difference is minimal, and I would recommend that everyone interested in a HD oil system just opt for the 9 plate model. If it is too cool in the winter on your 601, you can always partially block it off with a tiny piece of sheet metal.
