There are three reasons why more airplanes don’t have air conditioning: Its expensive, its heavy and saps payload and no matter how hot it is, you usually don’t need it above 5000 feet. So most owners just go without and swelter through the hot months. As an alternative to sweat and bear it, a cottage industry has sprung up offering portable coolers for the cockpit which circulate air through block or crushed ice stored in a modified picnic cooler. Weve seen these products at trade shows and on the Web and our reaction is always some version of this: They cant possibly work, can they? Actually, they do work and although not practical for all owners, they offer a limited alternative to the cockpit steam bath. But any buyer considering one shouldnt expect a cockpit chilly enough for a sweater in July. Theyll cool the cabin or, more accurately, theyll spot cool the occupants enough to improve hot weather comfort, but its unrealistic to think of them as air conditioners-they simply don’t have the cooling capacity.
Simple Theory
Blowing air through a pile of ice will make it cooler and that, in effect, is the operating theory of these devices. But theyre more sophisticated than that, even though they may look like ordinary picnic coolers with a fan on top. Arctic Air sells eight models of air coolers-two ice chest sizes, 12- or 24-volt fans and two models with directable ducts. Prices range from $475 to $625. (See http://www.arcticaircooler.com/.)