Weak induction link.

[Ernie Martin]

I'm very surprised by this thread. I saw it when it started and figured that someone more knowledgeable than me would step in and question the premise before it got too long. Bottom line is this: I don't agree that there is insufficient air-flow area.

I'm saying this without the benefit of calculations, but with lots of experience and some common sense. First, I spent 5 years modifying cars for racing. Have you seen the air filters on 500 cu. in., 6000 RPM engines? They're roughly the size of those on a Skymaster (based on the formula in the thread they'd have to be 3 times bigger!). Second, I'm a mechanical engineer (MS from Caltech) and I can't believe that in, what, 20+ years of building Skymasters, no one at Cessna noticed that the air filter was improperly designed. And there's plenty of room under the cowling, so it isn't lack of space. One final point: isn't this the first time we hear about this? In 5 years of following Skymasters in Peter's website and now Kevin's, no one (to my recollection) has ever brought this up.

Sorry to butt in without a more scientific argument, but I'm not buying.

Ernie