I’ve been playing with various configurations of NACA ducts, extension ducts and electric fans on the DF to add a bit of airflow through the cockpit. The more that I tinkered, the more complicated the cockpit got. So I decided to try to organize the cooling and sort of wrap it all up in a dashboard. The idea was to provide a single piece that surrounded the vent from the NACA duct, incorporated the fans and organized the fan and switching wiring. Here’s what I came up with…

Below you see the plug on the left, made from 1″ pink foam sheet, bondo and paint. The resulting mold is on the right. I should have made a 2-part mold. Extracting the plug and then the part from the mold was very difficult.

The resulting part is on the left. On the right is the backside of the part with the fans and switches installed

This shows how the ducting and dashboard pieces fit together.

The dashboard installed:

A minor update… I’ve added some extensions to the fan outlets. These turn the air inward a bit directed more towards my face. I’ve also added an extension to the NACA duct outlet to carry the air further into the cockpit. I’ve also added a butterfly flap in that extension that allows the air to be directed up or down. All of these extension (white) are 3D printed with TPU filament. This is a very flexible plastic that won’t cause any harm in the event of a collision.