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Bowed doors

 
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wdaniell.longport(at)gmai
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PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2022 8:26 am    Post subject: Bowed doors Reply with quote

Bud (a belated) thanksMy doors fit just fine and close with a slight squeeze of door and sill.
I think the seal is partially the culprit...when I remove the seal the bowing is less.
But even without the seal the doors bow slightly.
Is it possible to flatten them out a bit...clamping and heating or something like that?
It's not a huge thing....but you know what it's like.      You fix things because you can.
On another note I would be grateful for trigear/front gear streamlining pics.   I have just done the transition between main gear wheel pant and gear leg and see a couple of knots improvement. 
thanks
Will

On Mon, May 9, 2022, 22:12 budyerly(at)msn.com (budyerly(at)msn.com) <budyerly(at)msn.com (budyerly(at)msn.com)> wrote:

Quote:
--> Europa-List message posted by: "budyerly(at)msn.com (budyerly(at)msn.com)" <budyerly(at)msn.com (budyerly(at)msn.com)>

Will,
Two things:
I don't blame the door seal.  It mainly is the fit of the door/shoot bolts.  See Tech Tip from long ago.  Should be on my website also.  If you don't see them I can resend.

I actually have a thicker door seal (5/8") on 12AY.  But the bulb is a thinner material and slightly softer.  The door is designed so that when properly fitted it has a 12mm to 1/2 inch gap between the cockpit flashing and the door.  That is plenty.  A door that is poorly fitting enough that one must pull, attach cables to, or knobs and still fails to seat, needs a tune-up to correct the fit.  As Chris said, I have written on this issue.  See my website on hinging and also on refitting a door (handy if you loose one).  I wrote these up as instructions to clients unable to come to the shop and have me do their installation.  Their doors are just fine.  Especially with them taking time to adjust the clamshell properly.

I chose the thicker bulb seal for the gap that forms at high speed cruise as the doors flex a bit by the low pressure area on top and sides.  Annoying, but in Florida, not an extreme issue.  However, by adding the slightly larger bulb, it cured my drafty issue when cruising above 10,000 in my shorts and T shirt. 

About the doors:
Doors should close and latch with one finger from the outside or inside.  In cold weather like in the UK and Canada, the seals do get hard and frankly, a bit of push down with bulky clothes on is tough to do.  A small knob on the back of the door is assurance that you have the door in the rebate ready for the latch to fall.  But again, push the handle down vertically rather than yanking it inboard (as most do).  The lip of the door may hang up on the exterior or if you didn't round your shoot bolt guides nicely, the two shoot bolt guides may hit one another and prevent proper seating.  I've never really pushed the community on properly rounding the shoot bolt guides to help align the door.  The guides are tapered but a small lip can be quite a hangup.  I"ve always sloped my guide protrusions for a nice slip fit.  I also use a 1/32" 960-8L washer between my shoot bolt guides while they are curing in place to give me a little play and a better "slip fit".  I also do an alterna!
 te mod 66 for my door struts.  Using the LSTechnologies struts I suggested is quite handy as the door stays open but once past 3/4 down, the strut does not hold the door open.  It is all about geometry.

No one likes to do a door refit, but it is worth the time.  Most installers do not understand how a clamshell door fits (even fewer of the secondhand owners do) nor do most builders understand the geometry of the curved clamshell and consequently fail to properly adjust the door guides, and glass installation to allow the door to fit the door gap perfectly.

As for seals:  Go on-line, there are many different shapes and sizes of door seals.  I prefer the round rather than U shape bulb.  Sizes can be had from 3/8 to 3/4 inch diameter and bulb thickness from 1mm to nearly 2mm, so there are many to choose from.  Or as some have done, make your own if you can live with your door fit. 

Remember, don't pull in to close, push down on the sill and latching ease is enhanced.  All the lights, and gimmicks to assure closing doesn't replace a push on the lower door prior to takeoff as a "last chance" doors closed and locked check.

Best Regards,
Bud Yerly




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William Daniell
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budyerly@msn.com



Joined: 05 Oct 2019
Posts: 280
Location: Florida USA

PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2022 1:31 pm    Post subject: Re: Bowed doors Reply with quote

Like I said Will,
I experimented with my door seals and in flight bowing out air leakage, I found a new seal was my answer for ease of security. My bulb size is larger but softer. It is not terribly expensive to change out.

As far as heating, in Miami you have all the heat you should need in an hour outside to squish your seal for sure. Especially this time of year.

Watch that you didn't put a fold of the headliner or other interior finish on the flange where you tap on the door seal. If the interior fabric folds over the flange of the fuselage you'll never get an easy finish. If all that is clear, I just would put on a different seal.

Sorry, it is hard to diagnose on line.

Bud


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