Bud (a belated) thanks
My 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@msn.com <budyerly@msn.com> wrote:
>
> 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
>
>
> Read this topic online here:
>
> http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=506715#506715
>
>
> William Daniell
+1 786 878 0246
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