Feb 07, 2024     Door Frame Edges       Category: Doors

I needed to build up the door frame edges so I used the technique of filling some sacrificial McMaster Carr Door Seal material with a resin and flox mixture. After I clean up the edges, I'll have to see how much I can grind the outside edge to get the doors to fit.

  Jan 21, 2024     Door Pins       Category: Doors

Installed the Door Pin Blocks and Guides. Also the Center Lock. Per the plans, I started by fabricating door pin pointers to help mark the location to drill the door pins. After marking the location with the pins, I measured with calipers and marked it with a sharpie. I drilled the forward and aft pin holes and installed the Delrin pin guides. Finally, I installed the center lock.

  Jan 04, 2024     Door Gas Struts       Category: Doors

While still adjusting the doors, I wanted to see if the Door Gas Struts would have any impact on how the doors lay up. I had ordered the Bansbach EasyLift B0N0F50-100-247/135lbs (600N). If they eventually give out I could possibly go up to 157 lbs 700N version, but that would be something to do down the road. Looking at the Van's instructions, it appears that the gas strut on the door side, with the shaft oriented up when extended. However, I checked with Bansbach and they said the shaft should be down. The instructions have you use the Van's WD-1023 Strut Attach Bracket as jig to help plan the location of the brackets. Since I'm using the aftermarket PlaneAround Strut Attach Bracket and had deleted the overhead bracket, I had to fabricate a jig to plan the holes on the cabin top. The PlaneAround bracket is nice because it allows for the McMaster-Carr door seals. The holes for the brackets on the door were fairly straight forward and simple to install per the plans. Since the BansBach Hinge Eye End Fittings were not the stock Van's width, I had to sand the width of the fitting to fit in the PlaneAround bracket and also adjust the bushing length to fit the eye and the bracket. Planearound suggests using a "glob" of resin to secure the cabin top backing plates. I used some JB Weld Marine epoxy adhesive which seemed to work quite well.

  Dec 09, 2023     Door Seals       Category: Doors

First attempt at the door seals. Thankfully, I have extra McMaster-Carr seal material. The left door seemed very close to being ready but the right door frame will need some extra work.

  Dec 02, 2023     Door Hing Reinforcement Plates       Category: Doors

Installed the AirWard RV-10 Door Reinforcement Plates. They are a very nice product but the installation instructions leave much to be desired and the photos are even worse. First I installed the four MS21071L3 nutplates with 426AD3-4 rivets, in each of the interior reinforcement plates. These nutplates are the single wing type and tend to be a real pain to install as they can bend quite easily. The cabin top plates are flat and the door plates are designed to nest on the hinge. Using AN3C6A Bolts and AN960C3L Washers I secured them through the top reinforcement plates, door, hinge and into the bottom reinforcement plate. Some of the nutplates didn't align too well so they needed some persuasion with a 10-32 tap.

  Dec 01, 2023     Door Hinges 2       Category: Doors

Continuing the door hinges. After positioning the cabin hinge halves in the pockets on the top of the cabin, the cabin top, inboard holes are match drilled. This allows the hinges to be pivoted to be square with the other hinge. A reference line is then drawn to help with keeping both hinges square. When aligned, the top outboard holes are drilled. I used a piece of scrap metal and two-sided tape to hold it to the hinge. This allowed me to clamp a ruler to both hinges to check alignment and freedom of the swing. The rest of the holes are then match drilled. Then was time to crawl inside the cabin and drill the door hinge halves from the inside - out. It was very gratifying to see the doors mounted and how smooth they open and close. I have elected to install the after market AirWard reinforcing plates. The installation of these plates also allows for much more easy removal of the doors if needed. That will be my next step.

  Nov 24, 2023     Door Hinges       Category: Doors

Starting on the hinges. From what I understand getting the hinges square is probably the most important part of this step. The instructions have me cut the threads off of four AN3-21A bolts to a length of 1.688 inches. I cut them with a cutoff wheel on my grinder then got the final length and chamfer on the bench sander. I can see that the angle of the hinges is specific to a position on the doors. This is because the top of the cabin is curved and the hinge orientation keeps the axis of the hinges straight. The instructions have you start on the left door and put the WD-1018-L in the left side forward pocket with the WD-1018-R in the left side aft pocket. The instructions don't mention that this will need to be reversed on the right side door because of the hinge angles. I guess that Left and Right means when looking at it from the respective side. They also have you cut a .125 in. scrap of aluminum to help set the edge distance of the hinges in the pocket. I found that the bolt for the hinge set in the left side forward pocket was interfering with the hinge setting square. I had to Dremel out around the head of the bolt so it would lay straight. The aft hinge didn't seem to need as much of this adjustment.

  Nov 24, 2023     More Doors       Category: Doors

Working on the left side door now. Trimming this door is going a lot faster. Still a lot of on-and-off to get the fit close. I found the scribe lines weren't very close and I would need to cut well inside of the lines. I made a scribing tool to help determine how much to trim off. Two thin scraps of aluminum riveted together. Drilled a hole for a marker pen and bent the other side to go in the door joggle. Same principle as a hole finder tool. Still had some gaps on the door edges that I'll have to fill later.

  Nov 05, 2023     Door Trimming       Category: Doors

Actually got back to work on the doors. Started to trim the edges. The angle grinder with a thin cutoff wheel got the majority. Then I switched to a flapper wheel to get a closer fit. Then finishing with the Perma-Grit sanding block and Dremel tool. Lot's of on-and-off. I have quite a bit more to do, but it was a good start to see how it will fit and how much I need to trim off. I cut some angle aluminum and drilled #40 holes in the doors to cleco the doors in place after I cut off the alignment tabs on the doors. Then I used a drum sanding attachment for the inside radius curves.

  Jul 01, 2023     Door Bonding       Category: Doors

I finally finished installing the door mechanisms, so now is the time to bond the door halves together. First task was to sand, using 60 grit sandpaper, the areas of the halves where the doors mate. I then masked the Cabin Top and Fuselage, where excess epoxy might squish out the edges, with clear packing tape. There are two areas inside the door that need a structural filler called ParaBeam, the cranial cavity and the elbow cavity. ParaBeam is a 3D fiberglass woven “sandwich” fabric. The latch pocket area doesn't use the ParaBeam filler. I cut the ParaBeam in 5" x 9" sections and then prepared the resin. It was a warm day so I knew I needed to work quickly. To start, I "painted" resin on the contact areas of the outer shell. Then I "wetted out" the ParaBeam in a paint roller tray and applied it to the areas on the inner door shell. Next, I prepared some Cab-O-Sil for the flange areas on the inner door half. Once clecoed together I was able to mount the door in the door frame with clecos, clamps and Gorilla Tape. One door down! Ran out of resin... Door 2 another day.

  Jun 07, 2023     Door Handle Powder Coating       Category: Doors

I not a real fan of the white powder coating that Van's uses. So, last night my neighbor Tim Plasek was able to powder coat the inside door handles a nice satin black. His Home Based Company is Spring Powder Coating. Tim did the previous powder coating on the control sticks, exterior steps, tie down rings, and cabin center brace. Since he works out of his garage, he let me observe. He removed all the original powder coat the night before by sand blasting. The powder is a very fine material and adheres by an electrical charge. The positive charged powder is sprayed onto the negatively charged part. It is then baked to create a hard shell. Tim first applied a primer powder coat before the final color coating. I found it to be a very interesting process.

  May 31, 2023     Door Arm Rests       Category: Doors

Again, a copy of Joe's ideas, I am installing Arm Rests on the Doors. The Arm Rest Pads came from Amazon and are replacement Office Chair Arm Rest Pads. Using angle aluminum I cut it to fit the bottom of the arm rest cutout. I drilled mounting holes to match the center door pin, then drilled some lightening holes. I purchased the AeroSport RV-10 Interior Door Handle Kit, however the handle cover extends too far aft when the handle is in the open position, it will interfere with the arm rest. I'll use the cover plate for the gearbox area and have the OEM door handle powder coated black rather than the standard Van's white.

  May 31, 2023     Door Handle Mechanisim       Category: Doors

It's taking some time to understand how the Door Handle Mechanism goes together, but I'm finally getting the idea. Starting with the AeroSport instructions, they have you cut the WD-1022 Handle and C-1007 Pin to accommodate the new mechanism. Then follow the Van's instructions to install the C-1008 Handle Lever, which controls the door lock, and roll pin spring. Thanks to very long and skinny needle nose pliers to position the nutplate inside the Handle Lever and rivet it in place. The forward corners of the strike plate must be rounded to let it nest flat. The strike plate is used as a guide to make the holes in the door shells. Then match drill and rivet the handle plates which will attach to the new delrin spacer bock. Drilling the holes in the door shell was straight forward but a little nerve wracking as the space between the 0.25” holes and the new 0.90” lock hole is very thin. I'm using the ACS door locks and at first fit, i thought they were too short. I didn't notice that the 0.90" hole allows the lock to rest on the strike plate and once the cover plate is installed, the lock will be flush. This door handle is a very nice addition and I'm happy with the installation. Next step is to install the forward and aft door pins. The aft pin needed to be bent to parallel the bottom edge of the door shell. I just bent it by hand in the vice. The forward pin is much more short, so was a bit more difficult to bend. Finally, i painted the inside door shell with the same SEM Texture Coat then the final Lite Parchment Color Coat.

  May 27, 2023     Door Mechanisim and Door Handle Preparation       Category: Doors

Sanded and shaped the Door Pin Guide Blocks to nest in the pockets on the door. The Door Handle Gear Racks needed to be cut in half rather than per the Van's instructions. The top Rack Gear also needed to be beveled to allow full extension into the door at the elbow cavity. I used the bench sander to make the bevel. Then the AeroSport Door Handle Door Preparation started by setting the strike plate into position and marking guide lines for the holes to be cut and drilled for the door handles.

  May 12, 2023     Door Seals       Category: Doors

Working on the Doors continues. I wanted to see where the McMaster-Carr door seals would lay against the inner door shell. For the most part, the seals lay in place very well. Only two spots where the lip might be too thick and I will need to grind it down a bit. Many builders use Flox in a sacrificial door seal channel to build up the door frame edge in the thin spots. I don't think I'll need to do that. My next plan is to use SEM Texture Coat on the inside door shell before I paint the final color coat, but I want to mask off the area where the seal contacts the door so it would be against a smooth surface. I temporarily installed some sacrificial door seals then set the inner door shell in place. I traced a line around the edge of the seal to mark where I will mask it off. I'm also planning on adding an arm rest mounted to the door. I'll need to set the placement before I drill the mounting holes. I think it will make a nice addition.

  May 05, 2023     PlaneAround Door Mechanisim       Category: Doors

I'm working off several different plans at the same time. Van's original, PlaneAround for the latch mechanism and AeroSport for the door handle. On the list today from the PlaneAround instructions, was to cut the Gear Racks that Van's supplied in half, giving four 5 inch racks. This installation is a bit different than how Van's has it. Then remove the cover off the gear box and determine where to match drill and countersink the holes. To secure the structural fiberglass blocks, I used some packing tape and wrapped the gear box, then mixed some Cab-O-Sil and epoxied them into place. That was it for the day, as I wanted the epoxy to set up before I messed with it any more.

  May 04, 2023     Sorting it all out...       Category: Doors

Got some of the door parts together to get the interior mechanism started. I found the middle pushrods that are now included in the kit. This will make fabricating the aft pushrod much more easy as you no longer need to drill and notch the aft pushrod. Just cut it to the proper length and tap the cut end to accept the the new beveled end pieces. The first step was to mark a spot on the bottom edge of the door and drill a 1/2 inch hole for the gear box. The instructions have you cut a notch in the bottom edge of the door, but I believe that this is for retro installations. Since I haven't bonded the door halves together I plan to just drill the hole and go to the next step. I have seen other builders mention this. I can't see this part ever being removed as the pushrod ends attached to the rack gears isn't accessible when everything is in place.

  May 03, 2023     Section 43: Cabin Cover Part 3       Category: Doors

Match drilled the holes along the bottom edge and top aft part of the cabin top. Then counter sunk the holes. Also, match drill the reinforcing strip for the aft part of cabin top.

  May 02, 2023     Chap 45-04 Gas Strut Doubler       Category: Doors

Continued work on the Doors Gas Strut Attach Doubler. First I mixed CAB-O-SIL into resin. My first time to mix resin and cab-o-sil. It's an extremely light powder used as a resin thickener. The plans said about 2 fluid ounces would be needed (I mixed 3 oz. and had plenty to spare). Then used 80 grit sandpaper to roughen the mating surfaces before spreading about 1/16th inch of resin mix onto the doubler and clecoing it into position. I used a small chip brush to spread it out. I'll let it cure before re-drilling the holes and doing the final riveting.
Update May 03, 2023: Cleaned and drilled the holes then did the final riveting.

  Apr 26, 2023     Chap 45-04 and Getting Organized...       Category: Doors

Finished drilling the set holes around the perimeter of the window frames today. I clamped the doors into position and rather than taping the top of the door down, I used some heavy metal weights on the top edge. Then removed the door and matched drilled and clecoed the door frame holes. Then it was time to organize the aftermarket door parts and sort out the separate plans. It took a while to locate all the parts. Specifically, the C-1011 and C-1012 Latch Pin Rods. Found them attached to the fiberglass landing gear leg fairing. I'm trying to use the plans as much as i can with the after market modifications I'm using. Then I beveled, trimmed and Match Drilled the Gas Strut Attache Doubler. They only needed slight flattening adjustments to fit the door shells inside radius. Next will be mixing some CAB-O-SIL and epoxy the doubler into position.

  Apr 25, 2023     Door Frame       Category: Doors

Finished sanding the Door Frame Flange. Trying to get the flange straightened out to be able to accept the McMaster- Carr Door Seals. I think I got it where I want it. I started with an Angle Grinder and a Cutoff Wheel. For the corner curves I used a Oscillating Saw and a Dremel and a Drum Sander on a drill motor. To finish I used the Angle Grinder with a 80 Grit Flapper Whee and my Perma-Grit Sandier. I also flattened the curved lip of the flange by sanding down the high part of the curve. This will help make the door seal lay correctly. It looks like the gap will be right when I trim the door edges to fit within the frame. The doors will be set inward about 1/8 inch from the current fitting position when it's time to do the final edge trimming and setting the door edge gap.

  Apr 19, 2023     Doors - Part 1 - (4 hours)       Category: Doors

I'm starting to install the doors. A lot of people have warned me that the doors are a very complex task, so I've been studying quite a bit.
In addition to the "OEM" Van's instructions, there are 5 different after market modifications that I plan to incorporate into the doors:
* PlaneAround Third Latch Mechanism with the new internal mechanism that allows the door handle to turn 180 degrees.
* Aerosport Low Profile Exterior Door Handle and Interior Door Handle.
* AirWard for the Main Door Hinge Reinforcing Kit.
* McMaster-Carr Door Seals
* and heavier duty Bansbach EasyLift Door Struts.
The first steps are mostly to plan. Basically, trimming the excess fiberglass around the doors and windows. First, I made some markings round the door edges and the window frame to mark where to trim the cutouts. I used a Popsicle Stick and drilled some #40 holes at the prescribed lengths to make a drawing gauge and used a ultra fine point sharpie to make the marks. Then I marked drill points 1-1/2 inches apart around the middle window line perimeter. This will be for clecoing the halves together. Then I trimmed the door halves along the lines. There are index holes which are used to square the door in the frame. The left side forward and aft index holes seemed to line up with the holes on the fuselage side, but the holes on the right side didn't align quite as well and I had to re-drill the aft index hole on the inside shell. The exterior shell index holes in the window area didn't line up with the interior index holes. Van's has some guidance to find the holes along the bottom edge of the door but if you use a Hole Finder you can skip this step. I used a Hole Finder Drill Guide to drill the holes along the bottom edge of the doors which was by far the easy way. I then clecoed the doors in place. Next, I'll continue to drill the cleco holes around the perimeter of the windows and sand the contact points in preparation for bonding the halves together.