Don,

 

I am getting ready to finish the door frame.  I wanted to paint it before I took it to the painter.  It seems that even a little paint, or installing the door seal throws off the allignment of the door to the fuselage.  My plan is to get the whole thing finished, install the seals, then make sure the door is flush to the fuselage.  I bought some clay to check the gaps around the door.  I didn't want to paint it and find the seal didn't fit!  Your e-mail was very timely.

 

I would modify the door frame instead of the door.  Those corners are accessible from the inside of the fuselage.  You could grind back the door frame to get the clearance you need and do a 4 bid (or even a 6 bid) layup on the underneath side of the frame.  Then use flox and micro to get the contour back.

 

You could do the same thing to the door.  With the interior panel removed, you could get behind the corners to install the 4 or 6 bid reinforcement.  But it's a little tighter to get into there.

 

Structurally, the door frame is locked into the fuselage side, you are much less likely to introduce any weakness that could cause problems down the road.

 

I don't think I'd hesitate to hack into the door frame to get that seal to fit.  Everybody talks about how quiet the ES is with the seal inflated.  A guy at my airport said don't bother with ANR headsets because it's so quiet.

 

Just my two cents worth.

 

Mike Easley

Colorado Springs