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Tuesday Evening
9/2/03
Scott,
I assume you are talking about a IV-P or IV door -
correct?
The door is not as hard as some make out - the second one is
always easier! <grin> The first door I built took about 3 months
from start to finish - paint, pressure testing, etc (was a rebuild from an
explosive decompression and subsequent window blow out). My second door
took only about 100 man hours to assemble - not finished yet, but I estimate
about another 200 hours to fit all of the hardware (handles, latches and
lock). For the 100 hours of work, I have an assembled door, stiffener
(with latch cutouts) and window assembly. The door frame is installed
in the top half of the fuselage, hinge pads are in place and fitted The
tricky part will be adjusting the latches so the handles work
smoothly.
No joggle? Are you telling me that when you lay the skin
up on the fuselage that there is no joggle to fit to? Maybe we aren't
talking about the same thing, but both airplanes I have worked on (s/n 53 &
s/n 439) have had the joggle to fit to. The door frame just simply butts
up against the inside of the fuselage around the door opening, but the door skin
and stiffener have to be fitted to the joggle. As the manual states, the
door frame is fitted to the stiffener using the 1/2" spacer blocks - then it is
bolted into place on the fuselage.
I would be glad to take any pictures of my door
construction if it would help. You may also contact me off
line at 2luv2fly@cox.net to
keep from taking up LML space if you like. Daytime phone is 757-641-2387
(Chesapeake, VA).
Regards,
Ed smith
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