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Bubble Doors... 04/02 & 04/05/03 - Last week I mentioned that I'd decided to go with the optional bubble door kit in place of the standard flat panels I originally ordered and was waiting on the kit delivery. I received the replacement door kit last Tuesday and began a bit of work on Wednesday evening with trial fit and a start on trimming on the right side door panel. Today, I completed the installation for the right side and following are a few photos from today's task. Beginning with fitting and installing the infamous door ribs...you may remember these ribs started the whole thing about me switching from flat to bubble door panels. When I took my demo ride in the Rans factory taildragger I experienced the pilot side door 'popping' in on me during a steep turn. According to Ed at Rans, they had previously taken the rib out of the bubble door installation because of a 'deeper' bubble, but that had caused a problem because the bubble would contact the bottom side of the wing when opened fully and when they went with a shallower bubble a few aircraft were built without the rib and the result is an occasional 'door pop' like I experienced. The door popping in doesn't present a flight problem when it occurs, but it can be a bit startling at the least and Ed mentioned he is in the process of re-implementing the rib on bubble door kits and re-inserting the info in the manuals. My kit may have the first set of ribs 'intentionally installed' for a bubble door as a result of the change.
With the bubble panel rivet-attached and the rib loosely fit inside:
After riveting the rib into place and a final trim cut on the door panel:
The door handles are now installed although they're hard to distinguish in these photos:
I must state here that I am THOROUGHLY SATISFIED with my decision to replace the flat panels with the bubble panels. There is MUCH MORE ELBOW ROOM in the cockpit now! ;^) If I can get back out to the shop tomorrow, I plan to begin work on the left side door/panel installation and that'll leave me pretty much on track to begin the control surfaces next. I am supposed to start my vacation in another week, so I 'hope' to have a lot of time to devote to the control surfaces during that week. More updates soon... |
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Last Update: 04/05/2003 |
