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making a hole in the fuselage floor

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rowlandcarson(at)gmail.co
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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 7:37 am Post subject: making a hole in the fuselage floor

I’m fitting an Andair gascolator:



http://www.andair.co.uk/product/gascolator-gas375/



and mounting it on the port outboard rib that supports the baggage bay bulkhead.



My intention is to make an opening in the fuselage floor, between the port inboard and outboard ribs, to allow dropping of the gascolator bowl for inspection & filter cleaning. However, it occurs to me that making a hole could potentially cause structural strength problems. I picked up some nice little snap-in plastic inspection covers at the LAA Rally but unfortunately they are just too small to allow the gascolator bowl to pass through, so I will have to make either a hinged or screwed-on panel for access.



What knowledge is there about making holes in the fuselage? How big can they be? Are any locations verboten for holes?



Assuming it’s safe to do in the first place, is any type of access cover better than any other?



All input welcome.



in friendship



Rowland



| Rowland Carson          ... that's Rowland with a 'w' ...

| <rowlandcarson(at)gmail.com>            http://www.rowlandcarson.org.uk

| Skype, Twitter: rowland_carson      Facebook: Rowland Carson

| pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/rowlandcarson

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Fred Klein

Joined: 26 Mar 2012
Posts: 503

Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:39 am Post subject: making a hole in the fuselage floor

 	  Quote: 	
		  On Oct 19, 2015, at 8:37 AM, Rowland Carson <rowlandcarson(at)gmail.com (rowlandcarson(at)gmail.com)> wrote:

My intention is to make an opening in the fuselage floor, between the port inboard and outboard ribs, to allow dropping of the gascolator bowl for inspection & filter cleaning. However, it occurs to me that making a hole could potentially cause structural strength problems. I picked up some nice little snap-in plastic inspection covers at the LAA Rally but unfortunately they are just too small to allow the gascolator bowl to pass through, so I will have to make either a hinged or screwed-on panel for access.

	


Rowland…in a similar situation, I satisfied my structural concerns by making a 3 layer BID flange around the opening which overlapped onto the internal fuselage skin by a minimum of 1”; I also removed enough exposed foam around the perimeter of the opening to create a robust floxxed closure w/ the outer skin. Contact me off list if you’d like to see some photos…



In addition to providing access for my gascolator, the drop down hinged panel reveals my 2 fuel drains...Fred

 [quote][b]

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davidjoyce(at)doctors.org
Guest

Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:39 am Post subject: making a hole in the fuselage floor

Rowland, I did just that, except mine is on starboard side. I also have a drain tap on the bottom of the Gascolator as this is the low point of the fuel system. Accessed through a rectangular door with rounded corners, and with the hole margin reinforced with two or three layers of Bid extending perhaps 3 cm out - approved by LAA. My Gascoltor was /is a n Andair mini one, deemed adequate when I fitted it. Bowl drops though the door, but you may of course need a larger hole. Feel free to go and inspect it - you will need one of each sort of screwdriver to get full access from both ends. Can no doubt dig out the original paperwork. 

Regards, David Joyce, GXSDJ 

   

 

On 2015-10-19 16:37, Rowland Carson wrote: [quote]  	  Quote: 	
		  --> Europa-List message posted by: Rowland Carson <rowlandcarson(at)gmail.com (rowlandcarson(at)gmail.com)>



I'm fitting an Andair gascolator:



http://www.andair.co.uk/product/gascolator-gas375/



and mounting it on the port outboard rib that supports the baggage bay bulkhead.



My intention is to make an opening in the fuselage floor, between the port inboard and outboard ribs, to allow dropping of the gascolator bowl for inspection & filter cleaning. However, it occurs to me that making a hole could potentially cause structural strength problems. I picked up some nice little snap-in plastic inspection covers at the LAA Rally but unfortunately they are just too small to allow the gascolator bowl to pass through, so I will have to make either a hinged or screwed-on panel for access.



What knowledge is there about making holes in the fuselage? How big can they be? Are any locations verboten for holes?



Assuming it's safe to do in the first place, is any type of access cover better than any other?



All input welcome.



in friendship



Rowland



| Rowland Carson          ... that's Rowland with a 'w' ...

| <rowlandcarson(at)gmail.com (rowlandcarson(at)gmail.com)>            http://www.rowlandcarson.org.uk

| Skype, Twitter: rowland_carson      Facebook: Rowland Carson

| pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/rowlandcarson



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