jimm(at)mweltd.com
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 Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 7:30 am Post subject: Door Fixes |
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I remember my first instructor lecturing me (30+ years ago) about not getting rattled if a door opens in flight because it is just noisy and an inconvenience. In over 2500+ hrs in taildraggers to twins, both exp. and certified, I have experienced at least half a dozen inflight doors openings. Some were my fault, some mechanical and one just a passenger waking up from a nap and opening the door in the process of stretching out.
The point is that doors open in flight multiple times every day with out incident. No matter how good the latch is designed, at some point it is likely that the door will come unlatched in flight. Think about the wear issue when the airframe times get into the multiple thousand hours. While I am partial to retract landing gear, I know the insurance rates show that gear up landings are a given. There are several warning systems around that seem to have no effect on the accident rate and no one has figured out a mechanical way to eliminate the problem. There are plenty of possible failures that can cause serious damage or worse, a door unlatch should not be one of them. On the 10, this problem is compounded by the fact the door lacks the stiffness to stay shut if only one pin is not in. The failure of the top latch in Pipers is routine, but is not even worth stopping for.
I think we need a help from Vans to come up with a solution that really solves the whole problem. If I had not already spent so much time building and fitting the doors, I might have just attached the pilot side door permanently and cut the risk in half. I am truly a Vans fan am looking forward to flying SN 40154. Airplanes are fairly complex and every one of them has something that gets changed or improved. RV-10 doors are not as serious as Bonanza V tails (one of my favorites), which ultimately turned out to be a cheap and easy fix. It took a long time and the lives of several people before Beech could admit the problem and send out the fix.
Sorry for rambling
Jim McLaughlin
40154.
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