Glitches and Updates

We had great weather here this past weekend, so I decided to go out flying on Saturday. I had a gear unsafe light which still wouldn't go out after fixing the main gear linkage. I tracked it down to the gear up microswitch in the nose. The arm of the switch had been bent down to make it activate the switch, but apparently was just barely closing when the gear went up. I apparently changed things just enough when I disassembled and reassembled the gear doors for my aborted paint shop appointment that it didn't cut it any more. I decided the best fix was to take everything apart and put in both a new microswitch and a new mounting bracket. That fixed it - and used up most of the time I'd blocked out for flying.

I tested it a few times on jacks then got in and taxied out to the run up area. I did my run up and went through my checklist. Since reading about accidents caused by a departing door, I have added an item. Previously, I'd check to make sure my door ajar light was not illuminated as my last item. I added physically reaching out and checking both door handles.

Sure enough, I checked the passenger door handle- fine, then my door handle, and it pulled right back to the open position. I tried again to lock it, but no go. If that vibrated open in flight, it could be very bad. I recommend this check to everyone.

I taxied back to the hangar to check it out. It latched and locked fine from outside every time. If I sat inside and closed it, it didn't lock. What the heck? Time to take off the interior trim panel and find out what was going on.

 What I found reiterated a lesson I have learned the hard way in the past. Don't ignore ANYTHING new or unusual on the plane. I had noticed way back at Oshkosh that my pilot side door handle was leaving a very faint arc on my awful green primer from opening and closing while the passenger side door was not. I was vaguely concerned about this marring my final paint when it finally got painted, but was not concerned as I considered it a cosmetic issue.


Close inspection of the interior surface of the door revealed the cause of both issues. If you've been following my blog or the reflector, you'll know that the doors are very hard to close until they are broken in. This means really cranking on the door handle to get it closed at first. As I ran it through it's range, I could see that the interior skin flexed slightly. The foam between the inner and outer skin under the mounting plate bonded to the interior was crushed. This allowed play in the handle, which in turn allowed the stop block to slip past the lock arm and allowed the end of the handle to scrape the exterior paint.

The fix was to cut a channel in the inner skin next to the mounting bracket, dig out the foam and replace it with flox, then cover the surface of the filled channel with a small 2 bid layup. Problem solved.

Believe it or not, I wasn't even annoyed. It is actually very satisfying to realize that you know your aircraft well enough to diagnose problems and that you have developed the skills to fix them - for no cost other than your time. As the builder, you will know your plane like no factory aircraft owner or purchaser of an already flying kitplane ever will. It is a complex machine, like any airplane. It will always need maintenance and adjustment. The advantage is that I can do it myself.

After fixing it, it was time for some flying. The day was still sunny and warm (for Pennsylvania in November) . There was a pretty good crosswind, so I decided to do some pattern work for practice. Everyone else had exactly the same idea as it turned out. I ended up with as many as 5 other aircraft in the pattern. It was quite a mix too, including a Starduster, a motorglider, a big corporate helicopter, a Cessna and a Falcon jet. Good practice and a lot of fun seeing the big executive jet up close.

I forgot to take pictures, but will try to add some later.

Finally, I've had people commenting that they want to get in touch, but don't know how to reach me, so I've added a contact link at the top of the blog. Just click on it to send an email and I'll get back to you.

That's it for now.

_________________________________________________________________________