Now that spring is almost here, winter has returned to New England so I'm
working on assembling the doors which can be done in the warm cellar instead
of the cold garage. I had several little adventures and questions during this
assembly which may be of interest to others.
First, I laid up the splash moldings and found that they didn't follow the
contour because the plastic film prevents the epoxy/glass from adhering to
the form. Unfortunately once I mix epoxy my hands seem to speed up and my
brain apparently slows down - I covered the layup with film, cut a couple
thin strips of foam, put them against the sides and wrapped it with masking
tape. Naturally, this caused the glass to bulge up under the tape where it
wasn't easily seen, resulting in a poor fit. The next day I made foam blocks
to fit each side by holding sandpaper on the part and rubbing the foam back
and forth. The new layup was covered with peel ply and then a layer of film
over that. The foam blocks were carefully put in place and weighted down with
good results.
I measured and drilled the holes in the door according to directions. The
opening for the latch was cut out and the latches were inserted. There is a
little trap here, literally. I found that the easiest way to insert the latch
was in the open position. Unfortunately, the spring is compressed and if one
bumps the handle it moves to the closed position with the speed of a mouse
trap. I guess the epoxy fumes were still affecting me because I kept saying
to myself that all I had to do was be more careful and it wouldn't happen
again. Finally, I temporarily tightened the bolt which connects the handle to
the spring holder to prevent it from closing.
Then, I noted that the bottom of the port inboard handle contacted the
fiberglass below it as the handle was moved; the stbd mechanism cleared
nicely. I checked the distance from the bottom edge of the door to the
mid-point of the perpendicular lip below the latch on both doors. The port
door measured 0.65 inch while the stbd door measured 0.55 inch. Apparently
there is a tolerance in the jigs when the inside molding is bonded to the
outside molding. This is not accommodated by measuring up 40mm from the
bottom of the door. It may be better to measure this distance and adjust the
position of the hole for the handle shaft slightly rather than blindly
following the directions as I did. I had to file a bit off the bottom of the
port inboard handle to clear, but it looks as if it will work fine.
Also, the fit of the shoot bolts into their guides was too good. Both the
guide and the bolt measured 0.500 inch, which doesn't allow for a sliding
fit. It took nearly 2 hours of filing and hand reaming to open the guides up
about .005 for a snug sliding fit. Is this sufficient so that dirt won't bind
it in use?
I noted a small hole drilled in the bottom of the stbd door, perhaps to
relieve air pressure during shipping and before the purchaser drills holes;
no hole in the port door though. But this brings up the question of a drain
hole in the door. It seems that water might enter the door via the shoot
bolts while the aircraft is parked and collect unless drain holes are
provided. Does this happen in practice? Should drain holes be drilled, and
if so what size and where? (The Europa factory seems to credit me with more
common sense on questions like this than I actually have.)
The inset onto which the window is bonded is 1/2" on 3 sides but the front
inset is 3/4" wide. A trim line at 1/2" is clearly visible on this inset. Is
this a revision to strengthen the door or should it be trimmed to the line?
Hope others can profit from my errors.
John, A044
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