I took Graham's advice, avoiding spray foam, using blue foam and micro to
fill the space between the doors, then covering it with 2 layers of bid.
Between the roll bars and fitting/covering this space I have spent about 10
hours on this little area so far. Being a lazy sort, I am now procrastinating
on adding a removable panel in the lovingly crafted overhead, which would take
several more hours of cutting, laminating, adding nut plates, fashioning an
alloy plate, etc.
Now, I am considering not installing the jacks for the headsets in the
overhead, but instead placing them in the baggage bulkhead an inch or so from
the outside skin and about even with the bottom of the "D". The jacks wouldn't
be easily accessible when seated but the headsets could easily be connected
before entry. An alloy bracket to hold the headset when not in use would be
secured by the nut which holds the pivot ball for the door strut.
This seems like it would keep things tidy, it would likely weigh a little
less, and it would (not coincidentally) be much less work to implement. Am I
blinded by sloth, or is this a reasonable approach? Comments anyone?
On Fred's concern about ice buildup in the door tang recess, I can see that
this could be a problem in the wrong conditions. However the forward tang
recesses actually extend slightly below the door recess so a drip pan would
have to be below this, requiring a bit of work (!) to build the appropriate
shape. I admit to being hesitant to add holes to admit water deliberately --
water will probably find enough holes on its own. One potential problem is in
descending during a rain shower when the drip pan would be inclined forward,
wanting to dump its contents onto the instrument panel. Rather than installing
a drip pan I would favor avoiding the ice problem by using a cockpit cover
when parking outside during bad weather.
Regards, John A044 Newtown, CT
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