Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so as an un-repentant plagarist I
offer the following:
Some time ago, Graham asked about a pass-through in the forward lift pin re-
inforcement to facilitate the passage of wires located just below the door
sill ; Andy agreed that this was a reasonable idea. My concept to add this
pass-through without compromising strength was as follows: I took a piece of
3/8 inch thick foam about 1.5 by 5 inches, rounded the edges, covered it with
kitchen film, and wrapped it with three layers of BID, then covered with peel
ply and let it cure. The foam was pushed out and the kitchen film removed
---From the inside after cure, the tube was trimmed, then the foam was replaced.
This flattened fiberglass tube was flox'ed in place just under the door sill
and the foam for the forward re-inforcement was fitted up against the bottom
of it. The laminate covering this foam covers the tube also and runs onto the
door sill (with the sides removed to allow access to the tube). I remove the
---From the tube foam when adding wires, slice a bit off and replace it as
packing to minimize room for movement of the wires within the tube.
Bob Berube from the Florida office offered the observation that as customers
enter and exit the demonstrator they tend to press heavily on the door sill
and that the fuselage side flexes due to this pressure. His feeling is that
this could eventually cause cracking of the paint in this area. He suggested a
re-inforcement to the sill forward of the seat back to reduce flexing. I
flox'ed a 2.25 inch square piece of 1/8 ply in place above the outboard seat
belt bolt on each side, then covered with 4 layers of laminate. The ply is
set at an angle as a sort of strut supporting the sill, allowing the wires to
pass through under it.
What are others using to cover the bundles of wires and tubes which run along
the fuselage sides and under the door sills? I am considering spiral wrap or
alternately, just bundling with ty-wraps every 6 inches without a cover.
Regards, John A044 Newtown, CT
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