I have recently installed my gas struts with reversed pivot points as suggested
by Erich Trombley on 03 July 2001. The pressure of the strut seems better
contained
with the strut acting on the curved box section of the door. Incidentally,
I believe my doors frames (kit no. 107) are carbon-fibre - when I sanded off
the gel coat to glue the new bracket onto the curve of the door the material
below was black and considerably harder to drill into than fibreglass.( I
drilled
small holes for locating pins once I had established the correct bracket
position.
The following may interest anyone thinking of going this route.
The new pivot points require careful placing to avoid the strut fouling the door
or the surrounding frame and to ensure the door opens to maximum height. I could
only achieve 38" and not the 39" the manual recommends. I experimented by
gluing my aluminium bracket with rapid araldite which I could later release by
heating the bracket with a soldering iron. I have the plastic end sockets. After
some trial and error my pivot points are located at:
Fuselage ball connect fitting - 0.75" from edge of upper door frame surround
flange
(avoiding the curve of the corner) and 1.00" from top of outer skin of fuselage.
Door bracket ball connect fitting - 7.5" from centre of small moulded lug on the
door.
The gas struts are fully compressed when the door is shut. Max bracket length
about
1.5", height should not exceed 0.75". I installed my door bracket such that
the gas strut is attached to the forward face of the bracket as the door frame
channel is slightly deeper at its rear. The slight offset opposes gravity
and helps the door to close square on the mono-wheel Europa.This required a
small
flox pad on the rear face of the curved door frame box section to strengthen
the attachment. After reduxing the bracket in place I added two layers of bid.
Finally, I am not sure there is enough space to use the metal end sockets with
this method. It is a tight fit! But I am pleased with the result. Thanks, Erich.
Patrick
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