REFLECTOR: Air Stair Door

[Ron Brown]

Chuck,

That looks great!  

I would think that as long as there is good structure to the bulkhead that goes across the back of the seats the strake/fuselage structure would be a strong as an Elite.  

I wouldn't think the FAA would care - they are not into doing engineering analysis of experimental homebuilt aircraft.  You'll have to satisfy yourself that the structure is not compromised (by talking to the factory, talking to structural folks, engineers, etc.)   IT IS AN EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT.  

There are other pop-tops with similar mods.  Scott Derrick for one.

Ronnie
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Chuck Harbert 
  To: reflector at tvbf.org 
  Cc: Tom Tilson ; Kevin T at work ; Dan Ashburn ; Stu Turner ; 'Dana Tilson' ; Witmer,Mike ; Rick Harbert ; Patrick Sughrue ; Scott Lower ; Eric Westland 
  Sent: Thursday, December 08, 2005 10:48 AM
  Subject: REFLECTOR: Air Stair Door 


  The fold down air stair door was recently completed and attached are some pictures. It really makes the plane easy to get in and out of compared to climbing up on the strake. The stair portion (strake well) is only about a foot off the ground. It is strong enough to hold a 200 lb persons full weight. There are no gap in the seals and during taxiing it did not flex. I used the same door opening size and reinforcement design as the Elite door.Before I fly I still have to run it by the FAA and hope they don't want a visit first. It took about 3 weeks of solid work to complete. I had a friend of mine, Scott Lower (slower0228 at aol.com), who has built several Velocity's help me with the construction. He's planning on putting out a kit for this modification detailing all the things you'll need to do. He said he might consider assisting you make the change, but you'll have to talk to him about this. I think it will also add value to the hatch type planes as it eliminates the entry disadvantage of the standard planes. 

  Chuck Harbert


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