REFLECTOR: Adding a door

Hiroo Umeno humeno at microsoft.com
Tue Jan 2 17:51:48 CST 2007


I guess there aren't enough single-door Velo's out there for them to put the retrofit kit on the Velocity Store<g>.  I'll definitely consider factory retrofit kit.

What I am not exactly certain is your statement about the structure.  Looking at the door section of the fuselage, and recalling how I have built that area, I do recall it was essentially the fuselage that is cut open to the cut line and bonded with the carbon beam and the hinge area re-enforcements.  You, then, built up the lips and other structure that will go along with the door.

As for the door itself, it looks to me like it is the standard fiberglass sandwich with the frame all the way around.  It seems to me that you should be able to replicate a fairly similar setup (of course, why would I do that if I can just get all the parts I need from the factory).

On the other hand, this does present an interesting opportunity for some creative modifications.  I think Chuck was the one who has the handy "Airstair" mod that opens up and down to help alleviate some of the step-height issues.  I know he did that on the "pop-top" variety but it seems to me that it can be adapted to the Elite type as well.

Expanding on the dual-split "up and down" door concept, I could imagine elongating the top portion of the opening a bit to the rear so that the rear seat occupants can get in a bit easier (the main benefit of the pop-top)...

Hiroo

________________________________
From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On Behalf Of Andy Millin
Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 11:31 AM
To: 'Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list'
Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: Adding a door

Hey Hiroo,

I'm not sure the procedure would change much between a completed plane and the kit.  You gotta do what you gotta do...

The Texas Attorney, Mr. Chris Barber, added the second door to his SUV, and is now the de facto authority.  :)

I'm not sure the part of the fuselage that gets cut out could be re-used.  The door frames have quite a bit of structure to them that just isn't there in the fuselage wall.  Your beautiful, existing window will most likely be cut out for the door opening and later discarded.

I'm finding out how much fun fitting and finishing the doors can be.  It can be a bit tedious, but it really isn't that bad.

Building the door was actually pretty painless.  You could probably order a "fast build" door from Velocity.  (Window and latching mechanism already installed)  The only downside could/might be a door window that isn't as well aligned with the other windows.

You will need to:
    Cut the hole
    Dress the edges
    Add the triax re-enforcement around the opening
    Pot the pin tubes
    Mount the gas spring
    Fit and finish

I would imagine you could have it back in the air with a couple of weeks of work.  If you have to install your own window, then it will take a bit longer.

Would you be using Kitplanes Northwest to help?

Andy







________________________________
From: reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] On Behalf Of Hiroo Umeno
Sent: Tuesday, January 02, 2007 1:37 PM
To: reflector at tvbf.org
Subject: REFLECTOR: Adding a door
Now that N21HV is in the air (sometime) we are starting to think about what comes after all the tweaks are done.  My wife has signed herself up to doing the upholstery (she has done a few cars and much furniture in the past).  She's also going to do the exterior paint scheme as well.

But, before we get into those, there is the (sore) subject of the door.  When I initially ordered the kit, I ordered the SUV since I wanted the yoke control.  The option to have SE with yoke wasn't offered back then and the SUV was on "launch special pricing".  Of course, I wasn't married and thought I might have an occasional passenger or two and figured that single door wasn't a big deal.

That was then, and now, the situation is a bit different.  My wife loves to fly (with me, but not at the controls) and after climbing in and out of the plane a few times on the ground I hear no end about how "un-ladylike" the whole process of getting to the right seat is.  Particularly, since, even tough we are the same height; she has legs full six inches longer than me.

So, in the interest of domestic tranquility and from keeping her from insisting on me trading in the Velocity for a Wichita Wonder, I need to think about adding a door to the plane, and before the upholstery and paint goes on.

Has anyone added a door to a completed plane?  How difficult is that?  Since my kit was delivered with the door pretty much all done, I have no idea how much work it would entails.  Particularly, since the passenger side window is already installed, it would be a real pain if I had to re-do the window.

Can the whole passenger side fuselage panel (including the installed window) somehow be re-purposed into a door?  My cursory inspection shows that I could potentially build-up a frame forward of the carbon beam, then cut around to create the door from the fuselage itself.  Is this too simplistic?

Any pit-falls and considerations?

Hiroo
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