Posted for "Bill Harrelson" <n5zq@verizon.net>:

 Steve,
 Here are a few photos of the rail system for the oil door. This is a Bob
Pastusek design. Bob’s system is a brilliant piece of engineering, elegant and
straightforward. It’s hard to improve on this but I might have stumbled on a
couple of items that make it even better.
 
 
 
 1. Bob has a little bit of cracking at the corners of the oil door frame. I
simply rounded the corners and hope to avoid the cracks.
 
 
 
 2. Bob’s door sags slightly on the ground with the engine not running. As
soon as the engine starts the door closes and the harder and faster your
running, the tighter the door seals so this is purely a cosmetic flaw. Here’s
what I did to keep the door shut on the ramp.  Bob used 4 independent holders
for the ends of the hinge wire. I used two bars of 1/4” phenolic, one to hold
the fwd wire ends and one for the aft ends. Instead of drilling a single hole
for the wire to pass through, I drilled several at different heights. When I
bonded the phenolic bars to the cowling, I inserted the wires in the highest
holes which were about an inch above the cowling inner surface. (cowling top
inverted on the bench). I bonded the phenolic to the cowling with hysol. As
they were curing, I placed a weight in the center of the wires. This caused
the wires to bow down and the phenolic bars to “tip” inward toward each other.
After cure the tip causes the wires to bow toward the cowling. After
experimenting with various hole combinations, I found that the best
configuration was to have the wires pass through the lowest holes (closest to
the cowling). The bend in the wires caused by the tip in the phenolic end
brackets gives a bit of spring action to hold the door against the cowling.
With the hysol cured and the proper holes selected for the wires, I ground off
the phenolic bars until only the lower end holes were left.
 
 
 
 
 
 Bill Harrelson
 
 N5ZQ 320 2,000 hrs
 
 N6ZQ  IV under construction
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 -----Original Message-----
From: Steve Colwell
 Sent: Saturday, October 15, 2011 3:55 PM
 To: lml@lancaironline.net
 Subject: [LML] Oil Door
 Bill and Angier,
 I have the cable release door but I have heard of what sounds like a better
 method. The oil door is on two wire rails that allow it to slide down and
 under the cowl. The benefit is the door seals tighter with cowl pressure in
 lieu of bulging (my door is about 8 bid of carbon and it still bulges,
 probably from the hidden hinge bending under pressure). Maybe someone with
 the wire rail style will post photos so you can compare. It might solve a
 cowl/engine clearance issue too.
 Steve Colwell Legacy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Hi Bob –
 
 
 I’m still here! The mechanical parts of the plane are 100% finished and now
I’m on the hamster wheel of micro, sanding and more micro. I’m attending Reno
this week and I hope to send the plane out for a coat of primer when I get
back next week. Then I can reassemble it and start the engine for the first
time.
 
 
 Yes, I’ll be attending the Branson fly-in. I’m trying to coordinate with one
of the LOBO instructors to get a Legacy checkout while I’m there.
 
 
 And I took your advice on the sliding oil door. The plug is finished. I just
have to mount the rails to the underside of the cowl.
 
 
 See you in October!
 
 Adam Molny
 
 Validation Partners, Inc.
 
 631-981-8525 x104