Randy
I have had a similar situation, albeit
just the aft latch. I was able to drill a hole through the seat bottom
via the gear well and bend a 3/8” rod to fit, pushing the seat off and
then angling to the interior handles and unlatching by catching the handle in
the lightening holes. Patching the seat pan was a simple task and off we
went. Sounds simple but it did take some time because I had a second
person directing the rod by watching what was happening inside as I worked the
rod from the bottom. The coordination took some effort but we finally
managed to get it done.
I think my problem was the result of
someone attempting to push the handle beyond the locking stop and actually
burnishing the locking tang to the stop. Couldn’t budge it from
outside but the inside handle opened easily. If both handles are locked
down you may have the additional issue of having to move then in opposite
directions. The handle that is completely out should allow you to use a extractor
tool (screw extractor) to turn the inside handle but this will likely ruin the
inside for the o-ring seats and require replacing.
Good Luck
Pat Brunner
-----Original Message-----
From: Lancair Mailing List
[mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Randy
L. Hartman, Jr.
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2007
7:38 PM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] LIVP Broken Handle
- Help
LML Brain Trust,
In order to fully understand this
request you should look at the attached picture.
Here is the situation: Friday
afternoon I (Randy Hartman – Alpha Omega Aircrafters – KCID)
received a call from the owner (Stan Askren) of the LIVP (N654P) that this door
handle belongs to. He tells me he is in Chicago (KDPA) with his airplane
and he is locked out. The forward handle (in the attached picture) pulled
out of the door when he was trying to open the door. The roll pin appears
to be sheared off. We called Lancair and talked to Ross. Ross
indicated we need to stick something in the hole and try to turn the mechanism
but he said he hadn’t ever heard of this happening before. He said
if we couldn’t get that to work we would need to cut the window.
Well, I guess you can imagine that the window cutting seems too far out
to accept at this time.
What I am looking for is anyone who
may have been faced with this in the past and what you did about it.
Secondly, if no one has experienced this, does anyone have any good ideas on
how to approach this challenge of getting into the airplane without cutting the
window?
I have another LIVP in my shop that
I will take a good look at tomorrow and try to figure something out, even to
the point of making (or having a tool maker make) a special tool that could do
the job. This challenge is further complicated by the distance between me
and the airplane – 155 miles. I can fly over there in my L360 in 50
minutes but I would like to go well-prepared with a pretty good chance of
success on the first visit. So, I am looking to the great brain trust of
the LML for assistance with ideas or warnings as part of my planning to get
into this airplane successfully.
Stan tells me that he thinks the aft
handle may be broken also
so I should be prepared for that possibility. He suspects some tampering
by someone not familiar with the opening procedure of the LIVP door handles.
Thanks in advance with any and all
ideas.
Randy Hartman
Alpha Omega Aircrafters
(319) 360-9775