Rick, I don't remember removing the door after it was aligned with the fuselage.  We pre-drilled holes in the door frame, cleaned and scuffed up all the bonding surfaces, got it all aligned with tongue depressors, etc. Then I remember squirting flox through the holes with disposable pastry bags until it oozed out the front.

 

One other comment on installing the fastbuild door.  I remember Lancair having a set of specially molded spacers that kept the door frame evenly spaced around the door (the frame is more flexible than the door).  I remember trimming the fuselage opening to get the door to fit, leaving a small 1/8" to 1/4" space between the edge of the door frame and the fuselage.  Lancair had a template that made that job easy so it might take a few trial fits and trims to get that right without the template.

 

On the windows, you can install the side windows with the fuselage laying upside down on a workbench.  But when we did the windshield, we measured the width of the fuselage just ahead of the door when it was installed on the bottom half and screwed a 2x2 cut to that length across the fuselage top before fitting the windshield. After applying the Hysol/flox mixture, windshield, and the temporary mounting bolts, we removed the 2x2, flipped over the fuselage top and clecoed it back on the bottom to cure.  The fuselage is flexible enough that is opens up a bit when you lay it on its back and you'll lock it in that position if you bond the windshield on the workbench.. The fuselage top won't fit the bottom any more!

 

Mike Easley

Colorado Springs

 

Fastbuild ES (same fuselage) at Lancair build assist in fall 2005…

 

Door (frame & door) was bonded into the top, with the top cleco’ed to the bottom.

Used small super-glued stacked tongue depressors and small nuts/bolts in temporary holes to get/hold spacing/alignment before bonding.

Door needs to open/close/latch easily without any binding.

Then removed door, mixed/applied flox, replaced door/frame to exact same position (spacers in place + bolts)

Worked fine (not perfect, but what is on these pre-Evolution Lanciar kits – wink)

 

Tip if you can’t get the profile perfectly aligned (you probably can’t), better to have the door protrude a small amount at the top and/or bottom, where it is easiest to bodywork the rest of the fuselage out to it, versus the other way around.  Little area to body work in the middle near the windows.

 

Rick

 

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From: Lancair Mailing List [mailto:lml@lancaironline.net] On Behalf Of Tom & Beth Sullivan
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 10:38 AM
To: lml@lancaironline.net
Subject: [LML] IVP Door Installation

 

  After a shameful hiatus on my IVPT, I'm finally back on it with some real passion.  I bought the fast build door, and seems like I remember many builders installing it while the fuselage top was temporarily fastened (cleco'ed).  I will be installing all my windows in the next week, and would like to install the door after that, if it's efficient to do before bonding the top on.  I looked in the archives, but I can't seem to find a search filter that doesn't give me 3,000 emails, or narrows it down too far to about 10.  If someone can give me direction here, I would greatly appreciate it.  If it's best to install the door after bonding the top on, no problem.  I'll leave that project until later.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Tom Sullivan

 

Fast build kit with slow build builder