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RV-10 Door Safety stop

mikelupo

Active Member
Patron
I just purchased my first ever RV-10. N10YS. Took ownership of her yesterday.

I was advised by the seller in regards to the gull doors, that people have fashioned safety systems for their gull door in that if a gust of wind should grab the door that the "safety stop" will prevent the door from being hyper-extended and damaged at the hinges (or worse).

My wife is neither a pilot nor mechanic. I see this as an eventuality with her throwing the door open after a flight and being ripped off by a gust of wind. I'd like to prevent this in any way that I can.

I am envisioning something like a safety strap fashioned out of a ratchet strap webbing and anchored in the cabin and to some optimal point on the door.

Open for advice!

Thanks in advance,
Mike
 
Mike, congratulations on your purchase. I’m not certain what the seller was referring to. Most of us have a center latch added as a safety measure, but that isn’t what you are describing here. I would advocate always being careful with doors and minimizing abuse, but I don’t think winds pose a threat to a properly constructed door operated in a normal manner. There was one -10 that lost a door to prop blast from a heavy military aircraft. But I’m not aware of any damaged by winds, and mine have held up well.
 
You are right to be concerned about a door ripping off if caught in a strong gust of wind (or as in my case a prop blast from a C-130). The hinges will snap like pretzels.

My rule - if the airplane is not in the hangar the doors are shut and locked except for getting in and gettin out. Period.

This means no engine operation with the doors open, no taxi with the doors open, no getting out to fuel and leaving the doors open, etc.

I would not be too concerned with just opening the door as you have a grip on the handle and will feel if a gust is trying to pull the door or not.

Carl
 
Whatever you do, give some thought: Can the door still be opened by an inexperienced person, in an emergency? I do have two suggestions:
1. Oleo struts are now available that do more than hold the door open, they also provide some damping as they approach full open. There is a real difference between the originals and these if the passenger opens the door some and lets go, wind or no wind. They only work when oriented one way.
2. I attached a 3’ strap to the inside door pull handle, mostly to aid in closing the door once seated (I have short arms). You could hold this while opening in high winds, to make sure it doesn’t go slamming up. Not foolproof.
There is no question, the gull wing doors are a weak point. The real issue is people pulling the door closed by the forward handle. A little twist in the door can result in the aft latch pin missing the hole, and going outside the airplane. On takeoff, the door moves aft (it’s now outside the door frame), the front pin becomes disengaged, the door opens and then departs. If you don’t have it, I highly recommend the after market latch, which puts a third latch (rotating wheel) in the middle of the door, where it can go over the bottom doorframe. Personally, I make it a point to usually close the door myself, usually from the outside but sometimes reaching across the cockpit. Exceptions are only for passengers I trust, and, even then, I watch them. Pre-takeoff checklist includes “doors closed and latched”, and I look, every time, at the front and aft end of both doors (this takes some effort to see the right aft door jam) as well as the idiot lights are off.
Enjoy the -10, it’s a great airplane.
 
...If you don’t have it, I highly recommend the after market latch, which puts a third latch (rotating wheel) in the middle of the door, where it can go over the bottom doorframe..
Do I get this from Van's or is there another site that I order this latch from? Any small bit of insurance or peace of mind is usually worth it!

Thanks!
Mike
 
latch

Planearound.com
I'm pretty sure this is the one to which they are referring. I haven't bought it yet, but I plan to do so.
 
Bob,

How do you prevent that strap from getting hung up in the door opening when you close the door? Diligence?

Yea, that happened once or twice. After that I learned. The strap is thick enough that the door doesn’t want to pull closed if the strap is in the opening. To tell the truth, I had this idea during phase 1 that I would sit on the strap, as an added guard against an inadvertent door opening. I have no idea if this would have actually worked.
 
We used the door straps from iflyrv10.com They are a great attachment, makes it easy to not only shut the door while sitting in the front seats, they also address your concern of a runaway door on opening, because pilots and copilot/passengers can hold on to the straps. We mounted the straps on the door so the when closed the straps are just behind the front seat, they’re out of the way there and not a problem for rear passengers and they are still easily accessible by pilot and copilot. Regards the concern about having the straps hanging outside when the doors are closed, in nearly 600 hours over 5years this has never happened to us. BUT we do have a pre/taxi safety protocol that includes the doors are fully secured AND the strap is inside (by actually holding up the strap so it can be seen) Cheers from Western Australia
 
Congrats on the purchase!
Where in MA? I’m building a -10 in southern NH.

Cranland or Mansfield. I currently have a hangar at Cranland.
Mansfield is closer but I’m not thrilled about keeping this plane on a tie down.
Hangars available at 1B9 but are **** pricey.

Feel free to PM me.
Mike
 
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