door seal comparison

[jwilbur]

There's a lot of talk about the extra work involved in the McMaster door seals for the RV10 as opposed to the stock seals. And I've seen a lot of pics of doors with those seals, which do look great. But I don't believe I've ever seen doors with the stock seals. I'm just about to get started on my doors and need to decide. Would someone mind posting a few pics of your doors with stock seals? I'd appreciate it.

And any door seal advice is, of course, welcome.

Thanks,

[Carl Froehlich]

I also use seals from McMaster - but mine are the self adhesive type. This are about as simple as it gets and take only a few minutes to install. The seals go on the inside of the door. Flying now for over three years and they look/function like the day I install them. I did use some scrap hangar door seal material to fill in the hinge notch at the top of the door. This bridged the gap so that the seal just runs flat across the notch.

Recommend either the 3/8" tall or the 1/2" tall versions depending you your situation. Here is a link. Look at "style #12": http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-ru...-seals/=zoyk18

Shoot fire - get both sizes and experiment. The stuff is inexpensive.

Carl

[Auburntsts]

Joe,
I used the stock seals and will try to take some pics this weekend. I might even be willing to drop into KHWY if you want to take a firsthand look.

[aerhed]

My doors on this one have 1/8 inch of foam padding underneath the upholstery. This allowed me to use a plain windlace (no bulb) that seals all around. You don't have to trim the gutters away and rebuild glass. No seal bulb to get torn either.

[jwilbur]

Originally Posted by Auburntsts

Joe,
I used the stock seals and will try to take some pics this weekend. I might even be willing to drop into KHWY if you want to take a firsthand look.

Thanks Todd. I'd love to see your airplane in person. Then I can take my own pics.

[Auburntsts]

Just sent you an e-mail. I forgot to say that I'm in B-4 on the East side. Just drive over and park at American Helicopters, give me shout when you get there, and I'll come out and get you.

[1001001]

Originally Posted by jwilbur

There's a lot of talk about the extra work involved in the McMaster door seals for the RV10 as opposed to the stock seals. And I've seen a lot of pics of doors with those seals, which do look great. But I don't believe I've ever seen doors with the stock seals. I'm just about to get started on my doors and need to decide. Would someone mind posting a few pics of your doors with stock seals? I'd appreciate it.

And any door seal advice is, of course, welcome.

Thanks,

I have the same question regarding door seal pictures. I'd appreciate anything people can share here.

[dspender]

I used the McMaster seals and a 3 M adhesive to secure them. I installed them as per Van's plans, on the door, not on the frame. They come down into the gutter and I left or built up the lip on the frame inboard of the gutter so that it is within 1/16 of the door when closed. Glad I did it this way. I am in and out of the cabin multitudes of dozens of times, grasping the airframe to enter. I believe if my seals had been attached to the door frame, I would have been stressing them every time I entered the cabin.

[jwilbur]

Originally Posted by dspender

I used the McMaster seals and a 3 M adhesive to secure them. I installed them as per Van's plans, on the door, not on the frame. They come down into the gutter and I left or built up the lip on the frame inboard of the gutter so that it is within 1/16 of the door when closed. Glad I did it this way. I am in and out of the cabin multitudes of dozens of times, grasping the airframe to enter. I believe if my seals had been attached to the door frame, I would have been stressing them every time I entered the cabin.

Dennis,

Would you mind posting (or linked to) some pics? I'd appreciate it.

Thanks,

[jwilbur]

Originally Posted by aerhed

My doors on this one have 1/8 inch of foam padding underneath the upholstery. This allowed me to use a plain windlace (no bulb) that seals all around. You don't have to trim the gutters away and rebuild glass. No seal bulb to get torn either.

Any pics of this?