My pilot side door, need suggestions

[jtrollin]

So my door fits perfectly if I pull it forward a tad when closing it, but if I let it fall naturally it twists to the aft end a little. Here are some pics showing the slight "twist" in my door. Any ideas what I can do, or if I am worried over nothing would be great. I have already filled in the holes and redrilled the door to the hinge, but that did not fix all of the twist.

This image is of the aft side when I force it to close the way I want.

This is the front side when I force it to close

This is the aft side when falling naturally

This is the forward side when falling naturally

 

[Wayne Gillispie]

Try some .025-.040" shims under hinges...

it helped mine.

I also drilled through hinges into door shells while hinges were moved as far aft as possible. There is a slight amount of fore-aft movement to them both. I figured with the strut on the rear it would pull it around some and it did. Also there is just more weight on the front half of the doors which pulls it around. The shimming did the trick for me. Then you will just need to build up the cabin cover some on the front side to bring level with the ext door shell.

 

[Strasnuts]

thicker guides

If you put in thicker guides you you can sand them down to center the door in the spot you want it. Since there is always little more drag on one pin it will shift the door fwd and aft. If the guides are sanded to take up the gap the door will naturally center.

 

[aerhed]

If it is a actual twist and not caused by hitting on the return lip, I'd say you were golden. I've been thinking about intentionally putting a hair of twist into the next pair I do. The door handle is forward of center so you can reach it. Unfortunately this gives you poor pull on the rear. With a little twist like you've got it will pull right in if the door fits right.

 

[Bill.Peyton]

It looks to me like you might be trying to get to tight of a fit. Also, using some shims under the hinges and moving the washers fore or aft around on either side of the hinge pin attachments will allow you to adjust the door fore and aft and change the twist slightly. Using larger pin guides will also help center the door when you latch it as Sean has previously said.

 

[Janekom]

Yes for the shims.
The fun starts when you add the door seals!
Have you done that yet?

 

[jtrollin]

Thanks for the advise

I decided to add all the workings for the door and see how things line up when all that is installed. I am hoping the guide blocks will help the door center when I shut it. I might also sand down some more of the edge and not try and keep the fit so tight.

 

[Bill.Peyton]

That's a good idea. The real fun starts when you try to get the pins lined up and going into the frame! Take your time with the alignment. I would make sure your door is fitting just like you want it BEFORE you drill the holes for the door pins. Do your sanding and shimming until you are happy with the door fit, then work on the latch and drilling the holes into the frame. You only get one shot at it!
Bill

 

[David Shelton]

If your door is twisted a little, you might be able to fix it with a little heat. Build a jig to hold it with some reverse twist, build a foam oven around it with pink insulation foam, then bake it for a few hours. I bake parts with a small space heater... modified to go a little hotter.

I don't know the material properties or post-cure schedule for the doors. If I had to guess, a few hours at 130 degrees would probably be a good starting point.