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RV-10 owners kindly help

pierre smith

pierre smith

Well Known Member
I bought some aftermarket stainless steel door lock blocks from a vendor on here and they are beautifully done.

The problem is that the original builder of my -10 must have cut the forward locking pin on the pilot's side too short. It only protrudes from the door 1 3/16", while the passenger door locking pin protrudes 1 1/2". The pilot's side forward locking pin goes into a 1/2" thick nylon block whereas the aftermarket block is about 1/2 that thickness and I'm afraid that the bevel of the front pin will not go all the way through the aftermarket block and could possibly fly open in flight.

Would one of you guys kindly measure the length that the forward pin protrudes fron the door with the latch in the closed position?

Thanks in advance,
 
Can do

Pierre -

I can measure mine when I get to the hangar this evening, but I have Sean's 3rd latch so the geometry might be different. I'll have to check the dimensions tonight, but I seem to recall that his design calls for all the pins to extend beyond the plastic guide blocks on the door by 1.75". Sean would probably know off the top of his head. Again, that might be different than what you need if you don't have his latches.
 
This may help

Can't say exactly how far the pins extrude but far enough to go through
the aluminum frame and stick out the back about a half an inch.
I made no modifications to the mechanism but did add the bullet tips to the
aluminum rods and the aluminum pin guides to the door frame.
Pictures show aft end open/closed and front end open/closed.
Hope this helps.



IMG_0464.JPG


IMG_0465.JPG


IMG_0466.JPG


IMG_0467.JPG
 
Door pins

Pierre,

It all depends how far your stock handle moves and where the builder positioned them in the gearbox. If it is easy to do you could try to open the handle gearbox and re-position the gear rack as far as you can on the short pin side. Some other options are: making a new longer pushrod, buying longer aftermarket pins or buying new racks. The cheapest route is to make a new pushrod that is a little longer. Normally with the stock setup I've seen pushrod ends range from 1 inch protrusion to 1-1/4. Some handles move a little more than 90 degrees and it seems that 90 degrees equal 1 inch of linear travel.
Let me know.
 
At a minimum, the rod must penetrate far enough that the non-beveled part is completely thru the door frame. The nylon block was never intended to carry the load, just there to guide the pin thru the metal door frame.
 
Pierre,

I just did the block mod also, but my kit came with replacement pins like the picture shows. I had to cut the bevel off the existing pins, tap them, then install the new ones. Works great, the doors has never shut better or been more solid.
 
Yep.

BobTurner said:
At a minimum, the rod must penetrate far enough that the non-beveled part is completely thru the door frame. The nylon block was never intended to carry the load, just there to guide the pin thru the metal door frame.
Click to expand...

Thanks Bob, exactly what I was thinking because it looks as though the plastic block (or whatever it is) has been supporting the pin, so it needs to be addressed.

Thanks,
 
I'd recommend getting thicker blocks, too. Mine are such that there's only about 1/4-3/8" gap between the door and the block. This minimizes the fore/aft movement of the door and makes it virtually impossible to close the latch with the aft pin out.

You should also be able to get more travel from your pins. I get about 120-130 degrees of movement of the handle on mine.

-Rob
 
New -10 builders should read this..

Thanks guys....I spoke with Gus at Van's this morning and since the pins are pre-fabbed there, a new pin won't help.

Looks like the surest solution will be to buy some 6061 plain tubing stock and fab a new, longer pin, since the gearbox has been drilled to the door and favors the rear pin sticking out quite a bit further than the forward pin. I also have about 120 degrees of handle rotation.

Apparently, the pins don't have any excess length that needs to be trimmed, so all you new builders should be very careful when you drill the gear latch assembly to the door, making sure that both pins' straight sides will penetrate the aluminum structure far enough to not allow the door blocks to carry the load.

BTW, who sells the added-on door pins with the bullet shape?

Thanks,
 
Pierre,

Since both pins are driven by the same gear (off 2 different "racks") this suggests that the front pin is starting out (door open) too far aft, e.g, retracted into the door. If you take apart the latch mechanism you should be able to reposition the rack for the front pin further forward, so it is barely retracted into the door when the handle is in "open".

Unless, of course, the builder cut the front extension arm too short and there is no length left in the rack to move it forward. you should be able to see this before you take it apart, just watch the rack and see if there is length left over in the closed position to move further forward.
 
Here is a quick way to gain about .285" of travel on the lock pins.

Instead of using the pre drilled hole for a roll pin, or rivet to act as a travel stop, just drill and tap for a #6 screw.

Insert screw, washer and locktite it in place.

Done.

PC160025.jpg


PC160026.jpg
 
Pins

I sell both bullet and angled pins. The bullet pins I sell can be purchased with aluminum or Delrin guides. The Angled pins I sell go with the Delrin guides only. Both pins are hollow to allow the magnet to be put inside. They come with a long 5/16 set screw and the pins alone are 2 inches long so you can cut your existing pushrod accordingly. You can buy the pins without the guides for half the price.
 
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