On Feb 6, 2012, at 3:06 AM, Raimo Toivio wrote:
> If green (should be red then!) off means bolts are in, how can you
> be pretty sure system is ok? If you loose your microswitch or led or
> fuse your greens are off and you think bolts are in but maybe they
> are not.
All,
I have followed this thread with interest as it seems to embody the
tension between keeping things simple on one hand and fitting out our
planes sufficiently to ensure safe flight on the other.
I've paid some attention to the issue of ensuring the rear shoot-bolts
engage because when fitting the doors, I found that the rear portion
of the door seemed to spring outward just enough for the rear shoot-
bolts to miss the aluminum tubing which prevented proper closure...not
good!
After sitting in the left seat...twisting my body and reaching about
to determine where I could reach in order to pull in the aft portion
of the door prior to closing the lever and engaging the shoot-
bolts...I installed a simple tab on the window frames (both port and
stbd) which I could grip and pull inward. One thing I noticed while
checking out my little ergonomics exercise was that I found that I
could not feel whether or not the shoot-bolts were properly engaged or
not, nor could I readily see likewise. The fundemental idea I took
away from these exercises was that it was essential to pull the rear
portion of the window/door inward BEFORE moving the latching handle
forward.
As luck would have it, after installing the plexiglas windows, I found
that the additional weight completely eliminates the tendency for the
rear portion of the window/door to spring outward and for the shoot-
bolts to not engage; however, I have not as yet fitted the tubular
rubber seal...so perhaps the conditions may change.
My hunch at this point is that my checklist MUST include an item
stating: PULL DOOR INWARD BEFORE LATCHING.
For the moment, I'm content with that and will not add the additional
complexity of a warning light system. I've had a look at about 20
Europas and, I believe, have yet to see a microswitch/LED
installation...I'm wondering how common are such installations.
Fred
A194
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