I got right to working on the right door interior again today. Since there was a lot less area with epoxy it didn’t take long to sand it down. The primary areas were the covers over the top hinge points, the strut attach bracket and forward pin block area. The hinge covers came out great, but I did decide to add a fillet under the covers on the inside to increase the strength of the span. The forward cover with the compound curve turned out great as well and both only had a small area that required additionall epoxy filler. The forward pin block needed a little more filler on the edges and a few spots around the attach brackets.
It was a non-critical thing, but since we found out the interior panels complement the paint we chose, I didnt have to wait to install some of the great panels from AeroSportProducts. I don’t want to install panels that will be in the way of the remaining work, but the baggage door was a good area to go after. The panel attaches to the door with exterior grade double sided mounting tape. Of course I was careful as I placed it on the door shell and it wasn’t aligned as well as I wanted. Being attached for a few seconds it was INCREDIBLY difficult to remove without and damage. But I was able to pry it off. I then removed the mounting tape from the panel and any remnents from the door. Luckily Home Depot had some similar mounting tape and I applied it to the panel and attached to the door, this time in the correct alignment!
I then attached the bracket to the rear cross member that provide a pivot point for the small gas strut. The door and strut didn’t align as the instructions called for so I changed the mounting hardware and placed the strut on top of the bracket rather than under. That provided the proper clearance for the baggage panel. I pop-riveted the other attach point on the door panel and installed the gas stut. The mounting pin was a bit long, so I used a cut off wheel and polished it up and it fit nicely. Aerosport even provides a nice label for baggage compartment limits that fits in the depression in the panel.
I installed some weather stripping along the door. It’s easy for rain to get into the door in flight as well as cold air and wind. So I got a RV10 kit for the weather stripping from Aviation Tech Products. They have a kit just for the cargo door. Aircraft Door Seals also offers a cargo door seal along with their door seals – but will sell just the cargo seal. I followed the plans and installed the larger seal along the hinge for the door about 3/8″ in. I also used some small remnents of this seal and placed a piece at the top and the bottom of the door to seal off the opening that is exterior skin for the hinge rod installed earlier in the build.
A smaller seal is run along the door itself and seals it against the door jam. It is currently a little tight to close the door, but these seals are supposed to compress and conform to the shape and make the closing easier. If not I can adjust the strike place in the door jam to accomodate.
I set up the El-Cheapo-Paint-Table ™ again and got to priming some more inspection panels. I realized I would like to prime the back side of these panels as they tend to leave an aluminum oxide smudge when they are rubbed against the painted surface during installation/removal. So the primer should keep that from happening. Some of the panels will never come out so I am not painting those interior surfaces.
I also shot the first layer of paint for the overhead console panels. I had a small sag and will need to sand that out. I did hit all of the panels with some 800 grit wet sandpaper and that gives them a very nice smooth surface on the primer before proceeding on.
myrv10factory 