Note: In the above picture the door had already been cut but the stop strips and hinge were fitted and drilled before the cut was made.
I have decided to cut the opening for mouse door out of the door skin and use that same piece for the mouse door itself. To do this, you have make a very thin cut as straight as possible to avoid having a large gap.
Before cutting the mouse door out, the hinge was positioned and drilled to
the door skin, door frame and mouse door. The hinge was slipped between
the door skin and the tube at the top of the mouse door opening in the door
frame. It was drilled to the skin and door frame using 1" spacing. A
couple of strips of .032 aluminum were cut and fitted to what will become
the mouse door to act as a stop. These were drilled and clecoed to the mouse
door skin.
Note: In the above picture the door had already been cut but the stop
strips and hinge were fitted and drilled before the cut was made.
Once the stop strips and hinge were fitted and drilled to the mouse door
skin, it was cut out using a thin band saw blade on my little 1/3 HP Craftsman
bandsaw. I started by drilling some small holes at the 2 corners to allow
me to make the turn with the bandsaw blade.
Here are all the parts for the mouse door:
The mouse door is the actual cut-out from the door skin.
Here is the view with the door installed on the fuselage and in the closed
position:
Of course, the purpose of the mouse door is to allow the door to open further
when it comes into contact with the wing strut. Here it is in the open
position:
Door Skins
Completed: May 5, 2007
Total Time: 18 hours
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