Jabiru J450 Constructors Manual
Pre-Paint>Fuselage>Pre-fit doors
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
146 of 343
Pre-Paint>Fuselage>Pre-fit doors
Objectives of this task:
In this task you will size and pre-fit the doors to the fuselage then pre-fit the door jamb, all of
which will be finally fitted after the fuselage has been painted. In the photos that follow the
pilots door is shown, however the exact same technique is used for each door.
Materials required:
Card # J1 „
Doors
‟, 5-minute Araldite and flock
Prepare the opening
Using a sanding disc, sand around the entire inside of the
opening removing any roughness. Apply some filler and
finish with a long sanding block on the flat surfaces. Bear
in mind that you will see this opening every time that you
open the door and finish it accordingly.
Size the door
The door may require a slight trimming to fit the opening: either tape the door in place or
have a friend hold it in place. Working from the inside, make sure that the door is
centred
in
the opening - this is particularly important because if the door is not centred it may bind when
the door jambs are fitted - and mark the inside of the door around the edge of the opening.
Remove the door and use a sanding disc to trim the door to the mark. Hold the door in the
opening and carefully mark and sand as required until the door is a good snug fit all round.
Fit the hinges
Fit the top and bottom hinges to the arms on the door, then tape the door back into position
and mark the centreline (vertically and horizontally) of each hinge screw. Remove the door
and extend the marks to locate and drill each hole. It may be necessary to level the area
around each hole but in any case roughen the area to provide a good key for the Araldite/flock
mixture. Apply wax to the hinge and screw to prevent them sticking to the flock.
Cut a few washers from the yellow neoprene sheet that is on the „
Undercarriage’
card and use
them to pack out the hinges until the door sits smoothly in line with the sides of the fuselage.
Loosen the hinge screws, mix a batch of 5-minute Araldite and flock and fix the washers in
place then tighten the hinge screws and check the alignment and leave the flock mix to cure.
Use a long sanding block to remove any binding points around the door – the door should
open and close smoothly with nothing rubbing at any point right around the opening.