TonyBuilder

My Feedback: (11)

The engine doors are first rough cut and matched for equal sizing.




Some test fitting of the doors to mark for the cowl cut out.




Before I cut the door opening I glued a 1/32" ply backer to the center section.




I rough cut the opening leaving a good 1/2" all the way around with exception to the center rail. I need to hinge the door before I cut the rest.




Now begins the hinging proses. Offset hinges would be the best choice but there are limitations to the area to hinge to. The center section is only 7/8" wide and with the center support rod there is not a lot of room, plus there is the engine to consider.




The offset hinges will not work and the small plastic hinges are too weak for this application. I have larger aluminum offset hinges but they are too big.

So the best hinge for this door will be the piano hinge. It is strong and solid all the way threw the hinge line.



The hinge is first tacked with thin CA then threw bolted with 8 # 80 button head screws.





On this model most if not all structural screws will be used as visuals details so they will be exposed unlike the countersunk screws used on my P-47. The top portion of the fuselage is black so I will swap out the stainless steel for black during final setup.



The top of the cowl has a slight curve to it and the hinge works because the rear section of the center rail floats, it straitens as the doors open then in the closed position it goes back to its shape.



Now that the door is hinged I can start to fine tune the opening / door and install the lip that the door rest on in the closed position. The door will fit snug when it is closed and secured with the two pins that will hold it closed.

I get some leeway being the full scale in some pics show the door gap off in a few areas, but I will do my best to get it tight.



So far it looks good and I have a good solid foundation to work with, it was rough going for a while




The pan section of the cowl is strong and with the cowl ring it does not move at all. I will add some support to the front baffle for good measure.
The center support rod is over engineered but I don't want to take any chances with vibration and all.



I am playing with some air cylinders for the kickstand. I want to have a way of holding the doors open without having to jump threw a bunch of hoops and have external objects, I can also just have a kickstand from wire that pops down manually, but lets see how the air goes first.



Having the doors removable is key and with the piano hinge you just simply pull the pin and the door is off. This will come in handy for initial run-ups, and even the first few flights to ensure there is cooling and smooth operation.
Tuning will be a breeze too





TB