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Here is an incredibly cool
"secret" door window install tip from Kevin O., Beechcraft Maven and parts guru
and sponsor of the B2OSH Margarita & Pizza arrival party at OSH each year:
"a little secret on getting your door to work well fit the glass and drill
the holes for the screws--place proseal and then window--BUT before you tighten
anything down--close and lock the door--then tighten up the screws--when the
proseal takes a set--it will hold the door in the correct position for a nice
tight fit."
It's guru tips and stuff like
this that pays big dividends over time on these vintage door components that can
already be 30 or 40 years old!
PS: Kevin recently experienced a
cracked window in his door from sub zero temps just visited upon the Oklahoma
countryside. Here is Beech Lister, Stu B.'s, watch out regarding acrylic window
installs and super cold temps:
Acrylic sheet has a high coefficient of expansion and contraction which is
dependant upon temperature. A windshield installed in warm temperatures will
shrink as the temperature drops. If the mounting holes were drilled too tight,
the material can contact the mounting screws and if there is a notch, in the
edge of the hole, the material will crack.
Chamfering the holes can avoid the notch but not the crack depending on how
much stress is being applied. Acrylic becomes more brittle as the temperature
drops. If the windshield is formed at a too low temperature, trimmed with a saw
that locally heats the material too much or installed improperly can cause
internal stresses in the material which also reduces it's strength. Internal
stresses can be visualized by viewing the formed part between polarized plastic
material. The higher the stresses the darker the patterns will appear.
Here is another tip: Pro-Seal
Remover click HERE
And yet another tip for drilling
holes in acrylic aviation plastic - Use acrylic drill bits like this to avoid
putting a notch in the plastic (which can lead to cracks down the airway).
Available at most big box stores in the hardware department.
Still hungry for more window
install info? Check out this array of articles written by Dennis Wolter of
Air Mod fame
HERE
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Beechcraft
Door Window Install Tip