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Vent door hinge

Luckeyone

Member
Has anyone ever added / changed to a piano hinge for the vent doors in the rear passenger compartment? I have a QB fuselage kit and they came assembled but I do not like the way they operate. The door moves back and forth in the opening and touches the fuselage skin when open. I was thinking of drilling out the rivets, cutting the hinge tabs off and installing a small piano hinge to keep the door from moving around in the opening.
 
An alternative idea: I epoxy / body fill them shut. If you are going to have an overhead console with fresh air vents, you could consider this approach.
 
I was thinking about building my fuse with these vents blocked off. The design looks like it lacks a sturdy hinging method.

Could others chime in on how much airflow do these little vents really provide? And how well do they seal when closed? If you built the cabin top with overhead console, would you still add these little fuse side vents if you did it all over again?

Thanks in advance for the input.
 
The overhead console provides a lot of air. I feed mine through two NACA vents. But the little hinged doors also provide a lot of air. They are really nice when you're taxiing on a 100 degree ramp in the summer.
 
The overhead console provides a lot of air. I feed mine through two NACA vents. But the little hinged doors also provide a lot of air. They are really nice when you're taxiing on a 100 degree ramp in the summer.

I'm deep in Texas heat and my rear seat passengers love the little hinged doors to provide cooling !
 
I have an overhead console with eye vents front and rear, and still left in the front eye vents and rear hinged vents. Can't have too much ventilation on a hot day.

I modified the rear hinged vents with an extended handle to open/close, and added an interior cover with an eye vent to give better directional control. Every rear seat passenger has used both vents on hot days.

Here is a link to how I made the cover. http://www.mykitlog.com/users/display_log.php?user=leok&project=2446&category=12456&log=272033&row=8
 
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