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RV-10 Cabin Cover Fitting Question

1001001

Well Known Member
Today I began trimming the cabin cover to fit on the fuselage. After trimming to the scribe lines, the dimension between the edges of the door pillars is 37-7/16", approximately.

The dimension between the aluminum frames forward and aft of the doors is approximately 37". Looking at the cabin cover, in order to cut it to 37", it would require cutting almost the entirety of the straight/flat vertical fiberglass parts of the door frames out and leaving only the curved parts. This would take out a significant portion of the reinforced areas where the door latch pins will go.

This doesn't seem to be right. Can anyone compare their experiences with mine?
 

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The door latch pins must penetrate thru the fiberglass AND thru the aluminum frame. They rely on the aluminum frame for strength. So yes, the fiberglass can be thin in that area.
 
Yes

It would have worked much better if the cabin top door opening was 3/8” narrower. The it would have been able to follow the instructions to get the desired result without removing so much of the door jamb…
 
I can’t imagine that you have the dimensions correct. Have you actually tried to make it fit in the frame? Here is the best photo I can find of mine
 

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I can’t imagine that you have the dimensions correct. Have you actually tried to make it fit in the frame? Here is the best photo I can find of mine


Bill, yes I am pretty sure the measurements are correct. I did try to fit it and there's no way it will slide into place without significantly more trimming.

Do you think maybe Van's has changed the way they make the cover? Mine was manufactured in 2017 or 2018.
 
There will not be a lot of material left when you get done with the trimming, but as you can see, there is still a substantial amount. Here is another photo the depth of the countersink is basically the thickness of the fiberglass
 

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This is one area where the dimensions are advisory only. You'll need to take your time and slowly sand until it fits. My scribe line looked like my grandson drew it freehand. It was so bad I couldn't use it.

Instead I precisely measured each end of the bottom then clamped a metal ruler on each corner. Then I used an orbital sander to sand up to the ruler. This made a perfectly straight line.
 
The door latch pins must penetrate thru the fiberglass AND thru the aluminum frame. They rely on the aluminum frame for strength. So yes, the fiberglass can be thin in that area.

The pin is also held by the thick nylon piece that uses screws into the aluminum frame. The F/G in that area is really doing very little to hold the door pins in place.

Larry
 
Yep like others have said you take a lot of material off the cabin top sides to allow it to fit into the fuselage. I think most of us had the same surprise when we did the fit trim. When I had everything ready to go to match the top and fuselage together, I mixed up some epoxy and coated the areas where they meet before setting. I partially set the bolts, but did not tighten them until the epoxy set up, then I finished torquing the mounting.
 
Yep like others have said you take a lot of material off the cabin top sides to allow it to fit into the fuselage. I think most of us had the same surprise when we did the fit trim. When I had everything ready to go to match the top and fuselage together, I mixed up some epoxy and coated the areas where they meet before setting. I partially set the bolts, but did not tighten them until the epoxy set up, then I finished torquing the mounting.

Pretty much exactly how I did mine also.
 
Thanks, everyone!

I really appreciate the replies here. It was pretty surprising to see when I did the first trim, but it sounds like it's normal.

One other question: should I strive to have the thickness equal at front and back? The position of the cabin cover could be +/- as much as a quarter inch in either direction, which I imagine is, if not critical, at least important for fitting the windshield and making sure the transition to the tailcone is smooth.


EDIT: Reading ahead in the plans, it looks like maybe the forward/aft position of the cabin cover gets set by its interface with the angled top part of the F-1042 bulkhead channels--it has to mate with them, so the back-angled part of the forward door pillar sets the position against the bulkhead channel. Does this make sense?
 
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The pin is also held by the thick nylon piece that uses screws into the aluminum frame. The F/G in that area is really doing very little to hold the door pins in place.

Larry




Yes - the sides to get thin.

Keep in mind the pins go through the side fiberglass and into the aluminum.

Side note - I use the billet door pins from: https://iflyrv10.com/index.html

Carl


These make sense to me. I have a set of the PlaneAround angled door pins as well as the 180 degree latch kit that I plan on using.
 
Yep like others have said you take a lot of material off the cabin top sides to allow it to fit into the fuselage. I think most of us had the same surprise when we did the fit trim. When I had everything ready to go to match the top and fuselage together, I mixed up some epoxy and coated the areas where they meet before setting. I partially set the bolts, but did not tighten them until the epoxy set up, then I finished torquing the mounting.

Did you do that primarily to seal the gap, or prevent the two pieces from rubbing due to vibration? It sounds like that would make a pretty solid bond between the two.

EDIT: Oh, I see, it's just a slight modification of the steps on page 43-12. Makes sense to add the filler first, then let it squeeze out and wipe it smooth and then sand after curing if needed.
 
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Did you do that primarily to seal the gap, or prevent the two pieces from rubbing due to vibration? It sounds like that would make a pretty solid bond between the two.

EDIT: Oh, I see, it's just a slight modification of the steps on page 43-12. Makes sense to add the filler first, then let it squeeze out and wipe it smooth and then sand after curing if needed.

My sides were pretty tight fit so did nothing there. I did do some filler on the bottom though as it was called out in the plans. Shouldn't get any rubbing on the sides if the screw holes are tight and the countersinks were done properly.

Larry
 
Yes did it to get just a little extra bonding between the two surfaces. Most of the epoxy will get pushed out. What gets pushed out you fillet it around both inside and out so you have a finished edge along the areas that are mated together. Also, place a strip of clear vinyl packing tape over the edge you want to fillet ( after removing excess epoxy) and run your finger over the tape along the edge you want to blend and you will get a clean rounded edge.
 
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Very thin

I was very surprised at the amount needed to sand it down to make it fit. It is very thin.
 
door

It's too bad that vans didn't make the door opening just 3/8" narrower; then what is depicted in the plans would have worked great...
 
Now do Door Fitting

Another cabin cover fitting related question:

I don't have my doors, and don't expect to see them until next January or so, based on Van's estimated lead times when I ordered my finishing kit.

But, in fitting the cover, I have been reading Les Kearney's guide on installing the McMaster-Carr door seals, where he states:

I had to move the bottom portion of the port door sill inboard about 1/8" to reduce
the pressure on the door when closing. This is one of the advantages of not doing
final installation of the canopy until the door fit is confirmed, as it enables you to still
move things around in the opening as required and then permanently install the
canopy when you are happy with the door fit.

I'd like to hear thoughts on fitting the cover now (drilling the holes in the vertical bulkhead channels and mid cabin side decks) versus waiting for door fitting. Waiting and adjusting might induce a long delay in fitting the windscreen because I'd imagine moving the door frames could only be done before it's mounted in place.

I'd prefer not to wait, but I don't want to cause too many problems with fitting the doors--especially because there's quite a bit of play that the door frames can move laterally and I don't know what will best fit the door curve at this point.

Any suggestions?
 
I didn't touch my doors until after the cabin top was permanently attached to my plane. But that is just one data point.
 
I didn't touch my doors until after the cabin top was permanently attached to my plane. But that is just one data point.

Same here. There are always things you can defer today because they will go "better" when something else is ready tomorrow. But in the end, if you tried to create a perfect precedence diagram, you'd end up in an endless loop of "best to mount A before B, B before C, and C before A".

I say go ahead and mount the cabin top.
 
Same issue

I called the mothership today, and once I said I have a question about fitting the cabin top, without any prompting the tech said, "let me guess, you're worried about taking too much off the front and back flanges that sit in the door frame?".

"Yep!" I said.

He then replied those pieces can be "wafer thin" and there's no concern. Seems strange the plans don't explain this more, but there you go . . .

I even asked if it is a good idea to add a layer of two of fiberglass inside the fibergalss frame for strengthening purposes and he said it's not neccesary.
 
I called the mothership today, and once I said I have a question about fitting the cabin top, without any prompting the tech said, "let me guess, you're worried about taking too much off the front and back flanges that sit in the door frame?".

"Yep!" I said.

He then replied those pieces can be "wafer thin" and there's no concern. Seems strange the plans don't explain this more, but there you go . . .

I even asked if it is a good idea to add a layer of two of fiberglass inside the fibergalss frame for strengthening purposes and he said it's not neccesary.

Sorry, that cabin top should have been 3/8” narrower so it could be installed per the plans and NOT have to be ground razor thin. Does it work? Yes…but not, in my opinion, how it was intended and depicted in the plans.

Just my opinion…
 
Agree

Bob,

I agree with you. You would think you’d want more material left there for structural reasons. I’m going to have about 1/8” of thickness left when it is all said and done. I’m only passing on what Vans told me.
 
Bob,

I agree with you. You would think you’d want more material left there for structural reasons. I’m going to have about 1/8” of thickness left when it is all said and done. I’m only passing on what Vans told me.

Yes, that is what they told me, too. I have alway wondered if that 3/8" somehow got lost when the initial mold was made for the cabin top. Looking at the how the rest of the kit goes together and matches the plans, it would seem to be an anomaly that the cabin top does not fit as advertised...and it is not likely to change at this point. JMO.
 
On mine, it appears I will run out of flange material before the cabin top fits between the two pillars (F-1005C and F-1042). Has anyone else run into this problem?
 

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On mine, it appears I will run out of flange material before the cabin top fits between the two pillars (F-1005C and F-1042). Has anyone else run into this problem?

By the time you thin both sides of the door opening in the cabin top, it'll fit. The sides of my door openings were down to 1/8" or less before the cabin top fit.
 
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