Model IV Door fitment.

[Wheels]

Hi,
I cracked one of the lexan door skins this summer and decided to replace them. Wow! This is a job for a real craftsman. Does anyone have a picture of the door of a IV closed and locked so I can see how the door is finished.
I am hoping for a cleaner installation than the Original. I don't think the lexan should overlap the fuselage as much as mine did, but only a picture will answer that.
The newer ships have a square channel door frame so they can use rivets and such but I have the old round tube with a bunch of misaligned rivet holes. (i'll be addressing that)
So, any pix of a IV door closed and any type of door seal solution installed would be very very helpful.
Wheels

[rawheels]

I'll be replacing mine this fall as well, so interested in what solutions you come up with. Any thoughts on how you are going to get all of the rivet stems out of the frames? I'm assuming yours are held on with pop-rivets just like mine.

[Wheels]

I ground off the rivets with a dremel tool and a cutoff wheel. (destroying the original windows, but not optional.) After removing the plastic window, I used the dremel and cutoff wheel to shave off the stem as close to the door without damaging the powder coat.
Then I used a punch and drove the rivet body down and into the tubing of the frame. (it will make a nice rattle) Then I cut two oversized holes in the lower corner of the tubing to shake all the bits and pieces out of the door frame.
I put them where they would also drain any moisture that accumulated from my snow operations on skis and such. I may fill the tubes with oil and drain them as an anti corrosion measure, but I don't think that's actually neccesary.

I understand that was common practice at the factory, but I don't know.

Due to the wallowing of some of the rivet holes I am oversizing them to a 5/32 rivet. #20 drill bit. don't ream but do debur. Then you can select the length of rivet you will need based on ALL of your material thickness.
I.E. tubing, lexan,X2? fiberglass trim piece, or replacement, nylon washers, or padded tape etc.
Stay tuned.

[PapuaPilot]

That is exactly what I did during my build (I got the kit secondhand). By drilling a couple of bigger holes at the bottom I was able to shake out the rivet tails. I had the door frames redone with white powder coat (they were originally forest green) and replaced the glass that was scratched and damaged.

I didn't use any oil in mine, but it wouldn't be a bad idea.

[Wheels]

I saw Lowel Fit's doors and they look really nice. Was wondering if I could make the door flush with the fuselage and use a high quality door seal or if I have to overlap the fuse with Lexan?

[HighWing]

Your question prompted a check of the original build manual. I was interested to find that my second build which I confess was sort of a seat of the pants build from memory deviated from the recommended door skin install. The instruction calls for the forward edge to be trimmed to fit inside the aluminum angled windshield closeouts - With a tight fit. I did the half inch overlap called for elsewhere on the door skins in the top forward area as well on the second build. Against the aluminum angle, the Lexan fits rather tight, but the flexibility of the Lexan makes it work.

[Wheels]

Ahhh, thank you. I of course neglected to even consult the manual. Don’t tell anybody.
The many misaligned holes in the frame are another issue but my hope is to at least stop the massive air leaks that froze me out last winter. Let me tell ya about ski flying LOL!