? ? ?I have a newfound respect for what everyone says when they say they are "90% finished but 90% left to do"!!!! I feel like I should have been finished with my build last spring!! I can safely say that my completion is finally around the corner, I hopefully will have my plane ready to move to airport by end of winter. Anyways, as I wrap up my fabric install, I would like to get everyone's insight on access panel/doors! I got to thinking! Everyone has been installing the clear plexiglass inspection door in the vertical stabilizer using fabric glue to adhere this to the inner fabric. This made me wonder if anyone has used this method to create an actual inspection door that can be removed and reinstalled? My question, do you all think it would be effective to create an access door by first gluing a square window cut out of plexi on the inner fabric, cut the fabric at this opening and wrapping/gluing the cut ends of the fabric to the inner most aspect of this plexiglass window. After doing this, then cut another square that is slightly smaller, gluing this on the inner most aspect of the first square already installed, creating a lip, which would act as a supportive backing and allow a square door of the plexiglass to simply be screwed into this new opening during inspection and or assembly of the plane? Is anyone using this method already or is this how its currently done on the W10 for access to the elevator horn??
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? ? ?A brief background on my build! I basically have a cougar airframe; however, I have literally rebuilt 85% of the structure to match as close to the W10 blueprints that I could with the blessed help of everyone on this board. Wanting to maintain the plane's original control geometry and because of time's sake, I have preserved some of the cougar components. While I have rebuilt the vertical and horizontal stabilizer/elevator, at least at this time, I decided to keep the aluminum jack screw trim set up, since the one on the airframe appears to be fairly light, new, and in working order. Keeping these properties creates additional considerations during assembly that the W10 has simplified. I have the need for access to bolt the leading edge of horizontal stabilizer to the jackscrew trim, the need to access and bolt the two horizontal stabilizer struts together on the inner fuselage, as well as the need to have access to the elevator control arm/horns where they come together at the inner side of the fuselage. Currently, my plan is to use the lower rear fuselage area to install one large plexiglass access panel which should allow enough room to access and install the leading-edge stabilizer to jackscrew trim, as well as enough room to assemble/attach the two struts of the horizontal stabilizer. What I am having issues with, I don't believe I have enough room through the bottom to reach and secure the elevator control arms together. I thought maybe I could go down through one side of the vertical stabilizer similar to the W10 design, however the cougar elevator control arms are pointed downward instead of upward like on the W10. Since the fabric in the area of elevator insertion through the fuselage will require openings already, my thought would be to use the suggested method noted above and create removable access on at least one side of the fuselage in this area to assemble the elevator control arm halves. I would have to make a "door" that is made of two halves of plexiglass, that way it can be reinstalled around the elevator where it goes through the fabric and be fully sealed off and aerodynamically clean. I cannot think of a better method for accomplishing this task and do not like the "eye-sore" of having bulky sheet metal skin on the exterior fuselage like that on a cub, creating turbulent airflow. Since the Cougar trim requires movement at the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer, similar to the cub, my plan is to glue plexiglass on the inner fabric in this area and simply cut the needed path for this movement through the plexiglass/fabric. Do you believe this method would work?
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? ? ?I know there are many on this board who have this similar "cougar-ish" set up as mine, and I would be grateful for any input you all have that would help me tackle this roadblock so I can move closer to the finish line. Also, I am open to constructive criticism or input from anyone regardless of if you have a similar set up or not. You all have been so valuable and instrumental towards getting me this far in my build. I can't thank you all enough! Sorry for the lengthy post!!! I am hoping this will be one of the last obstacles I face in my build.??
Greg Blake
Keith Klos