Chuck wrote:

With that in mind -- I have no idea how a Baron's door could "pop
open". It took two adult men to push the door open a few inches AND
only after I'd slowed to just above 50kt.

The same as in your Cherokee. It'll pop out a few inches into the
breeze. We had an accident many years back on a holiday weekend
(Memorial or Labor day). A gal in a Bo departed PHX and her door
popped open. She got so involved with trying to close it that she did
a short dive into someone's backyard barbeque. Gotta remember to fly
the plane!



OK, for those wondering the rest of the story. We didn't get the door
latched at top. Someone later suggested I slip sideways to put
pressure on the door. But that didn't occur to us at the time. So,
we spent a nice 40 minute flight with a hellacious wind coming in the
top of the door. It was hitting me right in the head and my wife
behind me. Boy -- talk about some noise in the mics...

I've closed the door in flight several times on my Cherokee 180. The
slip method works, but it shouldn't be necessary. After slowing the
plane to about 60 mph (flaps down), you slam the door to close the
bottom latch. Then, get a grip on the well around the top latch and
pull the top of the door inward. You should be able to pull it about
1/2", then latch the door. It's best to have your passenger do this as
it's difficult to fly the plane with no hands. One warning though,
make sure the passnger does not try to force the latch. Last time
this happened to me, the passenger didn't pull hard enough to engage
the latch, but he kept twisting the latch until it broke off in his
hand (but it did latch!). It cost me $100 bucks (with labor) to
replace the latch handle, plus I had to exit the plane through the
baggage door when we got to our destination. Quite embarassing if
anyone is watching :-)

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)




Chuck
PA28-180