Flying Slow

I also fly a PA28 (180C). During pre-departure checklist at night my
wife (sitting in the right seat, and not a pilot) reached up to set the
upper door latch as I got to that part of the checklist. I thought she
had latched it for me. OAT was -5C on the ground.

We were cleared to depart IFR and as I got to 800 AGL and switched
freqs, the upper door seals gave way and wind in the plane became so
bad that I couldn't hold a chart unless I had on gloves (which I
didn't). So I made the mistake of opening the side latch in an attempt
to re-shut the door and get both latches to latch.

Neither latch could be operated at that point, and ATC could hardly
hear me over the wind noise -- and I certainly couldn't hear them.
Thankfully it was VMC (because my approach plates were flying around
the cabit) and I could do an immediate 180.

I was at an IAS of 35MPH with the wheels on the runway before I was
able to get the door shut and the latches done.

I think I want to try this slow flight, at altitude, and see if by
slipping I can get that door shut and latched bottom and top. And would
you suggest using full flaps at that point?

Also, I have several speed mods on this plane, so its actual stall
speed is about 10 MPH less than the stall light is set to come on.
Later,
Steve.T
PP ASEL/Instrument

steve.t wrote:

I think I want to try this slow flight, at altitude, and see if by
slipping I can get that door shut and latched bottom and top. And
would
you suggest using full flaps at that point?


I've done this several times in a Cherokee 180 and it works just
fine. Just slow down, extend full flaps and bring the airspeed go just
above the stall (pretend you're doing minimum controllable airspeed on
the private pilot PTS). At that speed, you won't even need to slip.
Just push the door into the (now light) slipstream and give it a firm
pull. It should close without a problem. At that speed, low pressure
will not be exerting much pull on the door and you should be able to
secure the top latch easily.

Caveat : If the door pops with a passenger, I highly recommend that
you have the passenger lean back while you close it yourself. I had a
passenger last year that got over-excited about getting the top latch
closed and he twisted it right off (while latching it in the process).
When we got back to the airport, I had to crawl out the baggage
compartment door and let him out using the exterior latch. The fix
cost about $150 with parts and labor.

In article .com,
" wrote:

steve.t wrote:

I think I want to try this slow flight, at altitude, and see if by
slipping I can get that door shut and latched bottom and top. And
would
you suggest using full flaps at that point?


I've done this several times in a Cherokee 180 and it works just
fine. Just slow down, extend full flaps and bring the airspeed go just
above the stall (pretend you're doing minimum controllable airspeed on
the private pilot PTS). At that speed, you won't even need to slip.
Just push the door into the (now light) slipstream and give it a firm
pull. It should close without a problem. At that speed, low pressure
will not be exerting much pull on the door and you should be able to
secure the top latch easily.

Has anyone here ever successfully performed (or even attempted) this
maneuver in a Cirrus?

rg

On 14 Jan 2005 13:27:11 -0800, "steve.t"
wrote in .com::

I also fly a PA28 (180C). During pre-departure checklist at night my
wife (sitting in the right seat, and not a pilot) reached up to set the
upper door latch as I got to that part of the checklist. I thought she
had latched it for me.

I usually give the door a firm shove when that checklist item comes
up. But this time it was warm, and I wanted to wait until cleared to
take the runway before latching the door.

[...]

I think I want to try this slow flight, at altitude, and see if by
slipping I can get that door shut and latched bottom and top.

My experience revealed that kicking in a bunch of rudder had no effect
on getting the door to latch. Of course, that may have been due to
the cabin vents being open. It would be interesting to know the
results of your tests.

And would you suggest using full flaps at that point?

Well, you can fly slower with flaps deployed, and they may add a bit
of stability while mushing along.

Also, I have several speed mods on this plane, so its actual stall
speed is about 10 MPH less than the stall light is set to come on.

The reduced stall speed with the indicator still set for the pre-mod
stall speed probably causes you to ignore it most times. I wonder
what the FAA and speed-mod manufacturers recommend?