Door seal, inflateable or no?

"Jim Burns" wrote in message
...
Our Aztec's door seal needs replacing. I'm wondering how many people go
the
inflatable route and what their experience has been. Would you do it
again?
Does it block noise and air better than the standard seal? Does it push
the
door away from the frame or cause too much pressure against the latch or
the
hinge? Electric or hand pump? Best make/model? STC/337/field approval
or
simple log book entry?

Thanks!

Jim


Jim,
I am considering installing the following, although I'll wait until
after my annual is done and I get some time in the bird first:

http://www.chiefaircraft.com/cgi-bin.../DoorSeal.html

It's STC'd so one wouldn't need a 337, etc. I have flown in various aircraft
that had them, Mooneys, Beech TravelAir, and a Baron. I've never been in an
airplane that had the fully automatic one, just the ones that have the bulb
you squeeze. It does seem to cut down on the noise noticeably when it's
pumped up. Most people also feel they help keep the cabin warmer in the
winter (but I think that's because they went from having a cracked/old door
seal and hence anything new, inflatable or not, would have prevented air
from coming in during the winter.)

--
Louis L. Perley III
N46000 - C152
N370 - PA-23-250