Shock! Horror! Door pops open!

Mike Granby wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4439341.stm


Did the aircraft dive because of the turbulance or because the pilot
freaked out at the open door. What's the big deal. I was flying a
piper warrior once when the door popped open.
Whoop de do. The slipstream held it closed until I was able to reach
over and re-close it.
It had no effect whatsoever on the handling characteristics of the plane.

Corky Scott wrote:

On Wed, 13 Apr 2005 08:52:22 -0700, "Bob Gardner"
wrote:


If the door of an Aztec pops open, it will only open about 4-6 inches and
will kind of oscillate back and forth between those extremes. Causes some
tail feather buffeting. Anyone trying to pull the door shut is fighting air
pressure and wasting his or her time.

Bob Gardner



That's what I wondered. They probably didn't realise they couldn't
close the door in flight, and kept trying. They'd likely be unhappy
to be told that they could have just sat there doing nothing and the
flight wouldn't have changed a bit.

You can close the door in flight. I did it on a Warrior once and that
was from the pilot seat reaching over.
Unless a Warrior is that different from an Aztec, which I haven't flown.

When I was a student pilot, during the long hot summer days of
Sacramento, we always kept the doors open in the Cessna 140. Every once
in a while I'd give the door a shove with my elbow and refresh the hot
cabin air. On my private checkride, the examiner spent the entire ride
trying to get the door to close, saying he was going to fall out. After
the ride he chewed the FBO out up and down for having a door that
wouldn't stay closed. I never thought to try to close the door, it was
hot!
A year later, with a fresh IFR ticket in my pocket I flew the family
down to Monterey. At about 11pm over the Salinas mountains IFR the door
on the Bonanza popped open. Charts flew everywhere, including out the
window. I tried slipping, etc but couldn't get it closed. Since it was
dark I didn't want to try some small airport I'd never been to before
so I diverted to Modesto (a larger airport). I just remember thinking
to myself that if there was ever a time I was going to forget the gear,
this was it. On landing, it is important to grab and hold the door
though. About 1/2 through the roll out the door sprung full open and
then back again. It almost came off the hinges. I think the roundedness
of the Bonanza door made it different than the flat Cessna door. The
Bonanza door trailed about 4". You could pull really hard to hold it to
only 3" but the last bit wasn't going to happen.
My wife and kids probably have a good 600 hours sitting in the plane
now and are all very execellent door closers. The Bonanza just had a
strange door closing mechanism. You turned the handle past two clicks
to grab both latches, something that was missed that night. I now drive
a Mooney and the door is much more obvious. The door handle doesn't
like up with the arm rest unless it is fully closed.

-Robert, CFI

Hi Bob;

Don't know about the Aztec as I've never had one come open on me, but I've
had the door open on me in a 140 Cherokee and closed it in flight with no
"panic" issues. Also once in a Cessna 336.
There is a pressure problem, but if you just grab the door without pushing
it and yank it closed with a single direction pull it should close ok.
Opening the canopy vents did help if I remember.
Dudley

"Bob Gardner" wrote in message
...
If the door of an Aztec pops open, it will only open about 4-6 inches and
will kind of oscillate back and forth between those extremes. Causes some
tail feather buffeting. Anyone trying to pull the door shut is fighting
air pressure and wasting his or her time.

Bob Gardner

"Mike Granby" wrote in message
ups.com...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4439341.stm

I had a door pop open 3 times during my private pilot training. First
time, early on in the training, MY door opened on takeoff in a C-150.
The CFI took the controls and I held the door ajar. We told the tower we
needed to come back because of an open door and they cleared us ... we
did a little shorter pattern than normal, and the CFI said she noticed
more drag, but no big deal. Second time in a C-152, CFI's door popped
open just after beginning the takeoff roll. He told me to abort, I
pulled the power and started to brake as he got the door shut and told
me to go ahead (we have long runways). Third time in C-152 again, CFI's
door opened at about 500 feet. I didn't even see or hear it, but CFI was
holding onto his door with both hands. I asked, "Am I scaring you that
badly?" He laughed and said "No, door's open!" I asked if I needed to
turn back, but he just shut the door and we kept going. Now, in the
passenger briefing part of the checklist, I always ask passengers to
double-check and assure that their seats and doors are secure.

That is the finest thing I have read in a while.

I want to know who gave her the bruises? Last time that happened to me,
when a friend closed the door and I didn't check it, no one got bruised.

I wonder how many sky divers get bruised when they go up in a plane without
a door.

AliR.

"Mike Granby" wrote in message
ups.com...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4439341.stm

AliR wrote:
That is the finest thing I have read in a while.

I want to know who gave her the bruises? Last time that happened to
me,
when a friend closed the door and I didn't check it, no one got
bruised.

I wonder how many sky divers get bruised when they go up in a plane
without
a door.

Yeah :-)
As I understand it she got bounced (Not the skydiving term) around and
hit the side of the window.
I can state now that at no time in aeroplanes without doors did I
bruise an arm !

I modified a 182 and 206 for jumping some years ago. After removing
the hinges I cut off a triangle at the bottom forward corner and
riveted it to the frame. That was so I could hinge it at the top and
the door would clear the strut. Fabricated a new latch that went fore
and aft and a new door handle in the middle that you could twist.

To work it, the pilot unlatches it and pushes out hard. The
slipstream makes it climb until it contacts a rubber bumper under the
wing. Dif pressure keeps it firmly there while the crazies leave.
The pilot pushes left rudder and the door slams shut. He reaches over
and twists the handle then heads back for another load of crazies.

My point is, Im sure with the Piper-style door, you can close the
vents, slip the aircraft and latch the door a bunch faster than
heading back. Am I wrong?

"Bob Gardner" writes:

If the door of an Aztec pops open, it will only open about 4-6 inches and
will kind of oscillate back and forth between those extremes. Causes some
tail feather buffeting.

Indeed it does! It's been substantial the two times it's happened to me.
It was not at all enjoyable.

Anyone trying to pull the door shut is fighting air
pressure and wasting his or her time.

I pulled a Warrior door closed (on one of my early training solo flights -
oops!) but I suspect that closing the Aztec door is a lost cause also.

--kyler

Corky Scott writes:

That's what I wondered. They probably didn't realise they couldn't
close the door in flight, and kept trying. They'd likely be unhappy
to be told that they could have just sat there doing nothing and the
flight wouldn't have changed a bit.

My experience is that holding it (close to) closed makes the ride
*much* nicer. I've not had the door pop open when I've been flying
alone. It'd be interesting.

Anyone want to talk about the piece of piano wire that actuates the
Aztec's door pins?

--kyler