RV-10 Wheel Fairing Door
This page documents how to add an access door to the RV-10 wheel fairing. The stock wheel pant does not have any
provision for airing the tires. I copied the design used on my Piper Dakota. The door is hinged on the leading edge
and secured with a stainless steel latch. The hinge is scrap from the project and the latch was purchased on ebay from
user "usedwheel" and sold as a Hartwell Aircraft Latch.
1. The door measures 3" x 4" and is set 1.5" from the step edge.
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2. Carefully cut with a cut-off wheel in a dremel drill.
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3. The surface is curved in two directions and needs to be flattend for the hinge and
latch. I used epoxy flox for the hinge and bondo for the latch.
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4. Test fitting the hinge and latch. Next step is to make an inside lip to support the
door in the closed position.
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5. The door is secured in position from the outside.
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6. Two layers of glass with 0.5" overlap were added along the top and bottom edge. Two
layers were also added under the latch striker. Teflon release tape was then placed over the top of the glass to absorb excess
resin.
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7. I then put plastic over it to act as release agent and placed bags of sand on top
to keep the fiberglass layers pressed against the door which is also covered in plastic release agent. This keeps the lip
formed to the door without any large gaps.
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8. Final assembly of the door.
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9. Finished product - open.
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10. Finished product - closed.
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