Inflatable door seals

[Danb]

Is anyone using inflatable doors seals, what type and are you happy with them. Do they actually

Work at reducing noise vs. regular ones. I've changed, tweaked mine about 4 times in last 2 yrs (I do not have inflatable ones). Do they leak on the ground? I have a small nagging noise in the upper right corner which I can not eliminate while being able to close the door. It bothers my better half since it's her ear by the noise, seems minor to me, major to her . Your advice is greatly appreciated..

[Marauder]

Dan - I use a Field's manual door seal and it does work well at blocking out air noise. There is are electric and manual versions of them. The electric one will adjust pressure in flight automatically. The manual one requires an occasional squeeze if I change altitudes a bit.

[Danb]

Great

[Piloto]

I use maritime foam weather seals. If there is anything worst than an air leak is a water leak. The foam comforms to the irregular shape of the door frame creating a tight seal. A $10 seal will last 5 years or more. You cand find them at Home Depot and boat stores.

 

José 

[RocketAviator]

I have Fields electric they work ok not sure the pump shuts off like it should. I talked to Fields he says it will be ok.... If I'm concerned just turn it off... that I don't like. They keep a lot of noise out for sure you can tell quickly if they are deflated.

[Danb]

Jose, do your foam seals also do a good job of eliminating the air noise. I was talking to an engineer at Mooney and he told me that the post 2002,Mooneys have a significant amount of air noise say to my 1988 J model had. Seems like the jig is getting worn out and a lot of us are going through seals trying to eliminate the noise. Strange thing is when I bought the plane in 2006 it was quiet until I got around 250 hours on it..another mystery from Mooney

[Danb]

On u folks with the Fields seals if your plane sits in the rain does it leak or stays dry like a regular seal. .?

[RocketAviator]

Mine has never leaked that im aware of however I keep it in a hanger except when traveling so not a lot of exposure

[Danb]

That's the way mine is used even when I travel I request a hanger about 1/3 of the time I usually can scope one out. It helps to know that they don't leak when deflated. That was my main concern..

[Marauder]

On u folks with the Fields seals if your plane sits in the rain does it leak or stays dry like a regular seal. .?

Dan - on the manual one, you can give it a few pumps to puff out the seal a little to create a tighter seal. I do this when I park outside when traveling.

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[slowflyin]

Manual Fields on mine.  Works Great!

[Houman]

Is this something that can be installed by the pilot / owner, I'm looking to get a seal for my rocket, something not that expensive, but works well and ideally aircraft approved...

 

Thanks !

[Marauder]

Is this something that can be installed by the pilot / owner, I'm looking to get a seal for my rocket, something not that expensive, but works well and ideally aircraft approved...

Thanks !

Not sure if it can be installed without a mechanic -- perhaps one of our esteemed AP/IAs can answer that question. It is approved for Mooneys. Here is the link: http://ultimatedoorseals.com/product.html

Site says all FAA approved. I have the economy model.

[EDNR-Cruiser]

I got my Mooney with manually inflatable door-seals and it makes a major difference in wind noise when inflated, even with my Lightspeed Zulu2 ANR headset (not to speak of a classic headset)!
Unfortunately I have no idea what make mine is but as it seems to be punctured (need to add pressure every 20 minutes or so), I will have it replaced sooner or  later for sure...

[PTK]

I had new Mooney OEM door seals installed when the airplane was painted. Cost a little more than the generics but well worth it. Very effective at reducing slipstream noise and no leaks.

Not a fan of inflatables and pumps. I think they're too costly and prone to leaks. Another frivolous item that can malfunction.

As for reducing aerodynamic noise I haven't seen any data that they're any better than properly installed OEM door seals.

Put another way, they don't reduce dBA's in direct proportion to their cost!

[LANCECASPER]

I got my Mooney with manually inflatable door-seals and it makes a major difference in wind noise when inflated, even with my Lightspeed Zulu2 ANR headset (not to speak of a classic headset)!

Unfortunately I have no idea what make mine is but as it seems to be punctured (need to add pressure every 20 minutes or so), I will have it replaced sooner or  later for sure...

 

Looks like it may be able to be repaired

 

http://ultimatedoorseals.com/repairs.html

[Piloto]

Jose, do your foam seals also do a good job of eliminating the air noise. I was talking to an engineer at Mooney and he told me that the post 2002,Mooneys have a significant amount of air noise say to my 1988 J model had. Seems like the jig is getting worn out and a lot of us are going through seals trying to eliminate the noise. Strange thing is when I bought the plane in 2006 it was quiet until I got around 250 hours on it..another mystery from Mooney

 

One of the things I am very picky is about noise. You can tell where a door is air leaking by dragging a rag around the perimeter while in flight. The noise will silence where the rag is located. I found that the foam seal outperform the factory seal even on new Mooneys. The foam seal is made of individual cells that conform to the door irregular surface without creating gaps like the rubber seal.

 

My concern with the inflatable seal is that if they are not inflated they will leak, of course. But then they are prone to leak when the plane is on the ramp exposed to rain. That is why I prefer the foam seal.

 

I have used the foam seal for 20 years with no complains. After installing the 3/8" thick foam seal the door require extra pressure to set the lock. But after leaving the door closed for one day the seal will adjust to the frame contour and less pressure is required. If you leave the door open for several days the seal will expand again thus requiring extra pressure to lock the door. This is an indication that the seal is working.

 

Another source of noise is the glareshield rattling. You can identify this one by putting hand pressure on it while in flight. To keep from rattling against the windshiled just lay a smaller size of the foam seal around the top forward edge. You will be surprised how much noise this can reduce.

 

On my M20J cruising at FL100 my wife (on the back seat) and I can easily talk without using headsets. That is why we have no headsets on the picture.

 

José 

[Oscar Avalle]

I installed  the inflatable seals about 7 years ago.Very easy to install. I did it myself and the IA/AP signed it off.  I like them they work well and keep the noise out. I never had problems with them leaking on the ground. But when I leave my plane outside I use a cover.