Inflatable door seal project

[LANCECASPER]

I bought an inflatable door seal (basic economy version) awhile back (https://aerocessories.aero) and I'm finally getting around to installing it under the supervision of my IA on an 1993 M20M

Wednesday involved removing the door seal that Mooney installed 29 years ago. Sounds simple enough, right? 90 percent of the seal itself came off easily. The adhesive was another story. I bought 3M Citrus Adhesive remover around the time I bought the seal in anticipation of the project. One thing I can say for sure, is that plastic scrapers don't work. I would still be scraping. Scotchbrite abrasive pads worked a little bit better as the adhesive softened. (Waaaaaaay too much adhesive was used originally). Finally I used a steam machine (www.ev-international.com) with a brass brush on the end and that finished up the removal nicely, so that the area looks new from the factory now.  

Next I laid out everything in the kit along with the instructions and realized that the instructions were written for every possible application (Beech, Piper, Bellanca, Mooney, etc) and that there were very few Mooney specific instructions. (I was having flashbacks to the day I received the package and was intimidated by the instructions, or lack thereof, so set it aside.) How hard can a door seal be? I called the company in San Antonio that now owns the STC, Aerocessories, and Tom the owner answered. The reason I called was to see if there were any pictures of Mooney installations. Yes there are, Tom says, but once he finds out that I'm an hour away, and since he's the new owner of the STC he would like to see how an installation on a Mooney goes. He offers to come out the next morning and help . . . never turn down free help . . .

Tom helping

* One very important detail that sadly I think I would have missed in the instructions is that the seal is only glued on the one side of the "L" shaped seal, the smooth side that hugs where the plastic trim meets up, not the other rough side. This makes sense since that side of the seal allows space for inflating/deflating.

 

We made a lot of progress with the install and it went well. But one thing that we discovered was that the plastic door panels, which have been covered in ultraleather need to be trimmed to allow more clearance for the door seal. So Hector at AeroComfort is going to peel the upholstery back, trim down the upper and lower door panel edges and and then re-glue the ultraleather. 

 

My plastic panels need to be trimmed                                                       

 

Picture that Tom showed me of another Mooney whose plastic panels had been trimmed (mine does not have an ashtray)

Picture that Tom provided of another Mooney with the same Economy Manual version that I bought.

 

The seal is now finished and hopefully next week I get the panels trimmed and put back together. I am excited about the inflatable seal which will help with noise. I sat in the Mooney this afternoon with music playing in the hangar and it was pretty impressive how much inflating the seal cut down the noise. Tom has the product on his Piper Commanche that was installed back in the 80's and still going strong.  I am amazed at the customer service and the level of interest in working on getting a set of instructions for the Mooney community.  That's a company worth supporting. More to come once I finish up . . .

Now I'm working on getting my Medeco locks (aircraftsecurity.com) installed while the door is apart . . . 

[amillet]

What good fortune. If I had started that project here in the far NW it would have been a nightmare trying to figure it out, removing door panels, yikes. Great you had the expertise nearby 

[amillet]

Micro VGs eliminate my habit of sliding under the door to access the cockpit 

[Andy95W]

Lance- thanks for posting and please keep us updated!  I had one of these on a previous airplane and it was awesome.

It sounds like a different company now owns the Bob Fields STC, which is great news for all of us.  The previous proprietor was not helpful at all.

Depending on your results, I may bite the bullet myself.

[Will.iam]

I just had the Bob door seal installed at my annual that just finished this week.  Will get to test it out next week when I go pick up the plane.  I got the manual remote version as I wanted to be able to inflate or deflate it without leaning over the passenger to get to the bulb by the door.  One cool thing is the remote has a switch that is mounted on the instrument panel and thus on short final I'll be flipping that switch to deflate the seal before we land so I don't forget or a passenger prematurely opens the door after landing but before I could deflate the seal. The directions are generic and I was glad I went over them with the A&P because he thought the instructions were only for the electrical pump version and was just going to install the bulb by the door like the basic version does.  Once I explained what all the extra parts were for and that I wanted the bulb remotely installed by my right leg on the center console he got the picture.

 

[milotron]

HI, glad to hear success in getting support for this product. I have it on mine, with the manual bulb on the door, and it works very well.

 

The only issue is that it provides no weather sealing on the ground and will let rain in at the top of the door when left out side. If you find a resolution to this, please let me know as it is an ongoing issue for me when out of town. It rains a lot here.

[Danb]

Lance I’ve had the Fields seal for at least 5 years, I have the bulb right next to my right knee and throttle keeping my hand on the throttle it’s easy to pump the door when flying if it needs. I went through 5-6 different seals prior to my Fields setup. My door frame is out of whack since new. The air seal was necessary and works as advertised. 
When I leave it outside I will pump it up slightly to keep dry from rain.

[carusoam]

Nice pirep for Tom…

We have a serial STC acquirer around here somewhere…. Funny, his name is Tom also….

Might @tomgo2 be the same Tom?

He is our go to turbo guy… very helpful with tech details…

Best regards,

-a-

[tomgo2]

Yes 

[LANCECASPER]

3 hours ago, milotron said:

The only issue is that it provides no weather sealing on the ground and will let rain in at the top of the door when left out side. If you find a resolution to this, please let me know as it is an ongoing issue for me when out of town. It rains a lot here.

Tom’s recommendation was to give it a half pump before exiting and it should be fine.

[Danb]

Lance I think every door is different one pump isn’t enough for mine, 3 will snug it up nice, making it a little hard to close. To much and I can’t get it tight enough to latch the door. 

[milotron]

2 hours ago, Danb said:

Lance I think every door is different one pump isn’t enough for mine, 3 will snug it up nice, making it a little hard to close. To much and I can’t get it tight enough to latch the door. 

^^ this. Too much and it feels like the door won't latch. Not enough and it still leaks. I can never get it right. I wonder if a small piece of weather stripping could be used to fill the gap at the top, but it is a really tight fit at that point on my door.

[Danb]

20 hours ago, milotron said:

^^ this. Too much and it feels like the door won't latch. Not enough and it still leaks. I can never get it right. I wonder if a small piece of weather stripping could be used to fill the gap at the top, but it is a really tight fit at that point on my door.

MT it could , I have a small strip on mine from the center latch to the curve on the left side. The Mooney door/frame setup is so bad many are hit and miss. DMAX told me the models built in the 2000-2006 seemed the worse. My 1977 J and 1988 J were good.

[Marauder]

^^ this. Too much and it feels like the door won't latch. Not enough and it still leaks. I can never get it right. I wonder if a small piece of weather stripping could be used to fill the gap at the top, but it is a really tight fit at that point on my door.

Mine was an original Field’s manual system. Someone’s solution to the ground leakage problem was to put a bead of silicon caulk on the door frame. Worked well in my plane but when I couldn’t get a replacement seal when mine couldn’t be repaired anymore, it was a PITA to get the silicon off.


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[Will.iam]

Just got my plane from annual and the door seal is simply amazing! I didn’t realize just how much wind noise was coming through the door until i inflated the seal. First pump is harder than the rest and it seems 2 to 3 get most of the noise out with the 4th pump getting the last bit of noise. We mounted the bracket onnthe left side of the pedestal but my knee bumps it there. I just lay it across the vent and heat knobs below the throttle and prop control and that works well. 

[Marauder]

Just got my plane from annual and the door seal is simply amazing! I didn’t realize just how much wind noise was coming through the door until i inflated the seal. First pump is harder than the rest and it seems 2 to 3 get most of the noise out with the 4th pump getting the last bit of noise. We mounted the bracket onnthe left side of the pedestal but my knee bumps it there. I just lay it across the vent and heat knobs below the throttle and prop control and that works well. 

I hear ya brother (pun intended). I miss my Field’s door seal. Nothing I have tried since will eliminate all of the noise like the Field’s seal did. Hopefully they will run another sale. It is a bit pricey for what you get. (Just saying that so I stay in the good graces of the Cheap Bast%$d Club).


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[LANCECASPER]

1 hour ago, Marauder said:

 . . . Hopefully they will run another sale . . . 

@tomgo2 Marauder, a long time Field's customer, awaits . . . 

[carusoam]

I like how this Grapevine works!

-a-

[Danb]

The best thing about the economy model is less chance of leaks, I’ve had numerous small leaks due to the extra valves and connections 

[Will.iam]

One more point about tge inflatable seal is before i was worried about leaving my door closed and latched as i did not want my seal to be compressed all the time but also didn’t want any critters or bugs to wonder into the cabin. Now i can keep the door closed without worry about compressing the seal. 

[LANCECASPER]

I went up and test flew and since each of these doors is hand fitted, they are all a little different. After reaching out, Tom supplied some shim material to use in some areas under the seal to make sure I don't have any leaks. I have 4 areas where it needs it.Hopefully I'll finish up over the weekend.

I also used this material in the area at the bottom of the door where the edge of the door comes up. WHat mde this possible is the adhesive included in the kit: RTV108  (https://www.amazon.com/Momentive-RTV108-Silicone-Sealant-Translucent/dp/B004V40R2M/ref=asc_df_B004V40R2M?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80882875798450&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584482455452324&th=1)

This product makes it possible to adjust the seal, even a few days later, without destroying it. 

[Andy95W]

*Sigh.*

[Oscar Avalle]

I had the inflatable doorseal installed many years ago. I love it! now I added the electrical pump and it works superbly well. The only problem I have is the baggage door.... the seal is not great.

Oscar 

[LANCECASPER]

Finally got it wrapped up and put back together. Awesome support from @tomgo2. Great sound reduction from the cabin door. (Of course now I can hear the baggage door leaks)

 

 

Follow Up

I sold this airplane not long after this project and bought an Acclaim. Someday if it needs a new seal this is the way I will go.

However it is a project - so I'll not necessarily look forward to it. The removal of the original adhesive is tedious, but the better job done with this the better it will turn out. Fitting it is tedious and once I learned about the shim material from the STC holder  that made more sense. Then flying and looking for areas that need adjustment took some time to get it right.

If you think this is an afternoon project - it's not! It will take a few hours for a few days to get it right. But once it's done it did the job advertised. I had always wondered why people who had this seal were so sold on it, now I know. 

[Danb]

Sweet..