Kit door formers

[svyolo]

I have a B model kit and the door formers, including the forward one, are AL. Were the forward door formers on the earlier kits steel? I am thinking about bracing either the lower 1/3 of the firewall or the door former to give the engine cowl some more support.

[jaredyates]

A few thoughts come to mind. While the door formers were steel, the engine cowl is supported by the firewall, which has always had an aluminum flange. So while the engine cowl does get support from the boot cowl and the boot cowl gets support from the door formers, I'm not sure how much the door formers will help the cowl or not. The aluminum design is by Bob, so we know that he took the various loads into account when he specified the thickness of the aluminum and the location and frequency of the tabs, etc. One advantage of the aluminum version is that you don't end up with a really hard-to-paint area that could be subject to future corrosion. Are you finding specific concerns about the cowl's support once it's all built up?

[svyolo]

Yeah, overall support of the engine cowl. I think I will add a couple of braces. I can always take them off if I think they are not needed. My firewall is also a bit flimsier than the kit firewall.

[PaulSA]

As I understand it (with the possible exception of the firewall), none of the sheet metal work is structural ......