Left Side Door - Plans Interpretation

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Was reading this in Patrol plans (sheet 17):



The asterisked note says:

“* Left side only, may be omitted”

One may interpret this as the left side could be left open, and leave out the window sill for dual doors. Fabulous idea for float operators. Whadya think?

[BTAZ]

That is exactly what I did to add a left door to my LSA. It might be worth it for floats but I have hardly used it since I've been flying.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

Have there been photos of your throttle setup? I’ll have to go back and look.

[BTAZ]

image_4771.jpg No but it added a weeks worth of "thinking". Basically ended up with an aluminum tube(5/8" OD IIRC) that ran under the door sill as a "push/pull" tube. I made an aluminum insert for the rear of the tube to install a knob for the rear seat throttle. I made a bracket that clamps on to the tube and sticks up through a slot in the door sill for the front throttle. At the front of the tube. I made an insert with a couple set screws to capture the end of the throttle push/pull cable.

You can see the front throttle lever protruding up through the door sill and the aluminum tube in the attached photo.

[Chris In Milwaukee]

I like it! Low profile and simple. Nice work

[JimParker256]

Very cool idea! I’ve been pondering something similar, but your approach is slick!

[BTAZ]

It' been working well and the front throttle location falls naturally to hand.

the tube slids in three short steel tube bushings.(one just forward of the rear throttle, one about the mid point, and one in the front). Because the front throttle is worked at an offset from the push/pull tube, the tube itself has to have a relatively large OD so it doesn' flex. IIRC, I started with a 3/8" 4130 tube that was plenty strong enouh but once the cable was hooked up the extra force meant the tube would bend slightly when the front throttle was used. This bending would then bind in the bushings.

[JimParker256]

I haven't built mine yet, but was considering using the tube to directly connect front and back throttle levers, with a single cable then going to the carb butterfly. Sounds like the key will be to either use a sufficiently large diameter tube so that it won't flex, or perhaps use a smaller-diameter steel tube that likewise won't flex. I was hoping to avoid the guide bushings, but we'll see what it looks like. Thanks for the tips!

[Steve W]

I made my fuselage with both side doors. I have only placed the engine controls on the right side of the dash. If the person flying from the back seat needs more throttle, he only has to push on the back of the head of the person in front of him. The amount of throttle and it's urgency is proportional to the force applied to the back of the head.

[JimParker256]

I made my fuselage with both side doors. I have only placed the engine controls on the right side of the dash. If the person flying from the back seat needs more throttle, he only has to push on the back of the head of the person in front of him. The amount of throttle and it's urgency is proportional to the force applied to the back of the head.

Unless, of course, the front seat pilot is incapacitated somehow - like a bird flying through the windshield... Plus many CFIs won't do Flight Reviews in an airplane that doesn't have at least stick, rudder, and throttle in the back seat...