Europa #435 G-RODO Build Journal - 2023 02

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4	The only plastic rod that I have in stock of a suitable diameter for the handle knobs is PTFE which as quite heavy (SG 2.19) - almost as dense as aluminium (SG 2.55 - 2.8). Look around online and order some 20mm diameter acetal rod on eBay. Although acetal (SG 1.41 - 1.42) is not so light as polypropylene (SG 0.9 - 0.91) or nylon (SG 1.14), I think it machines rather better than either of those. Based on the measurements of the starboard door, the knob on the inside handle could be 14mm long, fixed by a 5/8" CSK screw. Climb into cockpit and mark edges of guard plate onto port inside door handle. Remove guard plate and dismantle mechanism. Remove handles. The possible extremes of the bend lines on the inside handle are 27mm and 51mm from the forward end of the handle. Draw up the required bends to crank the handle in CADintosh. As for starboard handle, make the bend lines 4mm away from the edges of the guard plate, and make the bend radius 8mm. To put the handle just 1mm clear of the guard will require a crank of 5mm, with bend lines 16mm apart, at 31mm & 47mm from the end of the handle, giving an angle of 17.354 degrees. Mark the bend lines on the starboard handle and double-check that they indicate the correct directions of bend. Print port side of drawing for guidance. Clamp the handle in the bench folder and make first bend, using thin aluminium sheet as softener and checking angle with digital level. Reverse handle in folder clamp and insert spacer to keep first bend clear of the moving part. Make 2nd bend until angle is approximately correct (hard to do because of the very short distance between the bends) and end of handle visually parallel with main. Unclamp and check offset with height gauge on vernier caliper - only 8mm instead of required 9mm. Return workpiece to folder and try to increase the bends but not very successful. Instead clamp in soft jaws of vise and adjust bends with plastic mallet, using small piece of wood to apply force between the bends. After a few tries manage to get the required 9mm offset with both parts of the handle parallel. Re-assemble door mechanism and guard plate. All looks OK. Handle just clears top edge of guard when closing but is about 2mm clear of it when fully closed. The minimum distance between the handle and the Perspex is about 18mm so same size knob as starboard would give even more clearance. Can't find any 5/8" CSK 10-32 screws in stock so order some from Westfield Fasteners. Start to draw up the knob design in CADintosh.	3709.6
7	Create hazard stripes for inner door handles on adhesive label. The label can be trimmed to size after sticking to the handle, and covered with invisible tape to protect it. That must wait until I have made and fitted the knob. 10-32 x 5/8" CSK screws delivered from Westfield Fasteners.
8	200mm x 20mm acetal round bars delivered.
10	Hacksaw off a short length of the 20mm acetal round bar and chuck it in the lathe. Face off, enjoying the excellent machining quality and good finish on the acetal. Centre drill, drill through 2.9mm and open to 4.8mm. Drill 6.5mm, 9mm deep. Bore out the 9mm depth to 15mm ID. Reverse workpiece in chuck and face off to 14mm length. Remove starboard guard plate and dismantle door mechanism. Carefully confirm which face of the inner handle the knob will go on (outboard), and countersink the opposite face (inboard) for the fixing screw. Assemble knob to handle with 10-32 x 5/8" CSK screw and Nyloc nut. Re-assemble starboard door mechanism and guard plate. All looks OK and inside handle operates without interference anywhere. Mark the edge of the guard plate on the inboard face of the handle for limit of yellow-and-black hazard stripes.	3711.4
13	Cut off a short length of acetal rod and make a knob for the port inside door handle as done before for the starboard one. This time, save some boring-bar time by removing the chuck from the lathe once the 6.35mm diameter by 9mm deep counterbore has been made. Mount the chuck on the fixture, and on the bench drill carefully drill out the counterbore to 10mm before returning chuck to lathe and completing the bore to 15mm. Remove starboard door guard plate and dismantle door mechanism. While the outside handle is available, check the dimensions of the spigot. The outside handle needs to be off while the door is being painted, but I want to keep the rest of the mechanism assembled, with the roll pins in place securing the shoot-bolt pushrods. So, I need to make a temporary fixture that will retain the inside handle but not obstruct the area around the hole where the outside handle fits. A piece of round bar 0.5" diameter and 0.75" long would be perfect. It would need to be reduced to about 9mm diameter for about 3mm at the inner end, to fit the inside handle. It would need to be drilled for a fixing screw/bolt. Countersink the port inside handle and fit the acetal knob to it. Re-assemble port door mechanism and guard plate. All looks OK. Mark the inside handle for the edge of the hazard warning tape. Temporarily fit the end of the door seal to the bottom end of the forward edge of the door aperture. Mark the edge of the seal onto the guard plate, for positioning the door-closing knob. Remove port guard plate and door mechanism. Remove starboard guard plate and door mechanism. Mark the limit of the warning tape on the inside handles with PVC tape so that they can be degreased (that would remove the felt-tip line). Find I have some yellow/green striped PVC tape which looks brighter than the black/yellow striped labels I have made, so apply that to the handles instead of the labels. Trim edges with scalpel. Find I have a couple of headless 1/2" bolts in stock that would do to make the temporary fittings for the door mechanisms. Chuck one in lathe, face off. Centre-drill then drill through 2.6mm. Open in stages to 5.9mm. Reverse in chuck and face off to 3/4" length. Turn down 3mm of the end to about 9mm diameter until it fits into the square hole in the inner handle. Assemble to starboard door mechanism in place of outside handle, with a M6 x 30mm capscrew, plain nut and penny washers on each end. The washers are actually a bit too large, but the principle is proven and I am sure I have more suitable M6 washers in stock.	3715.0
15	Replace the M6 penny washers on the starboard door handle fixture with standard 1/4" washers and that seems fine - still secure but no overlap on the roll pin holes inside or the area to be painted outside. After moving some polyethylene sheeting that was probably disturbed when masking the door glazing, uncover the 3 access covers that were trial-painted with the bilge paint. Looks as though they could do with rubbing down and second-coating.	3715.3
16	Chuck another cut-off 1/2" bolt in the lathe and face off the end. Remove and hacksaw to approximate length. Replace reversed in chuck and face off to 3/4" length. Turn down outer 3mm to about 9mm, to fit within the inside handle square hole. Centre drill then drill through 2.6mm. Open up to 4.8mm then 5.9mm. Remove the first-made insert from the starboard door mechanism and replace with the newly-made one to check fit. All looks OK.	3716.2
24	Hacksaw off about 23mm of the 20mm acetal round rod. Chuck in lathe, face off. Reverse in chuck and face to 20mm length. Centre drill and drill through 2.6mm, Open to 4.8mm. Drill 6.5mm, 15mm deep. Remove chuck from lathe and fit to holding fixture. On bench drill, open the 15mm counterbore to 8.5mm, 10mm & then 12.5mm. Return chuck to lathe and bore out to 15mm ID, 15mm deep. Clean the felt-tip markings off the face of the starboard guard plate. Fit the knob with a 10-32 x 5/8" button-head hex screw, washer and Nyloc nut. Repeat the whole above process to make and fit a knob on the port guard plate.	3718.1
25	Collect the parts for the starboard door mechanism. Remove the temporary screw and bush securing the starboard DL03 inside handle. Assemble DL05 guide to DL03 with AN3-5A bolt, 3 off AN960-10L washers and MS21042-3 stiffnut. Adjust stiffnut for free but not sloppy movement. Start to fit DL05 to DL02 stud but then realise I have not yet fitted OR9. Expected 2 of them to be in the bag with the other door mechanism parts (as noted in journal of 2021-04-21) but they are not. Neither are they in the "OR misc" storage drawer where the parts inventory claims them to be. Look around a bit for it without success. Looks as though I will have to order spare ones.	3718.9
27	Send e-mail to Europa Aircraft asking for price and availability of OR9 spacers. Rebecca replies saying she needs to check the stock position.

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