Several others have done flip up doors. I did not deem it worth the time
/trouble/weight. You must also change the shape of the door opening at
the forward bottom corner to do this and that is exactly where my foot
passes through upon entry/exit. So far I'm happy with MAM's doors even
on floats but you do have to warn folks not to press down on them when
entering/exiting.
There is MAM's bulletin for inserting the triangular pieces (maybe 16"
long) to tie the Fus-30 forward to the side skins. Think they were
called Fus-89 but very easy to fabricate yourself.
There is also MAM's bulletin to put a doubler from the tailpost to the
horizontal shelf and up the tailpost rivets to 3/16".
Both the above changes should be in the newer manuals.
Newer aircraft also use a bulkhead and bracket rather than the multiple
strap pieces to bolt the forward tailspring bolt to. You will know what
I mean if you have the straps otherwise ignore this. But make this
change if you should replace the Fus-30.
Lastly there is the "Ontario" mod where many of us doubled the Fus-30
from the tail post forward to the tailspring bolt. Suspect there are
lots of photos of that on dcsol.com. This has never been sanctioned by
MAM AFAIK but is clearly needed in high time or rough field operations
to avoid cracks immediately forward of the tailpost. There are various
reports of the thickness of the original Fus-30. Mine was 0.020. Many
of us upsized that piece to 0.032 in addition to doubling it at the aft end.
Tailsprings are another conversation...
The only forward floor mod that I consider worthwhile is to run two
angles or channels (about a half inch high or so) forward and aft to
reduce any flexing that is fed through the engine mounts. Or any flexing
if your master cylinders are mounted to the floor. My channels are above
the floor. Some guys have put them below the floor. Alternatively some
guys install Wayne's heavy firewall reinforcing plates which will also
take care of flex from the engine mounts. The mounts have a tendency to
rock forward slightly as the engine pulls on them. Again not a MAM
sanctioned mod AFAIK.
Ken
karl.hipp@dcsol.com wrote:
I heard that someone had come up with a flip up door. I am looking for info
on that and on reinforcing the tail structure and the engine mount
structure in the floor on an early model Rebel
Thanks,
Karl Hipp
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