Door latches

[benflyn]

I am rebuilding my doors, should I upgrade to the new latches?

This is on a M5.

Thanks

Benflyn

[Des]

Best thing I ever added. makes opening the door from the inside very easy. Kit comes with Jigs for accurate fitting.

[andy]

I put the new style door and window latches and the gas strut on my MX-7-180 and they are far superior to the old.

[akloon]

Does anyone have a picture? How much were they?

[andy]

Here's a picture of the new style door and window latches on my MX-7-180:

The gas struts on the windows were $110 each side. The door handles and window latches with all the hardware were around $107 each side as of September 2010 from Maule Flight. Labor not included.

[Henry L. Heaberlin]

I was quoted something in excess of $400.00 per door for the new style over center door latches from Maule. Is your $107.00 price maybe for the swing out window latch and not the door itself. The new latches were very interesting, but at $400.00 plus per door it's hard to justify....

[aero101]

These new style latches are nice. Very positive lock, no more hanging up when door locked, etc, but they are not a bolt on operation. Welding on frames is required and unless you're doing a door reskin or seaplane door, probably not worth the cost? I think his price of $107 is for the door window snubber which is available from NAPA Auto for about half the price, is not a major alteration, and can be done with a log book entry... Also another problem with these gas charged snubbers is that first time you use it in cold WX, the gas leaks out and they no longer work... Of course I'm talking pretty cold up here in the interior!!! And we're rapidly headed that direction, BBBRRRRrrrrr!!!

[akloon]

the real problem with this picture is that the airplane is far too clean inside. I'd be embarrassed to to show you what mine looks like. Even if I spent a whole day on it I couldn't get it to look that good. You need some mud on the floorboards, or grass. Maybe some chips in the paint on the braces, scratches on the glass, anything! There's no moose blood anywhere!
How about this:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... =fbx_album

[akloon]

sorry, forgot to insert the image

[akloon]

Last try, I suck at this
[ img]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... =fbx_album[/ img]

[andy]

The $107 is only for the latch hardware, which I read off my invoice and might apply only to the rear passenger door. Maule Flight installed new observation doors which included heavier frames, welding and other stuff. The pair of observation doors with pocket inserts is $1400. They also replaced the door latch on the rear passenger door.

The only reason my airplane looks so clean is that I picked it up from Maule Flight on Sep. 1 and I'm still in the "new vehicle-wipe off very spot" mode. That won't last long. I can't let it get too bad since tour passengers don't like mud and grass all over the airplane.

[akloon]

Well, it's beautiful inside. I'd sure appreciate it if I was your tourist! Are you going to do a part 91 or 135?

[Mr. Ed]

Andy,

Nice photos, although I too vote for too clean. I need to replace my left door latch. The plunger is worn and wont stay latched. At $400/latch I think I might buy the old style part though. The new one looks nice and probably works much better than the original design.


Not trying to hijack the thread.....but:
Noticed what looks like an Apollo GX--. Just curious if you have had any trouble with the screen/display delaminating? My GX60 did just that. I called the service folks and was told that the screen is no longer available. I asked if they would replace it if I found a screen, they said they would not do it but it could be done. I bought a GX50 on ebay that was reported to be in good condition and it had a delaminated screen too. I returned that and acquired a GX65 with a good screen and swapped the screens. So far no more problems but these things are only worth their weight in scrap paper with no parts available. Couldn't just slide one of the other GX's into the tray because the pin pattern and unit function was different. Pain in the back side.

[calmflight]

anyone selling old non- observ doors for an Mx7?

[andy]

Sorry, calmflight, I didn't keep the old MX-7 doors when Maule Flight replaced them with the observation doors.

I haven't had any trouble with the screen de-laminating on the Apollo GX-60 but I've had the internal battery fail twice and need replacement over the 10 years that I've had it. When it happens again, I'm going to have to find an avionics shop that will replace it since Garmin no longer supports it. Someday when I win the lottery, I'm going to remove the GX-60 and DME and replace them with a new Garmin 430 that does WAAS. I like having all the avionics in the center stack only and there's not enough room for the 430 with the DME. Heck, if I win the lottery, I'm going for a M7-260 or an M9 (if it's ever certified) with a 530 or G600.

I've been doing part 91.147 commercial air tours since 2008 but this year business is much better than the last two years. People must not be as worried about their jobs if they're spending money on air tours. 2008 was a startup year and 2009 was awful because of the recession. If the rest of 2010 is as good as September and October, I'm going to apply for a 135 SPATO certificate. I hate the 25-mile restriction in 91.147 and I'd make more money without it. Spoke to the FSDO and they won't waive it, but encouraged me to get the 135 application in soon since it takes a year to process. I'd only do 135 VFR since the airplane doesn't have an autopilot, but you can't do air tours in the clouds anyway. There's no market for 135 point-to-point charters around here, but people don't like to drive long distances to a departure airport that's within 25 miles of what they want to see. Getting rid of the 25-mile restriction will allow me to fly customers farther to see their favorite sights from a convenient departure airport and will bring me more revenue.