Door seal, inflateable or no?

Our Aztec's door seal needs replacing. I'm wondering how many people go the
inflatable route and what their experience has been. Would you do it again?
Does it block noise and air better than the standard seal? Does it push the
door away from the frame or cause too much pressure against the latch or the
hinge? Electric or hand pump? Best make/model? STC/337/field approval or
simple log book entry?

Thanks!

Jim


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"Jim Burns" wrote in message
...
Our Aztec's door seal needs replacing. I'm wondering how many people go
the
inflatable route and what their experience has been. Would you do it
again?
Does it block noise and air better than the standard seal? Does it push
the
door away from the frame or cause too much pressure against the latch or
the
hinge? Electric or hand pump? Best make/model? STC/337/field approval
or
simple log book entry?

Thanks!

Jim


Jim,
I am considering installing the following, although I'll wait until
after my annual is done and I get some time in the bird first:

http://www.chiefaircraft.com/cgi-bin.../DoorSeal.html

It's STC'd so one wouldn't need a 337, etc. I have flown in various aircraft
that had them, Mooneys, Beech TravelAir, and a Baron. I've never been in an
airplane that had the fully automatic one, just the ones that have the bulb
you squeeze. It does seem to cut down on the noise noticeably when it's
pumped up. Most people also feel they help keep the cabin warmer in the
winter (but I think that's because they went from having a cracked/old door
seal and hence anything new, inflatable or not, would have prevented air
from coming in during the winter.)

--
Louis L. Perley III
N46000 - C152
N370 - PA-23-250

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 07:33:45 -0600, "Jim Burns"
wrote:

Our Aztec's door seal needs replacing. I'm wondering how many people go the
inflatable route and what their experience has been. Would you do it again?
Does it block noise and air better than the standard seal? Does it push the
door away from the frame or cause too much pressure against the latch or the
hinge? Electric or hand pump? Best make/model? STC/337/field approval or
simple log book entry?

Thanks!

Jim


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What I can offer on the Aztec I'm familiar with is that the inflatable
seal does make it more quiet in the cabin. Unfortunately they wear
out over time, and currently the one I know about needs to be
re-pumped every 20 minutes or so. When it deflates I think its louder
than having a regular seal (although I don't have a multi engine
reference to that observation, only lots of singles). The owner says
he'd get an electrical pump if he had to do it again, why I'm not
sure, just giving you his opinion. I don't know the model, but it did
require an STC.

HTH.
z

STC yes. Electric pump, yes. Pump burn out. only once in one year at my
total expense. Warmer in winter, yes. Less noise, yes. Worth it? YES.
Advice? get it if you can afford it and you will not be disappointed.
"Jim Burns" wrote in message
...
Our Aztec's door seal needs replacing. I'm wondering how many people go
the
inflatable route and what their experience has been. Would you do it
again?
Does it block noise and air better than the standard seal? Does it push
the
door away from the frame or cause too much pressure against the latch or
the
hinge? Electric or hand pump? Best make/model? STC/337/field approval
or
simple log book entry?

Thanks!

Jim


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.788 / Virus Database: 533 - Release Date: 11/1/2004

On Sat, 13 Nov 2004 07:33:45 -0600, "Jim Burns"
wrote:

Our Aztec's door seal needs replacing. I'm wondering how many people go the
inflatable route and what their experience has been. Would you do it again?
Does it block noise and air better than the standard seal? Does it push the
door away from the frame or cause too much pressure against the latch or the
hinge? Electric or hand pump? Best make/model? STC/337/field approval or
simple log book entry?

Have installed (and flown inside of) both hand and electric versions.
Most drastic change I ever noticed was on a 310. The hose blew off as
I was giving it a couple of extra pumps and we thought the engine was
coming apart.

Perhaps the hand bulbs have changed, but the ones I useta put in were
identical to a manual blood pressure cuff. Every 100 hr, I took the
bulb/valve apart and cleaned off the internal check valve with
alcohol. After about 4-5 years, the bulb and the hose had deteriorated
and had to be replaced.

Put one in a Seneca that had the hand pump clipped to the center
console, and had an inflate/deflate "switch" mounted in the panel.

The electric models are pretty choice, but you still need to keep an
eye out for leaks in the system. Aztec's are prime candidates for
being quieted down a bunch by an inflatable seal.

BTW, the seals I'm familiar with were STC'd, and with any STC, a
maintenance record entry and a 337 (should take yer local IA about 10
minutes to complete and file) are definitely required.

On the Aztec's, I seem to remember an exposed aluminum skin edge on
the door frame where the seal mates. This may have to be dealt with.

Hope some of this helps;

TC