Roberto Cea-Campo acquired a partially completed Titan II Tornado 912 project. He describes some of the ongoing work he is doing. Also see the article on Roberto's Tornada in our November 2006 newsletter.

This is the aircraft that Roberto has now successfully flown...

See the first flight!

Replacement of the Main Door Skin for a Tornado 912: There are several things to consider when you are getting closer to prepare your plane for the final painting job. And preparation, I've been told, is 90% of the whole job. Part of this 90% is to have all skin, structures and accessories finished so that you can go ahead into prepping the surface.

I wasn't very happy with the shape and finish of the door when I acquired this Tornado II, and I just realized how bad it would look if I just went ahead and prepared the surfaces and have this wavy look in the front side of the main door.

So it was a must to fix; get a new sheet of 2024-T3 0.020" thick Aluminum metal and let's see how we can make this look better.
One of the first things I needed to do was to see other Titan Tornados similar to mine and check the finished door and its flush fit with the nose cone. By looking at the Tornados that arrived at Sun n Fun last year, talking to the builders and taking a few pictures, helped me to see the appropriate result.

Soon I realized that there was no need to re-shape or do anything to the front skin once riveted in place, so it was a matter of getting the materials and find the time to do it.

Original door to be replaced

Working on the new skin

I removed the existing skin and used it as the pattern for the shape and to make all the new rivet holes and other openings needed later on. I started cutting the aluminum using the red colored snips (left cut), I found much easier than the other ones. Once I had the shape I wanted and the holes ready, I checked the fit placing a few clecos in strategic places before going ahead to cut the other holes for the lock and knob. I sanded all edges very well (this took a while!) and deburred all the holes for the rivets.

The piece was ready for the corrosion protective coating or commonly known as Chemical Conversion Coating. I used the MIL-DTL-5541F specification, Type I and Class 1A, for maximum protection against corrosion, painted or unpainted surfaces. It has excellent paint adhesion properties.

Conversion coated and primed with carpeting

Sure I primed it afterwards trying to match the light grey base the interior of the cabin already had. But I also realized the opportunity to install the same light carpeting I was already placing inside (Commercial grade). So I decided to follow the structure of the door and place the portions I required.

Clecos and skin

Final Product only missing the new lock

< p>For this somehow small task, the final result was very satisfactory and it looked a lot better than before, it is now ready for the topcoat! A not-so-small task to come.

(Thanks to: Carlos Sa and Michel Moreau)

The next phase; final assembly at the airport! August 3, 2009