Door Handle Replacement
One-door Piper: Less than $50
Before I take my Seneca in for painting, the exterior needs to be in great condition.
This quick and inexpensive project was a piece of cake to accomplish.
March 2015-
I’m always restoring something on my Seneca II and talking about my experiences on the member forum at PiperFlyer.org. I just celebrated my 10th anniversary of owning this airplane and I’m slowly moving toward getting the airplane painted… but I’m rapidly running out of things to replace!
With the high cost of painting an aircraft I find myself doing all of these little projects first, but I’m finding that fewer people want to fly with me because—unfortunately and incorrectly—they equate airworthiness with paint condition. (Even more unfortunately, paint is about $15,000!) At least some of the other parts of my Seneca are new and shiny.
I did visit a paint shop once, where I received some sound advice. Before I take my PA-34 in for painting, I was reminded that the exterior of the plane better be as good as it can be. If the exterior isn’t in great condition, paint isn’t going to help it much. It would be like putting lipstick on a pig, as the saying goes.
Slowly getting there
Improving a plane’s exterior condition isn’t going to happen in one year unless you have a bottomless checkbook, and I seem to have misplaced mine. I’ve been restoring the outside of the plane for about three years. So far, I’ve accomplished the following things:
First were nosebowls made by LoPresti. They look fabulous. Because of my budget, I looked for (and found!) used nosebowls on Barnstormers.com that were in A-plus condition. Longtime PFA supporter Knots 2U also sells brand-new nosebowls at reasonable prices.
Other things I’ve replaced outside include wingtips; stabilator tips; the VHF navigation antenna on the vertical stabilizer; the upper and lower stinger on the tail; and the main gear doors. I’ve also replaced all of the exterior screws with stainless steel, and installed all of the Knots2U mods available for a Seneca II.
My nosegear doors have yet to be replaced, and that’s about all that’s left… except the door handles. That’s the project I’m doing now.
A fast, easy project
Replacing door handles is an easy project. It takes about 15 minutes and costs less than $100. But as easy as this project is, the part numbers can be confusing. The parts manual for my Seneca lists one part number for exterior door handles and one part number for interior door handles.
When my new parts arrived, I discovered the interior and exterior door handles were indistinguishable from each other. Confused by that, I removed the handles from the airplane and marked each one as to interior or exterior. (The handles on my Seneca are original, right from the factory.)
As you can see in photo 03, the two interior handles are identical to each other—as well as identical with the exterior handles. So why two part numbers? I’d like to know, but sometimes you just have to scratch your head and make the best of it.
PHOTO 03
What you’ll need
For this project you will need just a few parts and common tools.
Replacement handles
Check your parts manual and contact Chaparral or another provider to get these parts ordered. For my Seneca I needed two each of handle (a total of four). If you have a Lance, Saratoga, Cherokee Six or Seneca, you’ll also need four handles. Total cost for these parts was just under $100.
For a Cherokee, Arrow, Warrior or Archer with one door, you’ll need two handles, and the total will run around $50.
Screws and washers
Whenever I replace parts I always replace the hardware that goes with them. I keep a stainless steel screw kit in a plastic parts container purchased from my local hardware store. There are many vendors that supply stainless steel screw kits; Aircraft Spruce is where I got mine.
If you own an airplane, I highly recommend that you have a screw kit. I have replaced hundreds of screws on my airplane with this kit. One of the great benefits of having replaced old screws with new ones is that the new screws won’t rust.
Your A&P may have the necessary screws and washers if you don’t have a screw kit. I can’t stress enough how important it can be to use new screws and washers. It’s little details like these that make your plane sparkle when you look at it.
One important thing to note is that fuel tank screws are structural and come in a different kit. Refer to your airplane’s parts manual for the correct quantity and part number(s) of fuel tank screws if you want to replace them. (Each tank requires two different screw sizes, by the way.) Remember, this work must be done under the supervision of an A&P—and any fastener that’s structural should be tightened to the torque value for that size fastener.
The process
Removing the old door handles and installing the new ones is a piece of cake!
Each handle has one screw and washer. Just remove the screw by turning counter-clockwise with a medium Phillips screwdriver; the old handle will slide off by pulling gently on the handle. The new handle will go on just as easily. (Don’t forget to use a new stainless screw and washer.)
Finally, take a good look at your new handles, inside and out. Don’t they look great? Now go and show all of your airport buddies your handiwork. They will all be jealous—and hopefully it’ll encourage you and your friends to try another project.
Don’t forget to take a picture and post it on the PFA online forum. It’ll make all of the other PFA members green with envy, too. You should have a picture just like mine (see photo 05)—or maybe even better!
PHOTO 05
Get inspired
If you’re like me and you’re waiting for the happy day when you can proceed with a big upgrade on your beloved plane, you can still keep yourself occupied in the meantime with smaller restoration projects like this.
Before you dip your toe in the Avgas, so to speak, you might want to consider asking some questions and bouncing your ideas off of other Piper flyers through the PFA forums. If you haven’t visited the forums lately, they are easy to find on our member website.
Go to PiperFlyer.org and click on “Forum: PFA boards” in the menu at the top of the home page. (You will need to be logged in to post.) Start a new topic, or chime in on a topic that’s already been posted. We all can benefit from this type of “live and learn” exchange, so consider getting on board.
Piper Flyer Association member Scott Sherer is a multi-engine and instrument rated private pilot. He’s logged 2,600 hours and is the owner of a 1977 PA-34-200T based at Burlington Municipal (KBUU) in Burlington, Wis. Sherer anxiously awaits the day when N344TB finally gets new paint. Send questions or comments to editor@piperflyer.org.
