Gene McPherson:
Here is the question and I would like to hear your experience and options with this scenario:
Right door pops open on take off. I landed, closed the door and took back off; no problem. My CFII asked me if I could have opened the side vent (which would equalize the pressures thus allowing the door to be closed). In your experience/opinion, would this work or would you have other problems with opening/closing the side vent.
Phil:
Here’s how I have shut it: Open the vent window, reach behind the passenger seat and pull on the door handle. I do this while on the ground too – it just won’t latch properly by pulling on the armrest. If I have a passenger in the right seat, I have them scoot forward so I can get to the door handle myself. If I don’t – guaranteed the door will open in flight.
When my son and I participate in bomb drops, we open the door – he’s my bombardier. Then back up to pattern altitude (for safety) and he takes the controls, leans forward, and I shut the door. Gotta use the handle – not the armrest. You get much more leverage that way, too.
Editor:
It’s fairly easy to close a door in flight, but not just by trying to pull it closed. Open the vent as advised. Then hold rudder in to yaw the plane (keeping the wings level) toward the open door, so you can push it open further. Then, you quickly yaw the plane (with rudder) away from the open door, while at the same time snatching the door closed. Having it further open allows you to get a running start on it, then yawing it into the wind enables the relative wind to help you slam it shut.
CAUTION: The vast majority of accidents and fatalities associated with open doors have had nothing to do with the door affecting flying qualities. They occurred because the pilot allowed the wind, noise, and flying debris/maps to become a distraction. Safely flying the plane is far more important than fooling with the door. No one can fall out, unless they have the diameter of a snake. Either land and close it, use the above technique to close it (under safe conditions and at a safe altitude), or just fly with it open while you have to.
Doors popping open on these planes should be very uncommon. They have camming latches that wedge tighter closed from vibration (at least from the early 70’s onward). If you are having recurring problems, check your door latch rigging and function. Make sure you don’t have a broken spring on the latches.
Opening and closing the vent in flight presents no problems. To my knowledge there are no prohibitions on it. In fact, its correct term is “storm window”. Believe it or not, it isn’t there to be a vent, and many early planes didn’t even have one. They primarily exist on airframes that can be made or sold as IFR-capable. The “storm” name comes from their use to see out sideways to land, if ice or snow is obscuring the windshield. Having said that, more than one person has found the storm window to be lifesaving for the same purpose, when oil covered the windshield following an engine failure.