Plug Type Doors VS Pin Type Doors

[joeyb747]

At the end of the "Man Jumps From Plane" thread, iflyhi asked about plug type doors. Here is some info for you:

A plug type door is the type used on most large aircraft today. Here is the wiki page, it has a crude diagram of the door, with the "low pressure" area at the right of the pic being "outside".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plug_door

Here is a pic of the most common type of plug door. This one is on a B737. The door moves inward, pivots slightly, and opens outward on an angle. See below:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Ryanair/Boeing-737-8AS/1397990/L/&tbl=&photo_nr=11&sok=&sort=&prev_id=1400287&next_id=1391101

The DC-10 family uses a plug type door that moves inward then upward into the ceiling, neatly hiding the door. Pretty clever!

http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Air/McDonnell-Douglas-KC-10A/1196124/L/&tbl=&photo_nr=12&sok=&sort=&prev_id=1196303&next_id=1193362

Emergency exit windows are another form of plug type door, as they are opened inward.

Below, is a door similar to the one the King Air uses. It opens outward. Note the latch pins and latch bolts, which lock into the fuselage when the handle is locked.

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/investigation_reports/2004/AAIR/images/aair200403333_002.jpg

You also asked about the pax capacity of the King Air 200. It's 8-12 depending on configuration. The aircraft in question was being used as a medical transport, so I would assume that possibly the had it set up to accommodate stretcher. But I don't know for sure.

I hope that answered your questions! 

[iflyhi]

to  joeyb747   thanks so much , for the info.   paul

[joeyb747]

to  joeyb747   thanks so much , for the info.   paul

Glad I could help! Hope it was what you were looking for! 

[kea001]

Series of door opening videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/redtail747

<a href="http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/GhB5FG5axl0/default.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://i4.ytimg.com/vi/GhB5FG5axl0/default.jpg</a>

Dash-8 Baggage Locker


My favourite; MD-80 Tailcone evacuation slide

[cessna157]

To expand on this topic, I'll use my aircraft as an example.  It has both plug and pin doors, and it has a safety feature built in to each.

Plug doors, by their nature, are a safety feature.  If the aircraft is pressurized, there is literally thousands of pounds of force holding it in place.

My aircraft (CRJ900) has the following plug doors and their operation:
- Aft cargo door (moves in, then up)
- Forward & center cargo door (moves up/in, then out and down....fairly complex, eh?)
- 4 overwing exits (rotate inward)
- Avionics bay door (moves upward, then fore or aft)
- Cockpit escape hatch (rotates inward)
- Service door (moves in and up, then out and around)


Now, as a contrast, the main passenger boarding door is held in place by pins and cams.  The door is a very heavy air-stair door, at the bottom is a piano wire hinge, on the sides are 4 or 6 pins (depending on when the aircraft was manufactured), and at the top (top when the door is closed) is 2 rotating cams.  

Now here's where the fun part is:  The entire mechanism is all connected via cables inside the door.  The handles are connected to these cables.  The passenger door is huge, and at altitude it has tens of thousands of pounds of force pushing on it, trying to open it.  The only thing holding it back are the pins and cams.  As a result, the pins and cams all have an enormous force being exerted on them, wedging them in place.  If someone were to pull the open handle while in flight, they would have to use every bit of humanly force to pop the door open.  Sounds possible, right?  Well, not quite.  Remember the cables?  They will break long before someone has the super-human strength to move the pins.

So, even though it is a pin door, it cannot be opened in flight, due to the breaking strength of the cables being a lot less than the strength required to open the door.  On the ground, with the cabin depressurized, a 4 year old can move the handle and open the door if needed.

[cessna157]

Here's a picture of the cams/pins I described

[joeyb747]

Hey cessna, I've got a very similar pic of this aircraft(minus the notations  )! I was in CVG when this special 25th anniversary scheme was unveiled! Nice pic!  

[cessna157]

That is one of my favorite paint jobs we have.  We used to have a specially painted RJ (Canadair's 100th RJ they made) that had a very cool paint scheme, nicknamed "Wonder Woman".  Unfortunately when it was repainted, it got the normal livery paint.

Not to get off of the original topic, but for those interested in my airline's special paint schemes, here's a list of what we've had over the years (I'll leave the photo search up to you guys):
50 seat RJs:
N912CA, s/n 7011, Comair's first RJ/11th RJ ever produced, nicknamed "Hooptie"
N954CA, s/n 7100, 100th RJ produced, nicknamed "Wonder Woman"
N979CA, s/n 7159, Comair's 20th anniversary jet, nicknamed "Bubbles"
N729CA, s/n 7265, Cincinnati jet hub RJ, nicknamed "Skyline"  (nicknamed from Skyline Chili, Cincinnati's famous chili)
N451CA, s/n 7562, Comair's 25th anniversary jet, nicknamed "Shag-wagon"

CRJ700s:
625CA, s/n 10113, Comair's 150th jet/dedicated to employees, an adult-oriented nickname.  But the white spots are hand prints of employees, so you may be able to think of the name.  Oddly enough, above the forward cargo door, there is a 6 finger handprint

N642CA, s/n 10125, Bombardier's 1000th RJ produced, no name


CRJ900s:
N676CA, s/n 15127, Comair's first CRJ900, has a special JDRF plaque hanging in the pax walkway, no real name
N695CA, s/n 15097, Comair's 30th anniversary jet, nicknamed "Stripes"

Oh those planes I've listed, we no longer have 7100, 7265, and 7159.
7011 is still kicking in every day service.  It has over 30,000 hours on the airframe.

[joeyb747]

I also have pics of all the 50 seater paint schemes you mentioned. I like the skyline, very unique! I have not seen in person any of the 700 or 900 serises special schemes.

Sad that the ones you mentioned are no longer in service, and that they re-painted this particular aircraft in boring mainline colors! This was one of my favs an well!