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Silly Question? Why Modify Clecos for Baggage Door

1001001

Well Known Member
On Page 34-5 of the plans, the builder is instructed specifically to modify two clecos bu shortening the center blade for use in installation of the baggage door hinge.

I'm struggling to understand *why*.


Can anyone explain this? There don't seem to be any clearance issues I can detect here. If it's just to be able to put a single cleco really high up where the angled bulkhead comes close to the door frame, I have short clecos that would work for that purpose better than trimming a standard length cleco.

Even if that's the reason, why modify two? Only one seems to be possibly a clearance problem, way at the top.
 
The hinge is folded, so very little space between the two parts of the piano hinge. While folded, you are trying to cleco it to the post. You drill only through one part of the hinge, then put a cleco in. If the cleco would be long it would hit the other side of the folded hinge.
 
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In my plans, step 7 explains how these modified clecos are used:

Step 7: Using an angle drill, match-drill #40 the bottom most hole of the F-1058 Hinge Frame into the F-1060 Hinge. (Use a wedge between the two legs of the hinge to keep the forward leg against the hinge frame while drilling.) Cleco this hole, using one of the modified clecos from Step 6,
then match-drill a second hole as close as possible to the other end of the hinge while keeping the angle drill clear of the F-1034C-L Fuselage Bulkhead. Cleco this hole with the second modified cleco, and recheck the alignment of the door.

I didn't even remember doing this until I checked the plans. Guess it was too long ago (grin)
 
In my plans, step 7 explains how these modified clecos are used:

Step 7: Using an angle drill, match-drill #40 the bottom most hole of the F-1058 Hinge Frame into the F-1060 Hinge. (Use a wedge between the two legs of the hinge to keep the forward leg against the hinge frame while drilling.) Cleco this hole, using one of the modified clecos from Step 6,
then match-drill a second hole as close as possible to the other end of the hinge while keeping the angle drill clear of the F-1034C-L Fuselage Bulkhead. Cleco this hole with the second modified cleco, and recheck the alignment of the door.

I didn't even remember doing this until I checked the plans. Guess it was too long ago (grin)

Ah. I didn't realize they were intending that you drill only through one side of the hinge. I guess I didn't get that "put a wedge between the hinge halves" indicates that the hinge is not fully closed when the door is closed, and that using a full cleco and just drilling through the other half of the hinge would probably cause the hinge to be misshapen.
 
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