baggage door question

I am working the forward baggage door assembly and all is going well. I have all skins matchdrilled and clecoed. I understandthat the baggage door support strips "might" need trimming to allow correct fit of the door, mine does. The problem is, the firewall side of the baggage door support strip and upper skin is allowed to move forward and aft even while clecoed. makes it hard to fit door. any input is welcome.

one builder's technique......

Unsupported, that forward and aft movement at the firewall you mention is very pronounced and makes it difficult to properly trim and fit the baggage door. Unfortunately, many RV-8's exhibit a poor fitting baggage door. For that reason, I feel the baggage door should not be fitted unless and until the cowling is attached. With the cowling pinned into place, the surrounding structure is significantly stiffened giving you a far more reliable reference.

In addition, following my own instincts, I cut the long narrow strip away from the upper skin and permanently riveted that strip to the firewall which per plans, includes a portion of the starboard side cowling hinge half. The remainder of the upper skin was then 100% clecoed into place during the baggage door fitting.

To recap my thoughts; with the strip riveted, the remainder of the upper skin 100% clecoed into place AND the cowling pinned into place, the structure is sufficiently stiffened thus allowing the builder to trim and fit the baggage door with a good deal more precision than otherwise possible.

My technique may not be the only way to approach this challenging task, but is how I successfully dealt with it.

Support strips

Rick,

I did not start this thread but in your photo I do not see the support strips that were mentioned, curious what you did there, they run under the forward and aft sides of the baggage door opening, it makes a lip for the door support and I don't see this in you photo.

Also, how did you fit the cowl with the floppy firewall. I am thinking some type of bracing to hold the opening dimensionally is required. I actually thought one should fit the cowl with the top skin clecoed on but without the baggage door opening cut out this would hold the firewall is a fixed position.

Thanks you ideas have been helpful to many builders and you time posting is much appreciated.

Cheers

This photo doesn't show the baggage door, but it does show how I maintained stability there. Since I used camlocks around the cowl perimeter, I was able to use the camlock strips to lock the firewall side into place. It may be possible to use the hinges or some other strip in this fashion.

RVG8tor said:

.....I do not see the support strips that were mentioned.....

Click to expand...

Mike,

You have a sharp eye. At the time the photo was taken, I FORGOT all about installing those strips and the error is described along with several other details about the baggage door installation here:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=23278&highlight=baggage+door+questions

A photo of the correct installation (with the strips installed) is found in post #19 in the above link.

I found that clecoing the upper skin/firewall flange/upper cowl together stiffens the structure to the point that fitting the baggage door was made more precise.

Baggage door latch pin blocks

Is there any trick to installing the baggage door latch blocks? I am nearly to that point and it seems I need to find a skinny contortionest...

How I did it.

The process Rick described will work fine, especially with the added tip by RVG8tor.

What I did: I fit the cowl with the upper skin all cleco'ed, and the baggage skin not cut out of the upper skin - just as RVG8tor says.

Then, I waited to do the baggage door until the upper skin was fully riveted on. Probably didn't need to, but it seemed the most sure thing.

To fit the latch blocks once everything is done, I put some double-sided tape on the proper spots in the fuselage, strapped the baggage door closed, climbed inside, slid the latch blocks into about the right place and had an assistant turn the lock, pushing the pin into the latch block and seating the latch block into the double-sided tape. Repeat for the other block. Then, when the door is opened, the blocks are held in the right spot for match-drilling and screws.

I may have lucked out -- I didn't need to tweak the block position by elongating any screw holes, but you could if you needed to.

Good luck, take your time. It is one of the most difficult spots on the airplane to get a truly professional looking job of it, and unfortunately it is also one of the most conspicuous.

Rick6a said:

Mike,

You have a sharp eye. At the time the photo was taken, I FORGOT all about installing those strips and the error is described along with several other details about the baggage door installation here:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=23278&highlight=baggage+door+questions

A photo of the correct installation (with the strips installed) is found in post #19 in the above link.

I found that clecoing the upper skin/firewall flange/upper cowl together stiffens the structure to the point that fitting the baggage door was made more precise.

Click to expand...

Did you rivet the kitty, or does it stay on with 200kt duct tape?

Cutting Method

I like the shears idea for cutting the cowl, looks like that beats the die grinder cutter by a long shot.