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Quarter turn fasteners for RV-8 rear baggage shelf

B

Ben Ellis

Well Known Member
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Have any of you used quarter turn fasteners or some other quick release fastener to make it easier to remove the rear baggage shelf? I am going to rivet on the aft top skin soon and just started thinking about how not fun it will soon be to remove the rear baggage shelf to get to the battery and avionics I have back there. I'd prefer not to make access panels as some guys do, so fasteners that can be easily and quickly removed without fear of stripping screws would be ideal. These are the fasteners I'm thinking about:

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I don't see how it will hurt. I find that putting on the screws is more PIA as the fuselage is deformed slightly with a fullsize man sitting in the rear baggage compartment, and all the slight movement put one or more of the panel screw holes a smidgen out of alignment. The more I remove and reattach the panels, the easier it gets.
 
Most everything you need to do back there can be done with this mod. Just pull the pins.
Carl
 

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I put in an access door, but using socket head screws allows use of a ball driver which makes getting those screws out easier too.

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PhatRV said:
I don't see how it will hurt. I find that putting on the screws is more PIA as the fuselage is deformed slightly with a fullsize man sitting in the rear baggage compartment, and all the slight movement put one or more of the panel screw holes a smidgen out of alignment. The more I remove and reattach the panels, the easier it gets.
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In general, you have to be very careful about modifying internal close-out panels like baggage shelves in monocoque fuselages. They often participate much more in the torsional stiffness of the fuselage than you might think. The forward baggage floor, for example, is very important for torsional stiffness of the bay behind the firewall, because the forward baggage door creates an open section in the outer shell.

Considering that the rear baggage shelf is in a closed monocoque bay, and the longerons it hangs on don't extend up into the cockpit anyway, I don't think it is contributing significantly, and what you are proposing is probably OK. But this is the kind of thing that must be done thoughtfully - you can inadvertently cripple a monocoque shell if you substitute quarter-turn fasteners that have some 'float' in a key structural element.
 
scsmith said:
In general, you have to be very careful about modifying internal close-out panels like baggage shelves in monocoque fuselages. They often participate much more in the torsional stiffness of the fuselage than you might think. The forward baggage floor, for example, is very important for torsional stiffness of the bay behind the firewall, because the forward baggage door creates an open section in the outer shell.

Considering that the rear baggage shelf is in a closed monocoque bay, and the longerons it hangs on don't extend up into the cockpit anyway, I don't think it is contributing significantly, and what you are proposing is probably OK. But this is the kind of thing that must be done thoughtfully - you can inadvertently cripple a monocoque shell if you substitute quarter-turn fasteners that have some 'float' in a key structural element.
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That's a very good point and something I didn't think about. Thanks for posting. Maybe it makes more sense to use hex head screws like these: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/hapages/nas1096.php?clickkey=3011741. I think they would be easier to remove than a plain phillips or even a torx screw.
 
Like many others, I made an access door to the rear mounted battery and ELT. I used 1/4 turn fasteners, with hinged "wing" handles, which fold down flat. Only 2 installed in the first photo. The handles are not folded down in this photo.





Note the solid base for the ELT. Don't mount it on the top of the baggage cover. That is not rigid enough. You will end up triggering your ELT on a hard landing if you locate it on top of the rear baggage cover. I used the called for fasteners for the F-862. That generally will only be removed during annual condition inspection. I can take my time there. The thinking behind my mod, was to allow quick, no tools needed to access the ELT, which could be very important in the event of a crash. It also allows easy access to my battery bus fuse/relay block on the left.
 
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Ben Ellis said:
Have any of you used quarter turn fasteners or some other quick release fastener to make it easier to remove the rear baggage shelf? I am going to rivet on the aft top skin soon and just started thinking about how not fun it will soon be to remove the rear baggage shelf to get to the battery and avionics I have back there. I'd prefer not to make access panels as some guys do, so fasteners that can be easily and quickly removed without fear of stripping screws would be ideal. These are the fasteners I'm thinking about:

View attachment 88117
Click to expand...
Why on the F-862-1? Planning on skis or golf clubs??
 
I made an access panel and hinged the bulkhead and used camlocks in place of screws to secure bulkhead. Then added a shelf and made a new aft bulkhead.

It’s placard for 10 pounds and since my CG is more forward, W&B well within limits. Long items (shotgun, fishing poles, etc… not a problem but mainly for soft bulky items needed when you camp at OSH.
 

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