The cargo door latches are very nice design. The aft cargo door is is secured to the top and bottom door frames with 1/4" rods that retract when you pull a lever. The lever is located between the aft and forward cargo doors creating a safety/security feature. The aft door cannot be opening unless the forward door is opened first.
Here is the aft Cargo Door latch assembly in the closed position:
Here it is in the open position:
Here is an overview of the whole latching system:
I purposely held off on making the T25 ribs for the aft cargo door until these rods were fitted so I will have a more exact location for the clearance holes.
Here is the forward cargo door latch handle with spring:
The door latch handle and spring were inserted into the spring retainer assembly
and temporarily safety wired in place to help hold the door shut while I
complete a few other things.
The parts will be disassembled and primed, then the latch assembly will be inserted into the spring retainer assembly so the little 1/8" tabs can be bent over to retain the spring inside.
With door latches all installed in the cargo doors, we can go back and put the diagonal support braces in the doors.
Once that is done, I want to fabricate some brackets for locks to secure the airplane while at air shows, etc.
Click here to go to Door Locks page 1
Cargo Door Latches
Completed: August 14, 2006
Total Time: 13 hours