Brief Description: Baggage Door Assembly & Lift Strut - Part 01
Continuing the construction of the new, new baggage door for the RV-8, I worked on the hinge at the top and riveted the whole thing together. I am very happy to report that the fit of the door is nearly perfect! Frankly, it is pretty amazing that something made out of bent sheet metal could fit that well. But alas, I'm not complaining. I spent a fair amount of time and a couple of tries on the top hinge to get the bottom edge of the door to line up perfectly with the bottom of the top fuselage skin. The door comes down and lines up perfectly along both the front and back edges as well as along the bottom as previously described. I'm so happy I redid this baggage door no less than three times to finally get a perfect one! Such is that story of this project it seems...
The stock front baggage door on the RV-8 doesn't come with any means of holding it open other than your arm. Since I'd already experienced what happens when the latch pins are in the "latched" position and the door suddenly slams shut (dents and scratches), I really wanted to find a nice strut of some kind that would hold the door open, yet be relatively easy to install/replace/use.