Okay, new plan. I could have made the Hartwell latches work and look okayish, but then I found these Camloc pushbutton latches. They are the same ones that are used to hold shut the oil filler door on a lot of certified aircraft, which normally makes them expensive – I think they are something like $36 apiece from ACS. Thank goodness, though, for the local aircraft surplus place, where they can be had for five bucks each. At that price I couldn't resist, so I picked up a handful to use for little projects like this. It's way easier to make a round hole for one of these guys than to file out the odd-shaped square hole for a Hartwell latch.
I had to build a new door to fit the new latches, but that was no big deal. I had plenty of extra scrap 0.032" from Airparts laying around anyway. This new door actually fits a lot better along the hinge area, which is a bonus.
I don't really know why I primed all these pieces. Superstition, probably.
Here's the finished product after riveting. I used some scrap 0.063" angle to make stiffeners at the fore and aft ends. The hinge pin has a bend in the end, and is inserted in such a way that it's prevented from backing out by the F-727L baggage floor rib. Simple as can be.
And here it is with the baggage floor screwed in place in the fuselage. It seems plenty strong enough with the stiffeners in there. It's also pretty easy to get the ELT in and out.
I couldn't tell how much "grab" the latches had until everything was installed for good, because it was too floppy to tell when it was just clecoed together on the bench. It turned out that the door had a little bit of rattle to it, so I riveted in some 0.032" striker plate thingies to give the latches something extra to hang on to. Now the door clicks shut and doesn't move.
This is what it looks like all buttoned up. With the carpet on top you won't even know it's there, but it's nice to know that I'll be able to get to the ELT in a hurry if I need it, and without needing any tools.
What a mess. Time to clean the workshop.
