Oil dipstick door, rear seat pins

Oil access door

This afternoon I continued working on the oil dipstick access door, and mounted the latch into place. It’s held on by 4 rivets and most of the cutting was done with a Dremel and a jewellers file. I managed to get a very good fit.

The next part is to mount the hinge, which isn’t too difficult except that I now realize I should have made the rear flange wider for the hinge to mount on. Will figout and alternative.

Partly done here, testing for correct fit.

I can see an issue with it being pressurised cowl. Having a latch or Camloc in each corner would have been smarter as I suspect the internal pressure will lift the corners. I’ll probably add stiffening on the underside with fibreglass over foam or balsa.

The door is held open by a stiff spring.

T lock ball pins

The seat mounting T lock ball pins arrived. I needed to widen one hole slightly as the frame was not quite matching, probably due to heat warping during welding.

It now fits very well, looks good, and can be removed quickly without tools. I plan to use the same T lock pins to secure cargo to the seat mounting lugs when the seat is not in the aircraft.

I’ve also ordered a Piper ground power plug from AircraftSpruce, and will likely mount it on the cabin side of the firewall. This will give me a way of jumpstarting the aircraft if I need to, without opening the cowls. I can also charge the battery from the same point.

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