12/2/2006
The replacement baggage door ribs came in from Vans. After fluting, bending, deburring, marking center lines, etc., I drilled them to the inside of the door's outer skin. Then I positioned the door in the fuselage, lined up the bottom edge and taped it to the fuselage. This creating a lot of overhang on the top part which required that I cut off about 3/16 of the door's skin in the area of the hinge. I did this progressively since it was hard to tell how much needed to be removed to keep .022" spacing between the hinge and the door skin.
I had to bend the lower part of the skin to be as flush as possible against the fuselage. It still bows out a little but I think once the bottom angle is rivited to the ribs it will be pulled in the right amount. If not, I will bend it some more after riveting.
