Extended Baggage - Grant's Project

I am looking at the extended baggage lower support channels that run above the lower longerons. My question is this: If the left side lower channel is welded directly to the fuselage then the sides of the baggage compartment will be right up against the fuselage too. If this is the way to do it how do we run the trim cables? do they run inside the baggage compartment or does the baggage compartment side get stood off the fuselage to allow room for the trim cables. I have looked in the photogallery and it seems i cant find a good photo to show what I'm looking for.

I plan to do the metal headliner and all metal interior if that matters.

oops

Grant

I hope this is what you are looking for. The top longeron tube has a square tube welded to the inside. The interior panel attaches to this and that provides a standoff (or clearance) between the tubes and the baggage compartment sides. The trim runs outside the baggage compartment. This was before I ripped all mine out and went electric. I put a couple of strips of a UMHV plastic as rub strips on the baggage side panel, and I used a phenolic block near the rear of the compartment as a guide for the trim indicator wire above the trim cable pulleys.

Bill

Note the square tube on the inside of the top longeron in this photo.



Note the phenolic block for the trim wire above the cable pulleys in this photo.



Note the rub strips and trim cable routing in these photos.

Thats what I was looking for bill.

It looks to me that the floor does go all the way across but the side is stood off a little.

Grant

You can see here that the lower bracket is welded directly to the side tubes.



You will need to make a bracket around the lower flap pulley to keep the baggage off this area. This is all from a Smith Cub. I am sure there are other ways to do all of this. Hope this helps.



Bill

In 20/20 hind sight (post Firman belly cargo pod), I would "today" make my lower extended baggage compartment shorter. Only about 20 to 24 inches deep.

Just long enough to put my rolled up Camp Rest inflatable mattress in (length wise) plus my sleeping bag and light weight tent (I can reach the stuff from the main door without adding a heavy, noisy, leaking side access door).

The way Airframe Inc. and Smith / Turbine Cub makes their lower extended baggage compartments I feel they're WAY too long allowing you get too much weight aft of the CG.

Wing stalls don't scare me. You can see them coming a long ways off. A tail stall (moose stall, same thing) has killed a lot of Cub pilots.

In 4 years of flying my Cub with the long lower baggage I usually never put anything in it.

Suggestion:

The way I would build a baggage compartment today on one of these fuselages is to CUT OUT all the side "L" channel except for about 2" where its welded to the fuselage side tubes. These short remaining channels will act as the baggage compartment support / anchors. The baggage compartment itself will be a structured box when done, just like an Atlee Dodge compartment only full width / height dimension.

Bend up a pan (baggage floor) out of .020 2024T3 with a 5/8" lip on the back and sides. The front of it is flat to mate with the rear baggage floor at the cross tube (support).

For center support cut six small (length depends on distance from belly tubing to baggage floor) stand offs out of 1/2" .035 4130 tubing.

Cut some 1" long 1/2" .035 tubes and saddle them (weld) into the stand offs. Place the stand offs in position (bottom diagonal and cross tubes) so you have about equal 1/3's length wise of supported floor area.

Split the top of the 1" saddle tubes with a 3" cut off saw.

Slide correct length (depends on how long your baggage compartment is) large size aluminum stringer (the kind used for the turtle deck stringer) round side down through the saddle tubes (slit). You can use 3/32" Marston rivets to hold the stringers in place.

Mount the baggage pan to the side supports and PK screw or rivet the pan to the two length wise aluminum support stringers. The stringer material is very strong and light.

Make the sides out of .016 2024 T3 with a 5/8" lip along the top edge. Make another pan for the back with a 5/8" lip on three sides. The bottom side (no lip) will be riveted to the floor pan rear lip. I suggest 3/32" solid rivets to put them together with.

Airframes and Smith put heavy steel "L" channel all the way down the sides and across the back with steel cross supports for the baggage bottom. There is still too much unsupported floor area between the cross supports forcing guys to use heavier floor material or install additional cross supports in between the ones already there. More weight, more weight, more weight..... With the two center length (aluminum) stringers you will have better floor support.

Anyway, you can cut out some weight doing it this way.

Take care.

Crash

Back in the 80's I had the FA Dodge extended baggage and rear stick cover in my cub. I could and did several times crawl in, feet first, head on the stick cover, with "pillow" and sleep in the plane. Better than a tent on short notice.