PA 12 Tank Bay Covers

[PA18project]

Does anyone have a picture or drawing showing how Piper hinged the tank bay covers on the PA 12? I know they are hinged and I have seen the disassembled setup but cant picture how it all goes together. I would like to do something similar on my experimental stretched pacer. Thanks.

 

[mike mcs repair]

you really don't want to do that....

. they are a pain to work around when wings are on plane......

you notice they didn't do that on later planes one of those seemed like a good idea things.....

 

[kevin]

If I remember correctly, the piano hinge fits on the vertical portion of the leading edge where it wraps around the spar. When the cover is on, and the cover is down and secure, the piano hinge is at 90 degrees.I know what it looks like but it is hard for me to describe it. It is very difficult to install the nuts that hold the bolts that hold the piano hinge in place. An easier way to do it would be possibly to install nut plates(I am a nut plate junkie) on the back side or install with pop rivets. I do remember it looks like it could be a pain plus as Mike said, they could be a pain when working on the wing but hopefully that once they are installed, they won't need to be opened very often.