Went out to the 25 degree garage to work on the fuselage access door which is right in the middle of the lower skin. This tasks consisted of lining up and drilling out the access door hinge on both the door and the lower fuselage skin. Once the hinge is installed, then the 12 attachment bolt holes are drilled throught the door and the left, right, and aft frames around the access door opening. Then 12 nut plates are riveted to the attachment holes so that the door can be opening and secured with 12 bolts. Finally, the hinge was updrilled to final A4 rivet size. A simple task, but somewhat tedious.
... and did I mention it was cold?!? I eventually got the garage temp up to 55 degrees, but it took about an hour and a good amount of propane. Geez!
The access door attached to the hinge on the bottom of the lower fuselage skin (skin is upside down).
Skin right side up - access door frame with new (black) nut plates riveted in.
Access door with the 12 screws secured to test fit.
