A tinkerers Toys

[HighWing]

Post number 7 Baggage Area, Hat Rack, Shoulder Harness Attach Points

The baggage area is another topic that comes up a lot. Most of the talk is increasing capacity. My goals included that as well as reducing weight and improving accessibility. The floor was made up of Fiberglass with foam strips within the plies to add stiffness. Aluminum angles with slots were then riveted to the outer edges. The slots were to accommodate Velcro straps that would secure the sides to the floor. Also at four points are loops to anchor a net to secure the contents. Small aluminum panels are riveted to the floor on each side to prevent the sack contents from interfering with the flaperon control horns.

On my first Model IV, I was never comfortable with the shoulder harness attachment points. To keep the right harness on my shoulder, I made a strap that held the right and left straps together when I flew. Modifying that original design became a major focus as I followed the lead of some friends who were modifying the hat rack area during Model IV builds. One of them simply cut out the bracing in the Hat Rack area behind the seats for easier access to the baggage area. My choice was to cut it out as well, but then replacing it with the bracing design found in the skylight area between the wing spar carry through tubes. For the shoulder harness attachments, tabs were welded exactly between the shoulders of both passenger and pilot, then steel tubes were welded between those points and the corners at the aft edges of the turtle deck for strength.