So most of this landed on Instagram rather than here and YouTube, but here’s the skinny:

I created an oil door. More than that, I modified the original oil door in a few ways: A hidden, or blind, hinge from Aircraft Spruce, a reinforced hatch to prevent flex and with it: in-flight openings, and an upgraded latch curtesy of Aircraft Spruce–after separating from an aggravating amount of money due to it being certified.

With several layers of fiberglass laminated, sandwiched between the door and the current cowl and some plastic wrap for shape, the doubler was cut just undersize and glued to the kit-provided door.

The hinge took a bit of positioning, but once there it was riveted on, along with the claps. A piece of stainless was used as a strike plate for the clasp, which was also riveted on.

For better coverage of this task, check out my instagram (@RyanFlysPDX), and it has been featured a bit in a few recent videos.

In the future: some additional filling and fairing, then we’ll call it done.