Home | Is there some unique requirement for inserting and removing the door lock keys, so that the locks will hold up longer? How can I tell what kind of door handles and door locks I have (interior and exterior/inside and outside)? (Search strings: exterior

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Is there some unique requirement for inserting and removing the door lock keys, so that the locks will hold up longer? How can I tell what kind of door handles and door locks I have (interior and exterior/inside and outside)? (Search strings: exterior

Is there some unique requirement for inserting and removing the door lock keys, so that the locks will hold up longer? How can I tell what kind of door handles and door locks I have (interior and exterior/inside and outside)? (Search strings: exterior handle, outside handle, H2532-13, Hartwell, door handle)

Editor:

You can view all the photos in the Photo Gallery, Door Handles And Trim album, to help you identify your door handle type. There is also a comprehensive document under Articles that you can read. Mike Rellihan recently compiled the following application listing information for the H2532-13 handles.

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The Hartwell H2532-13 exterior handle assembly is used on the Models 19/23/24/76 as follows:

M1485 through M2233, front cabin doors and small baggage door; small baggage door only, through M2339

MB617 through MB665, front cabin doors (no baggage door)

MC181 through MC701, front cabin doors and large baggage door; large baggage door only, through MC740

ME001 through ME221 (large baggage door only)

These serial numbers encompass many Sports, Sundowners, and Sierras; essentially 1974 through 1979 for the main cabin doors. Some used the H2332-13 on all three doors, while others used it only on the aft baggage door, as a subassembly of the H2532-7 (small baggage door) and H2532-9 (large baggage door) latch assemblies.

The Duchess twins used this exterior handle only as a subassembly in the large baggage door latch assembly, PN H2532-9, used in ME001 through ME221 (1978 and early 1979). The IPC shows no Duchess usage on the front cabin doors.

The IPCs for the Models 19/23/24/76 contain many application inaccuracies, due to substitutions made on the plant floor during production. Please identify your exterior handle type from the illustrations. An essential indicator is the placement of the lock cylinder. If the lock is adjacent to the exterior handle in the housing, and does not move as the handle moves, your exterior handles are the Hartwell H2532-13. They cannot be incorrectly applied, as the two mounting screws are staggered. The other Beech style used horizontally aligned mounting screws, and the lock is located in the moving portion of the exterior handle. An incorrect handle cannot be accidentally installed; it would require modifications to the inside latch assembly.

These PMA’d handles are legal replacements for all the Hartwell exterior handle assemblies and subassemblies having the same appearance and configuration; i.e. the lock cylinder is in the housing, but adjacent to the movable handle (as opposed to being mounted in the moving handle). Beech did not list this -13 subassembly separately in all the baggage door IPC latch diagrams, but Beech Technical Support will confirm that the H2532-13 was used. No other Beech handle with this profile had the same segregated lock cylinder configuration.

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On the older 1040BCH handles, the key goes in and out while parallel to the handle. It is rotated up or down 90 degrees to lock or unlock, and must be returned to the horizontal for removal.

On the Hartwell H2532-13, equipped with the original lock cylinder and key, the key goes in and out in the vertical position (perpendicular to the handle and the ground). It is rotated right or left 90 degrees, to lock or unlock, then must be returned to vertical for key removal.

On the Hartwell H2532-13, equipped with Mike Rellihan’s replacement lock cylinder and key, the key still goes in and out in the vertical position (perpendicular to the handle and the ground). It is rotated right or left 180 degrees, to lock or unlock. The key will be vertical in both the fully locked and fully unlocked positions, for key removal. The new handles should work the same way; the key goes in and out while vertical, and full left 180 or full right 180 is lock/unlock. The drive pin will face forward or aft when the key is vertical (teeth up or teeth down).

NOTE: When the plane has multiple pilots, one thing you can do as a lock key position reminder is to get some 1/8″ wide red pinstripe tape from Pep Boys or the like. Put a small piece on the handle above and below the lock cylinder slot. It can actually look sort of neat, like the same stripes used on your nose gear for tow limit markings, or on your fuel caps to mark the desired position when locking the tabs down.

One good aspect of the new cylinders is that the handle is always held in the locked or unlocked position by the new cylinder’s drive stud. With the original cylinder, when the key is returned to center (vertical) so it can be removed, the drive pin is also centered. Nothing holds the slider bar in position except for its friction. When the press-pins loosen in the plastic from age, the slide bar can move from vibration. I have seen planes on which you could rap on the handle a few times with the side of your hand, and the latch would unlock. I’ve sometimes wondered whether anyone was ever temporarily trapped in their plane, when nearby rescuers couldn’t open a latched door, thinking it was jammed when it had vibrated into the locked position. You would never know this in normal flying, since the lock affects only the external handle movement. You would know only if you landed, got out without locking the door, came back, and found the handle locked. Most people would just think they misremembered locking it.