Kent Greene:
77 Sundowner C23, serial # M-1953; great aircraft, I’ve owned it twice!
Cargo door lock broke. It actually broke and fell off onto the ramp during taxi (sounds strange I know). This lock is the newer style as referenced in the BAC newsletter last week. The inside of the lock is still in place and the cargo door is locked into place. Need to replace the complete door latch assembly I guess. The actual “lock and key” part still works when I push and hold the outside part (the part that fell off) to the inside part that is still attached to the door. Any thoughts about how to reattach the inside half to the outside half of the assembly?
Editor:
According to the parts book, you have the Hartwell latch assembly, PN H2532-7, which supersedes the -3. I strongly suspect that this has again been superseded, and I am working to get the correct number and availability. The Sierra uses a -9, but it has the inside release handle for the 5th-6th seat passengers, and you don’t need that.
Having said this, all you really need is just the outside handle. Two screws hold the outer handle to the inner mechanism, and they are easily seen on the inside as two staggered screws. Beech does not list that part separately for the baggage door, but it is in fact the same as is used on the Hartwell front door handles. The external handle is PN H2532-13, and Beech has them for $550. Arrell Aircraft may be able to get one at a better price.
These handles primarily fail due to plastic failure. If you examine your latch, you will probably see two brass inserts, with plastic fragments still stuck to them, still on the ends of the two mounting screws. These latches are made of plastic with a vacuum-deposition chrome plating, and some attached metal parts. Either the plastic housing breaks, or the metal parts pull out of the plastic, or both. We have a company (AEC) who expects to have approved aluminum replacements available sometime between August and the end of the year. We also have a member who is working on a prototype. If you can get by a bit longer, you should have much less expensive options than the original Beech parts. You can probably glue enough pieces together to hold the handle in place for cosmetic purposes, if that’s an issue, but no glue is going to hold it well enough for operation. As you have learned, the door remains safely latched whether the exterior handle is there or not.
And, having said all the above, there is another variable. Your plane is supposed to have Hartwell handles, and the H2532-13 outside handle, on all three doors. I have, however, verified that some unknown number of 19s and 23s were equipped at the factory with the 1040BCH handles on the two main cabin doors (despite what the parts book says). You may find that you have the 1040BCH handles on the front doors, and the Hartwell only on the baggage door. If so, there is a good chance that you could replace the entire baggage door latch assembly with the Wag-Aero part, using a Form 337. I have not personally done this, so I can’t guarantee it. But there is good reason to think it will work, and this would be very inexpensive; and if you already have the 1040BCH on the front, they would then all look the same.
The drawback to the Wag-Aero part is the same as for the original 1040BCH parts; they are relatively heavy nickel-plated steel, and if not kept up, they will rust fairly rapidly due to the absence of chrome over the nickel. For those who already have the Hartwell latches and housings, and who are not desperate, my advice is to wait a few months in hopes of seeing the aluminum AEC part become available as announced. They will be approved parts when introduced by AEC; most likely FAA-PMA parts. They will, however, still be substantially more expensive than the Wag-Aero part, if you don’t mind the paperwork and maintenance of the steel part.
And finally, whichever way you go, you may be able to exchange lock cylinders to maintain the same ignition keying. If you do wind up needing lock cylinders or re-keying, please let me know.