Sunday, September 24, 2006

Aircraft latches and you.

Aircraft surplus,.... One of the few rewards of the war effort that hot rodders have taken full advantage of in post war peacetime. When you mention the words Hot rod and aircraft surplus, a few images immediately come to mind.... probably the most popular, being the Bomber seat, a favorite of the post war lakes racers as a cheap lightweight seat for their racecars. But let's not forget, the aircraft seatbelts.... Fuel tanks and filters, ....Oxygen tanks converted for water or fuel, and of course my favorite, the Bellytank..... Years of government paid engineers windtunnel testing pollywogs, just to be taken full advantage of by hot rodders seeking land speed records. Ya gotta love it.
But one of my favorite little items I discovered at my local Burbank surplus supply center, is the aircraft latch. Obviously designed to latch a door or panel while staying flush, and not sticking out in the airstream,....exactly what I need for the door of the bellytank. Modern SCTA rules require that the latches for a door must be actuated from the outside as well as the inside, in case of an emergency.

There is a wide variety of interesting latches out there, here is a sampling:
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I picked the latch that had the largest open button.
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The two buttons sit flush with the skin of the body
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In case your wondering how I'm gonna open the door from the inside, I still have to attach a pull tab to the inside under the "Push" button.
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If you use your imagination, you can think of all sorts of uses for these latches on a hot rod.
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6 comments:

creesto said...

That kind of repurposing requires craft and imagination. Really great use. And I love the cockpit feel of your rod! Makes you go faster, I bet.

jon c anderson said...

where can i get these ? i have looked for hours on line. please any info like phone numbers or web site would be great, do you have any i could buy from you ?

jon anderson
229 896 6140
229 456 0647
the3andersons@windstream.net

Toejam said...

For any interested party I have 2 of these exact Hartwell latches in stock. Please feel free to contact me for photographs at effinghamairparts@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I have 18-20 of these exact latches left in inventory. info@ivanko.com

Hank said...

Where did the canopy come from? Nicest Belly tanker I've seen. Great lines.

Hank said...
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