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Baggage Canopy Mod

A

AirWolf

Active Member
About two months back I was forced to make a decision...sell the RV so that I can fly with my Wife and my now year old daughter, or fly by myself. As much as I enjoy flying, I love to do that with my family, so I've created a third option...modify my 9A to fir our mission profile.

CIMG2607.JPG


CIMG2608.JPG


CIMG2602.JPG


Phase 1 is nearing completion, as I have almost completed the Tip-up baggage canopy mod. Phase 2 will be the installation of a custom child seat, making a 2+1 RV-9A! It's nice to finally be albe to use my engineering background for something other than work!
 
Go for It!!!!!!!!!!!

Go for It!!!!!!!!!!! Your canopy mods looks awesome,, your wife and first child are number one in your life with the RV 3rd on the list , but your making things work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Cheers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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OMG that is exactly what I've wondered if anyone had done...marvelous access to the baggage area.

I see the bolt/angle prevents lateral and fore/aft movement of the lower ends of the roll bar.

What, if anything, secures the roll bar in the "closed" position, other than the aft edge of the canopy bearing down on it? I see the slots are angled; do you have to "spring" the roll bar a bit forward to enter the slots?
​
 
Pretty Cool....your family will love you for it!

Looks like a GREAT OPTION fo the tilt canopy even if you don't put another seat back there.
 
Outstanding mod...

....and Experimental aviation at its best.. Beautiful...now you should do drawings and market them:)...after all, the 6,7, and 9 can all be modded that way. FWIW, another builder had a side-facing rear seat back there a coupla years ago too.

Great,
 
JHines said:
OMG that is exactly what I've wondered if anyone had done...marvelous access to the baggage area.

I see the bolt/angle prevents lateral and fore/aft movement of the lower ends of the roll bar.

What, if anything, secures the roll bar in the "closed" position, other than the aft edge of the canopy bearing down on it? I see the slots are angled; do you have to "spring" the roll bar a bit forward to enter the slots?
​
Click to expand...

The roll bar is secured in the closed postion via the main canopy latch. I installed some modified latches on the roll bar, and ground down the current latches on the main canopy so that they would fit together. I installed it all last night, and so far it is working well.
I am also going to have a secondary latch of which I have not designed yet, just as a safety measure in case I forget to use the main latch.
 
pierre smith said:
....and Experimental aviation at its best.. Beautiful...now you should do drawings and market them:)...after all, the 6,7, and 9 can all be modded that way. FWIW, another builder had a side-facing rear seat back there a coupla years ago too.

Great,
Click to expand...

I agree completely. I finally feel like I'm using the 'experimental' classification for what it is...a chance to innovate and learn.
I have taken good notes and lots of pictures in case there is enough interest in marketing this as a mod kit. I'll see what kind of interest this generates.
 
flion said:
What does it look like when closed? Have you got a gap seal?
Click to expand...

I don't have a closed picture posted yet...I'll work on that. I don't have the gap seal chosen for the vertical cut, but I've got the same gap on the lower cut as the forward canopy, so I will use the same foam seal.
 
TU mod

Ron,
That is awesome! If that mod had been available I would have gone TU instead of slider. You've got to market this!
Mike H 9A/8A
 
Looks Good Ron

I would like a positive latch on the bottom of the roll bar and I wonder what Van's input would be...I.e if you did this on a 7 would that limit the aereobatics of the G ratings of the airframe?

I guess you might be able to make a version of the canopy jettison...i.e turn the handle to pull the pins...Mount this under the horizontal bar behind the seats to engage in a protusion pointing down below the roll bar.

If the handle was such that it poked you in the shoulder in the open position that would prevent inadvertent take off without the rear canopy locked.

I assume one can simply use a flat gap seal between the two hoops to prevent leaks?

A wonderful idea!

Frank
 
Child seat

This is really interesting, I too have thought about adding a child's seat. Has anyone thought about which way the seat(s) would be located. I thought about how some of the older import pickup trucks with x-tra cabs oriented the seats, facing sideways. The issues that puzzled me are neck restraint and alternate location for the upper seat belt tether. I would like to hear ideas from others.
 
Rear-facing..

There was a 4 seat, stretched RV-6 a couple years ago and he had two rear-facing seats with an area toward the rear for legroom, into the tailcone.

Regards,
 
Beancounter said:
This is really interesting, I too have thought about adding a child's seat. Has anyone thought about which way the seat(s) would be located. I thought about how some of the older import pickup trucks with x-tra cabs oriented the seats, facing sideways. The issues that puzzled me are neck restraint and alternate location for the upper seat belt tether. I would like to hear ideas from others.
Click to expand...

My plan is to go forward facing for the rear seat and take advantage of the leg room behind the front seats. Although I know that rear facing is better for younger kids, I want to be able to look back and make sure my daughter is okay. I plan to integrate my restraints into the seat that I design, similar to modern car seats, most likely utilizing a restraint system from one of them as well, as they are good 5 point harnesses. I have contemplated a folding seat similar to what is in small trucks, but I am not sure if I will worry about that complexity on the first try.
 
Ron,

That is a GREAT mod! Please keep us up to date on how it goes.

Remember, when building a child seat for an airplane, it is not like a car in that you don't really have to worry too much about side impacts.

The aft facing seat is desirable for a child in that in the event of an accident, their head and body are pushed against the seat back and the belts just hold them in place w/ no (or little) stress.

With a forward facing seat, the seat belts have to hold them in place and the neck takes one heck of a load.

Could you rivet hinges on the baggage compartment floor, just like you do for the main seats and create a seat back that can be turned around as your child grows? Of course, you will need to create two sets of belt anchors.
 
frankh said:
I would like a positive latch on the bottom of the roll bar and I wonder what Van's input would be...I.e if you did this on a 7 would that limit the aereobatics of the G ratings of the airframe?

I guess you might be able to make a version of the canopy jettison...i.e turn the handle to pull the pins...Mount this under the horizontal bar behind the seats to engage in a protusion pointing down below the roll bar.

If the handle was such that it poked you in the shoulder in the open position that would prevent inadvertent take off without the rear canopy locked.

I assume one can simply use a flat gap seal between the two hoops to prevent leaks?

A wonderful idea!

Frank
Click to expand...

Do you mean a positive latch in addition to the main canopy latch that I will be using? I'l ltry to post a picture of it this evening, but the reverse canopy settison mech is an interesting idea!

This type of mod should not limit the aerobatic g-loadings, as the roll bar is not a load bearing structure (if it was, you would need one with a sliding canopy).
Yeah, a flat gap seal should work fine...I just have to find one.
 
Couple of question on the mod (which is pretty cool I must say)

Hi Ron!

Looks like you have quite an interesting and creatively thought out mod there. When I first saw your picture I thought to myself, “this is the coolest thing I’ve seen in awhile”. An hour or so later I was still thinking about it, which reinforces just how cool I thought it was <g>.

I’m not an engineer, but I got to thinking later in the morning that if you (God forbid) are in an off-field landing incident and the fuselage is twisted somehow (like one gear collapses or one wing strikes a tree while the other does not) can the roll bar pull free somehow from its mount more easily than it would if it were bolted down per the plans? Let’s say it pulls out from the mount and shifts a couple of inches to the left or right in the process, swiveling on the hinge at the back of the canopy. If the plane ended up inverted I could imagine a scenario where you would, in essence, not have a roll bar.

The beauty of the experimental category is certainly being demonstrated here with your mod, but I’d be interested to know what Van’s thinks about the structural integrity changes that this introduces to the fuse.

Later in the day I got to thinking about the insurance and DAR sign off implications if the factory was really against this (or an FAA inspector doing a Google search). Sorry to think this way out loud, but I kinda seem to have these type thoughts more and more with the family growing up and all.

Again, I’m no engineer and have no experience in this type of mod, so please take my comments for what they are (uneducated guesses).

Anyway, I think it’s pretty cool if I didn’t say that earlier!

Kindest,
Doug

Ps: I’m no engineer :eek:
 
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DeltaRomeo said:
Hi Ron!

Looks like you have quite an interesting and creatively thought out mod there. When I first saw your picture I thought to myself, “this is the coolest thing I’ve seen in awhile”. An hour or so later I was still thinking about it, which reinforces just how cool I thought it was <g>.

I’m not an engineer, but I got to thinking later in the morning that if you (God forbid) are in an off-field landing incident and the fuselage is twisted somehow (like one gear collapses or one wing strikes a tree while the other does not) can the roll bar pull free somehow from its mount more easily than it would if it were bolted down per the plans? Let’s say it pulls out from the mount and shifts a couple of inches to the left or right in the process, swiveling on the hinge at the back of the canopy. If the plane ended up inverted I could imagine a scenario where you would, in essence, not have a roll bar.

The beauty of the experimental category is certainly being demonstrated here with your mod, but I’d be interested to know what Van’s thinks about the structural integrity changes that this introduces to the fuse.

Later in the day I got to thinking about the insurance and DAR sign off implications if the factory was really against this (or an FAA inspector doing a Google search). Sorry to think this way out loud, but I kinda seem to have these type thoughts more and more with the family growing up and all.

Again, I’m no engineer and have no experience in this type of mod, so please take my comments for what they are (uneducated guesses).

Anyway, I think it’s pretty cool if I didn’t say that earlier!

Kindest,
Doug

Ps: I’m no engineer :eek:
Click to expand...

Doug,
Great questions!!! Before I answer, thanks for setting up and running this site. It's people like you who make building aircraft much easier, and I'd imagine that there are many aircraft flying today that may not have been finished if it weren't for this site.

Onto the questions... The rollbar pulling away from the mounts is in my opinion the most critical portion of the design. There are 3 differnet parts that should help to prevent this from occuring:
1. Main/Baggage Canopy latch - Barring all other failures, this latch will help to hold the roll bar in a position where it can provide its intended function.
2. Baggage canopy safety latch - This will help to keep the canopy from inadvertently opening along with 1.
3. Baggage canopy guide/lateral support (shiny angles you see inboard of the roll bar) - This is meant to prevent lateral and longitudinal movement in conjunction with the bolt that is attached to the rollbar.
Failure of 3. was my biggest concern, which is why I increased the angle thickness on both sides. I have not completed the FEA on the angle, but each side independantly should be able to withstand 3000 lbs acting on them. That leaves the bolt/rollbar connection which may require an increase in bolt diameter or material thickness of the rollbar to prevent bolt pullout in the event of a rollover.

Regarding the FAA, I have already contacted the Portland FSDO, and since the modification is not a change to the aircraft performance or aerodynamics, all that is required is a detailed logbook entry, and for me to take it back into phase 1 flight test for a few hours to ensure everything works. I still have to broach the insurance subject...I'll be doing that soon.

Keep the comments and questions coming...constructive criticism is one of the reasons I posted this!
 
Thanks Ron! You seem to have given a lot of thought to things I was just thinking about for the first time :). Keep us in the loop on how it works out for you!

Best,
Doug
 
2nd rollbar...?????

I don't have a tip up so I haven't really paid much attention to how it's installed etc. etc.

After reading about what DR wrote up, I got to looking at your pictures and got to thinking, is there a way to add a second roll bar like what a slider RV has and mount it just inside the Van's tip up rollover structure? It could be made out of aircraft quality 4340 round tubing / mandrel bent and be mounted / bolted permanet and it would not interfere with your tip up mod or getting to your rear baggage area. I would think that a secondary tubular rollover bar added in this area would tie or strengthen this area on the RV.

Another cool thing about having a tubular roll bar mounted their would help with getting in and out of the RV as it's something to grab onto and it would also prevent one from falling backword if you slip or the wind blew you backwards prior to getting in or out if the rear tip up was hinged backward for some reason. I'm assuming that getting in and out of the RV that the rear backhalf would be down instead up flipped backwards, so this might not be an issue.

This is just a thought and I'm not an Engineer so take it for what it's worth. Again Ron, great looking mod!!! Keep up the good work. :)
 
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Improved Attachment Method

A way better way to attach the roll bar structure to the lower rails and still be quick release would be to attach bolt-on stubs to the lower rails that stick up inside the roll bar when the rear canapy hatch is pulled close and use two sailplane type pull pins that stab thru the roll bar and the stub. The pull pins could then be removed by depressing the button on the pull pin handle end that retracts an internal ball thus allowing the pin to be pulled out in a couple of seconds when required to reopen the rear canapy hatch. When installed the pull pins provide a secure attachment during flight that places the pull pins in shear (which is where they are extremely strong) in case an accident occurs. That would make for a much improved attachment that is also quick to release on demand!!!

Just my 2 cents!
 
tloof said:
A way better way to attach the roll bar structure to the lower rails and still be quick release would be to attach bolt-on stubs to the lower rails that stick up inside the roll bar when the rear canapy hatch is pulled close and use two sailplane type pull pins that stab thru the roll bar and the stub. The pull pins could then be removed by depressing the button on the pull pin handle end that retracts an internal ball thus allowing the pin to be pulled out in a couple of seconds when required to reopen the rear canapy hatch. When installed the pull pins provide a secure attachment during flight that places the pull pins in shear (which is where they are extremely strong) in case an accident occurs. That would make for a much improved attachment that is also quick to release on demand!!!

Just my 2 cents!
Click to expand...
I had thought about that same type of setup when I was first working on the latching mechanism, and I moved away from it due to the arc that the canopy rotates through when opening/closing. When I modeled it up in solidworks, it cut a significant portion of the stub away, to the point that I wasn't sure there would be sufficent material left for a pin.

rv969wf said:
I don't have a tip up so I haven't really paid much attention to how it's installed etc. etc.

After reading about what DR wrote up, I got to looking at your pictures and got to thinking, is there a way to add a second roll bar like what a slider RV has and mount it just inside the Van's tip up rollover structure? It good be made out of aircraft quality 4340 round tubing / mandrel bent and be mounted / bolted permanet and it would not interfere with your tip up mod or getting to your rear baggage area. I would think that a secondary tubular rollover bar added in this area would tie or strengthen this area on the RV.

Another cool thing about having a tubular roll bar mounted their would help with getting in and out of the RV as it's something to grab onto and it would also prevent one from falling backword if you slip or the wind blew you backwards prior to getting in or out if the rear tip up was hinged backward for some reason. I'm assuming that getting in and out of the RV that the rear backhalf would be down instead up flipped backwards, so this might not be an issue.

This is just a thought and I'm not an Engineer so take it for what it's worth. Again Ron, great looking mod!!! Keep up the good work. :)
Click to expand...

AJ, that's a very interesting idea. Definately a easy way to have a redundant rollbar. The downside being that you loose some of the acessability to the baggage area with the baggage canopy open and loading things from teh cockpit. The one thing that I have really liked with the baggage canopy open is that there is excellent acessability to the baggage area for loading, or even to remove the baggage bulkhead for annual inspection etc.
 
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Dual Canopy Latches

Alright, here are some more pictures that show the latching mechanism:

CIMG2610.JPG


CIMG2611.JPG


The one thing that I really like about utilizing the existing latch as the primary latch is that there is no way that a child in the third seat could accidentally unlatch the baggage canopy.
 
Just some pics of same idea on a slider

Pictures of my slider mod to get into the baggage area with a slider.

Ron, I know you have a tilt and nothing wrong with that, just sharing my modification with the same idea on my slider canopy.

At least some of us have the same thinking or brain waves here.

dsc07580ij3.jpg

dsc07557uy7.jpg
 
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Sweet

.....Alan! Is that support rod/cylinder on the passenger side permanently attached or do you remove it to close the canopy? It appears similar to the Meske (sp) tip-up slider mod.

Regards,
 
Alan, that is a great looking plane, and it looks like a great tip-up/slider! I'd love to see a better picture of the rollbar up front.
 
AirWolf said:
About two months back I was forced to make a decision...sell the RV so that I can fly with my Wife and my now year old daughter, or fly by myself. As much as I enjoy flying, I love to do that with my family, so I've created a third option...modify my 9A to fir our mission profile.

Phase 1 is nearing completion, as I have almost completed the Tip-up baggage canopy mod. Phase 2 will be the installation of a custom child seat, making a 2+1 RV-9A! It's nice to finally be albe to use my engineering background for something other than work!
Click to expand...

Ron, you have certainly incorporated some innovative thinking!

One thing that came to mind as I studied your mod is the attachment of the rear section of your canopy to the fuse bulkhead. It appears you are using a hinge. Vans expressed some concern a few years back about the integrity of the roll bar brace attachment to the fuse bulkhead. There is a service bulletin in which some builders were encouraged to beef up the attachment:

http://www.vansaircraft.com/pdf/sb05-1-1.pdf

The concern is that as the plane flips on its back following a landing accident, the roll bar brace could detach from the fuse bulkhead and allow the roll bar to move forward and greatly reduce its effectiveness (the plane will be moving "backwards" as it impacts the ground). If this is the case, does your hinge provide equal structural integrity to prevent the roll bar brace from being pulled from the bulkhead?

You may have already analyzed this aspect of the mod, but I didn't see any reference to it.

I also have some concern about readily extricating a child from the baggage compartment if the plane is upside down in soft soil. Non of us like to consider such possibilities but it is part of completely exploring a mod to our planes or putting a passenger in an area of the plane that wasn't originally intended for a passenger.

Thanks in advance for considering my questions. :)
 
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Yep it's a meske (sp)

pierre smith said:
.....Alan! Is that support rod/cylinder on the passenger side permanently attached or do you remove it to close the canopy? It appears similar to the Meske (sp) tip-up slider mod.

Regards,
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Hi Pierre, yes it's the Meske (sp) tip up kit and the support rod is permanent and hinges behind the back seat.

Ron, when I get to the airport I'll take a closer pic of the rollbar.
 
Sam Buchanan said:
Ron, you have certainly incorporated some innovative thinking!

One thing that came to mind as I studied your mod is the attachment of the rear section of your canopy to the fuse bulkhead. It appears you are using a hinge. Vans expressed some concern a few years back about the integrity of the roll bar brace attachment to the fuse bulkhead. There is a service bulletin in which some builders were encouraged to beef up the attachment:

http://www.vansaircraft.com/pdf/sb05-1-1.pdf

The concern is that as the plane flips on its back following a landing accident, the roll bar brace could detach from the fuse bulkhead and allow the roll bar to move forward and greatly reduce its effectiveness (the plane will be moving "backwards" as it impacts the ground). If this is the case, does your hinge provide equal structural integrity to prevent the roll bar brace from being pulled from the bulkhead?

You may have already analyzed this aspect of the mod, but I didn't see any reference to it.

I also have some concern about readily extricating a child from the baggage compartment if the plane is upside down in soft soil. Non of us like to consider such possibilities but it is part of completely exploring a mod to our planes or putting a passenger in an area of the plane that wasn't originally intended for a passenger.

Thanks in advance for considering my questions. :)
Click to expand...

Sam, Great questions/concerns.
As I had already drilled the F-732C L&R, I installed the tip-up spacer kit that drilled the holes for the AN509 screws into the F-632A channel. I used these four holes for the forward hinge attachment, and put in a thicker F-732B angle for the aft hing/skin/bulkhead attachment. The hinge I am currently using is a MS20001 structural aluminum hinge. The 68ksi ultimate strength of the aluminum hinge in conjunction with a steel pin should provide comprable strength. If necessary I could go to a steel hinge material with a higher ult strength, but it is not an extruded hinge, so the loops could be pulled apart.

My thoughts on extraction in an accident on soft soil would be to either unbuckle them and pull through the rollbar and out the main canopy, or break the plexi on a side of the baggage area that has more available area. As long as the rollbar is intact I am not overly concerned about getting to the rear seat. My limit for the rear seat passenger is going to be 50 lbs, so at that weight there is more than enough room to fit under the rollbar.
 
1-piece tipup?

Alan Judy's photos got me thinking. Has anyone ever simply avoided the "big cut" and installed the tipup in one piece? Seems like the rollbar and brace could be permanently mounted the standard way, but there would still be great access to the baggage compartment.
 
JHines said:
Alan Judy's photos got me thinking. Has anyone ever simply avoided the "big cut" and installed the tipup in one piece? Seems like the rollbar and brace could be permanently mounted the standard way, but there would still be great access to the baggage compartment.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that no one has done it before. I think technically it would be poccible, but it would probably create a very heavy canopy that would require much stronger struts. And it would be one heck of a sail. It'd sure be interesting to see someone attempt it.
 
Big tip up

I was thinking along the same lines as Jonathan. There is no structure back there to capture a seal, and I'd think a secondary latch of some sort for the trailing edge of the bubble may be required, but in the scheme of mods, it's an interesting one. Probably add an easy 100 hours of engineering, fab, renengineer, fab, take pics(gloat) time, and I'm not sure baggage acces is worth it (for me). But i will have the plans out tonight thinkin' on it, for sure.

Rick 90432 QB fuse starts it's transformation tonight!:cool:
 
It's a long way off for me, but to me the baggage access is a big deal - I'll definitely be doing a "golf club shelf".

Looking at the "slider tip up" mod, it doesn't seem like a 1-piece T/U would weigh all that much more.

As far as a seal, I'm thinking a flange could be riveted to the front face of the baggage compartment bulkhead, spaced away from the outside skin by the thickness of the canopy/skirt. Any kind of rubber seal could be attached to the outside face of the flange. Then you would have an upside-down "U" seal that would mate against the canopy when it closed.
 
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Here is a picture of a hinge half with a 1000 lb sustained load on it:

MS20001-8 Hinge - 1000lb load.JPG


Looks like tearout would occur at the bolt holes before the hinge pin was pulled out.
 
I've been thinking about this mod a little bit, and I think there might be a better way to approach this and still get a much stronger setup. Leave the roll bar in place intact along with the center support channel between the roll bar and the rear bulkhead member, but modify the rear window section to pivot up to the center gullwing style just like the RV10. The center support channel could simpley be used as the structure to mount a long hinge onto for the pivot point of the gullwing doors (in reality only one side is all that would be necessary to do in my opinion for better baggage access). A strut could also be mounted that attaches to both the gullwing door and the roll bar itself to avoid the need for any outside restraining latch during windy conditions on the ground. This mod could also be more easily retrofited onto any currently flying tip-up RV model without as much work required as on Airwolf's design, and will be much more secure in the event of a roll over accident.

What do you all think?
 
Good idea, but...

...He said that he needed an easier entry/exit for his daughter, not so much baggage access. Your mod seems to give greater support though.

Regards,
 
My canopy is currently at that stage; I haven't made the cut but it's mounted to the tip-up frame. Unfortunately the rollbar and brace are still pretty obstructive.
 
tloof said:
I've been thinking about this mod a little bit, and I think there might be a better way to approach this and still get a much stronger setup. Leave the roll bar in place intact along with the center support channel between the roll bar and the rear bulkhead member, but modify the rear window section to pivot up to the center gullwing style just like the RV10. The center support channel could simpley be used as the structure to mount a long hinge onto for the pivot point of the gullwing doors (in reality only one side is all that would be necessary to do in my opinion for better baggage access). A strut could also be mounted that attaches to both the gullwing door and the roll bar itself to avoid the need for any outside restraining latch during windy conditions on the ground. This mod could also be more easily retrofited onto any currently flying tip-up RV model without as much work required as on Airwolf's design, and will be much more secure in the event of a roll over accident.

What do you all think?
Click to expand...

For baggage only access, which is what I'm after, that sounds like the best idea yet - keeps the structure the way it was intended and is (relatively) a minimal mod.

Yet another idea for baggage access - what about making the rear window/canopy flip up to the rear like Airwolf's design, but leave the rollbar and brace in place? The latch could be a simple handle like the secondary unit on the existing tipup. This would also avoid an "extra" plexiglas cut.
 
JHines said:
For baggage only access, which is what I'm after, that sounds like the best idea yet - keeps the structure the way it was intended and is (relatively) a minimal mod.

Yet another idea for baggage access - what about making the rear window/canopy flip up to the rear like Airwolf's design, but leave the rollbar and brace in place? The latch could be a simple handle like the secondary unit on the existing tipup. This would also avoid an "extra" plexiglas cut.
Click to expand...

The one problem that I see with that is creating a stable rear area to mount the hinge without modifying the brace. Per the plans, there is very little clearance between the skin and the brace (or the canopy for that matter) near the baggage bulkhead. You could probably fit the hinge itself in-between, but any other support structure would not fit. That could make for a very flimsy door, and at that point it might make more sense just to have the hinge running fore-aft at the top of the canopy.
 
Actually, I was really invisioning the gullwing baggage door hinge mating up to the edge of the brace & not the center of it along with a new fiberglass piece mounted over the top of the brace that fills in that area such that it follows the contour of the old plexiglass window & alum skin. The window in that area isn't usefull anyway due to the brace blocking the view, and besides most guys just paint that area black on the plexiglass in order to hide the dirt that gets between the the two. Another way to do it would be with two hinge brackets and a single small strut just like the gullwing doors are hinged on the RV10.

For baggage access only I wouldn't hinge the baggage door rearward at all, since it would be more susceptable to wind vs the gullwing type with strut.

Just my 2 cents!
 
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