Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes New Door Window Latches for $50

There are several people selling door window latches on eBay for less than $50 each, with free shipping. I bought a pair. Here are pictures of the new latch compared to the old latch. Seems like they will work.

Kendel,
Thanks for posting this but; I have two of those latches and one of them came apart on it's maiden voyage, never did find the spring out on the taxiway at T82.

The split pin is the weak point. The pin slides out with use and then the assembly comes apart. I was thinking about replacing the pin with something that will hold up like the original.

If those new $50/90 parts are NOT PMA - then there is probably an argument for owner produced parts. I can't see any that claim they are PMA. All are coming from automotive parts folks. (Which is where Cessna got them to start with)

If you are not worried about it looking original - I'm thinking you could fabricate something with some aluminum angle, bar, a bolt, washers and a nylock nut and get something perfectly functional that weighs a whole lot less. I'm not sure the sprung lock would be needed if you arranged for it to be an overcenter fit.....

I think that split pin is a weakness on the original as well. You might have noticed that I'm comparing the new part to an old one that is held together with safety wire. The OEM part is missing split pin, button, and spring. Perhaps there is a way to "stake" the roll pin with a punch so that it doesn't slide out. Nothing can do about the cast metal of the handle itself breaking around the hole for the roll pin.

Kendel I did see that safety wire in your pictures and that is what I used to make the trip home from that test flight with the 'new' window latch. I carry a small kit, even for local flying, and it contains the mandatory duct tape and bailing wire.

My old latch is actually intact, pin and everything, but the spring loaded button recently failed and I want all the 'little stuff' to be right if you know what I mean.

Graeme I don't know what to do in the long run but my original latch is still 'okay' on the pilot side but the co-pilot side will rotate around and jam so that the window cannot be latched. Of course this is a major distraction in flight with a passenger.
On the co-pilot side I have the window arm removed so that the window swings fully open against a rubber stop under the wing. Kind of a photo/nerf drop window.

I really need this to be right before the Nerf Drop Contest at that world famous Clinton, Iowa fly-in.