HI THERE

IS YOUR BAGGAGE DOOR POSITIVELY LOCKED?

There was a relatively recent accident with a Lancair IV possibly caused by the baggage door.

The plane did not have locks on the baggage door, instead it had a nice convenient button to release the
baggage door like the one on your car.
       GREAT. but, the likely cause of the death of two experienced pilots is that the door came open in flight and the
 airplane cover that was stored in the baggage area was sucked out and wrapped itself around the tail feathers.

then NO MORE CONTROL     just down.

the idea of this neat door opener inside the cabin seems great. what a convenience. and

  WHO WOULDA THUNK.

hit the button by mistake; or the lock system fails... THEN YOU DIE.

my first thought of a solution would be to put the door opener in series with the green gear lights,

no light, no door open, but what about in the pattern? well that leads to having a squat switch on the gear.
no squat; no baggage open.

My plane is simple, one cannot take the key out of the lock when the door is unlocked. upon thinking about this
accident, i thought "wow, a fail proof system was built in, and i was totally unaware of the thinking behind such a simple setup"

THE CHANGE to a button is a perfect example of the law of unintended consequences.

or be careful of what you wish for.

peter