A rotary locking apparatus for locking and unlocking a fiber optic equipment tray and related methods are disclosed. The rotary locking apparatus may be a torsional rotary locking apparatus. The torsional rotary locking apparatus includes a rod having at least one protrusion and a torsion spring attached to the rod. The torsion spring may also be attached to a tray mount on the fiber optic equipment tray. The rod can be rotatably actuated such that the at least one protrusion selectively engages or disengages one or more of a plurality of slots in a tray guide to allow the fiber optic equipment tray to move from a closed to an open position. The torsion spring may be configured to lock the fiber optic equipment tray in either the open or the closed position when the at least one protrusion engages one of the plurality of slots in the tray guide.