THE CANOPY |
We are using a sliding canopy, partly in response to the windy area we
are accustomed to flying...tip-ups can be sail-like on the ramp.
We have opted to use 'Sikaflex' adhesive to attach it. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Slider Rail Spacer |
Canopy Frame Roller |
Back-Riveted Slider Rail |
UHMW Block at Aft Canopy Frame |
Slider Rail and Spacer |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Canopy Slider Rail |
Fitting Slider Rails and Canopy Frame |
Spacers for Roll Bar |
Fitting the Canopy Frame |
Looking Up at Rollbar |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Lining up the UHMW block |
Marks on canopy to align frame. |
Canopy glued to frame |
Aligning drill bit to the correct angle. |
Sikaflex product data sheet. Read this closely, you can see I've
highlighted some points in yellow. This is nasty stuff, use good
ventilation. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Finally, the canopy is glued to the frame...and it is NOT coming
off. |
Jig to align canopy frame. This was one of the methods I tried
to align the frame that didn't work...but hey, this website documents
the good, the bad and all the in-betweens... |
This is the aft end of the canopy roller extrusion. |
Canopy latch handle protruding through canopy. |
Hole for canopy latch handle. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The canopy on the rails. |
|
The UHMW block that slides fore and aft. The aft canopy bolts
to this. |
Here is a shot of the rail or track that the aft end of the canopy
frame rides on. |
Cut off tube flush for a better fit to the canopy . There is
only one way the canopy will fit the frame perfectly, and this little
tube has to come off to do that easily. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| A canopy fit for a cat. |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| The proper Vee cut |
I had to do it. |
Beautiful holes drilled with the mongo Unibit. |
Clamping for Sikaflex |
Primed the frame for Sikaflex. This stuff sticks like
crazy...to you, to clothing, to the canopy frame, etc. The
Sikaflex adhesive needs to be applied within two hours of the
application of this primer. I used masking tape to make sure I
didn't prime anywhere I didn't want to. Remember this primer will
show, since you don't use the center strip when you use adhesive to
attach the canopy. |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
Painted the interior |
Painted the fuselage sides. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
|
Karen admires the canopy job. |
My checklist for gluing the canopy |
Jig to adjust canopy frame...Noble idea, didn't work. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Hose washers used as spacers on canopy frame |
Close up of washer spacers |
Hose washers under canopy. These provide a space for the
Sikaflex 295UV adhesive. |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
Tom checks a measurement. We worked hard to build a jig in an
attempt to bend the canopy frame. Lots of measurements later, we
were no closer to fitting the frame. Bill Wallace came over and
heaved on the frame for less than one minute...it fit great after that. |
Looking aft to adjust the canopy frame fit. |
Taping off canopy before priming. |
Angle of hole through UHMW block. The pins on the aft end of
the canopy engage this block to latch the canopy down when it's pulled
into the forward or closed position. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Here is a close up of the fit at the intersection of the
canopy/lower canopy fairing/aft canopy fairing. No holes were
drilled in the canopy except for the canopy latch. |
The windscreen was fit to by repeated taping/cutting/taping, etc. |
Here's the final profile. |
The canopy is glued to the frame here. You can see the black
adhesive through the canopy. Structural pull rivets were used to
attach the lower fairing to the canopy frame. |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
| This is a view of teh aft end of teh canopy frame and shows the aft
canopy fairings attached using Sikaflex adhesive. The filet
visible here was created using a popsickle stick as a tool. |
This is the aft canopy fit. I am happy with it. There
are lots of RV's on the field here and the fit on many of them is not
this straight. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
