This may be old news to the "original" RV-6 folks, but might be of general interest to others. My RV-6A (slider canopy) has always been a little bit “drafty.” Based on anecdotal conversations and forum discussions, my guess is that the level of draftiness is more or less typical (and I’m too lazy/not interested in adding things like aileron boots, etc. that can help).
For reasons I will not bore you with, I recently added a modest bit of simple “Edge Trim Black Small, Fits Edge 1/16 to 1/8 Inch” rubber welt to the edge of the sheet metal where the top of the fuselage/turtledeck skin ends and gets covered by the backside of the fiberglass slider canopy skirt when the canopy is closed. [IOW more or less on top of the baggage compartment bulkhead.] Attached snips provide a visual.
Turns out this little bit of rubber welt has made a major reduction in the level of draftiness. Who knew?! Apparently, much of the draft was coming in via this top of fuselage/sliding canopy. Still a little bit of draftiness going on, of course, as an RV-6A is not exactly an F-16, but this is right up there with the best $11 spent to-date in my aviation ownership experience.
For reasons I will not bore you with, I recently added a modest bit of simple “Edge Trim Black Small, Fits Edge 1/16 to 1/8 Inch” rubber welt to the edge of the sheet metal where the top of the fuselage/turtledeck skin ends and gets covered by the backside of the fiberglass slider canopy skirt when the canopy is closed. [IOW more or less on top of the baggage compartment bulkhead.] Attached snips provide a visual.
Turns out this little bit of rubber welt has made a major reduction in the level of draftiness. Who knew?! Apparently, much of the draft was coming in via this top of fuselage/sliding canopy. Still a little bit of draftiness going on, of course, as an RV-6A is not exactly an F-16, but this is right up there with the best $11 spent to-date in my aviation ownership experience.