MrNomad
Well Known Member
Amongst the more difficult aspects of building a 9A slider is the canopy. We wrestled with the C-660 skirts over and over again trying for an easy way to get them to line up. We tried inducing a curve and spoke to Ken Scott at Vans several times. He was very helpful but we still could not get it right.
After several "abortions" I think we have come up a simple way to get them to fit. In fact, the first one took an hour but the second took only 10 minutes. Essentially, if you think of the C-660 as a template to be rotated vertically before final attachment, you can achieve the complex bend. The C-660 will adhere to the side of the airplane w/o bending it, stretching it, or going nuts.
After many days of wasted effort and aluminum, we did it as follows:
1)[font="] [/font]Using the first 10 holes (front to rear), affix the C-660 to the horizontal canopy rail on the slider. The base of the C-660 should be above the rivets per the plan. In our case, the C-759 inner canopy skirt had already been drilled and aligned to cradle the lower edge of the canopy plexiglass.
2)[font="] [/font]With the first 10 holes secured with clecos, lift the aft end of the C-660 approx 1/8' to 1/4" and clamp it to the C-759 which was already clamped to the canopy frame. The "lift" will cause the C-660 to curl and align itself vertically to the edge of the fuse.
3)[font="] [/font]With the C-660 firmly clamped to the C-759, remove all pieces and drill the C-660 using the previously drilled holes in the C-759. 4) Using a shear, trim the upper edge of the C-660 at the aft end where it rises above the C-759.
Voila, you're done.
My special thanks to Ken Scott, Gil Alexander, Chet Oldakowski and Mike Shipper for their helpful suggestions. Pictures can be found at
http://www.arizonaairparks.com/rv-canopy
Feel free to email any questions to barry "at" arizonaairparks.com
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After several "abortions" I think we have come up a simple way to get them to fit. In fact, the first one took an hour but the second took only 10 minutes. Essentially, if you think of the C-660 as a template to be rotated vertically before final attachment, you can achieve the complex bend. The C-660 will adhere to the side of the airplane w/o bending it, stretching it, or going nuts.
After many days of wasted effort and aluminum, we did it as follows:
1)[font="] [/font]Using the first 10 holes (front to rear), affix the C-660 to the horizontal canopy rail on the slider. The base of the C-660 should be above the rivets per the plan. In our case, the C-759 inner canopy skirt had already been drilled and aligned to cradle the lower edge of the canopy plexiglass.
2)[font="] [/font]With the first 10 holes secured with clecos, lift the aft end of the C-660 approx 1/8' to 1/4" and clamp it to the C-759 which was already clamped to the canopy frame. The "lift" will cause the C-660 to curl and align itself vertically to the edge of the fuse.
3)[font="] [/font]With the C-660 firmly clamped to the C-759, remove all pieces and drill the C-660 using the previously drilled holes in the C-759. 4) Using a shear, trim the upper edge of the C-660 at the aft end where it rises above the C-759.
Voila, you're done.
My special thanks to Ken Scott, Gil Alexander, Chet Oldakowski and Mike Shipper for their helpful suggestions. Pictures can be found at
http://www.arizonaairparks.com/rv-canopy
Feel free to email any questions to barry "at" arizonaairparks.com
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