SuperTracks!!

[Planecrazy232]

I received and installed my Supertracks on my 6A slider. What an improvement!! I remember my wife and I's first overnight trip trying to get our tiny pieces of luggage in the back. Well no more!!

First impressions. I totally expected the parts to arrive wrapped in paper or bubble wrap and thrown in a box. Not the case. The packaging was superb!! The box you see below was wrapped up and put inside another shipping box. There is as much engineering in the box design and layout as the parts themselves.



I didn't take any pictures during my installation as I just wanted to git er done. I'll take more pics in the next few days. Here she is all slid back!

 

[AJ85WA]

Nice

Thanks for posting this

I didn't know this even existed, great idea!

 

[bret]

Man those are nice.....on the list of things to get......

 

[algrajek]

Please tell us how complex was the install?

 

[flightlogic]

install

There is a longer thread with comments... you might search over there too.
My wife and I went to the hangar together... she helped me lift the canopy off and place it on the floor. After that, we did careful marking and measuring per the instructions. The only confusion I had was reversing the rollers. The bolt head protruded and I thought I might have to grind the heads down to fit inside the existing tracks. After looking at the photos again, I saw that the bolts sit in a recess in the new rollers. It just happens that the axles also fit nicely in that same recess. Hence the reversal confusion. After getting that sorted out... we stopped at about 50% install after 2 hours. Took the S tracks home to use the drill press. The are VERY solid aluminum... and if I had to do it again, I would add screws to beef up the attachment. Then, the tendency to see the tracks as a handle for boarding will not be hampered by any twist in the assembly. With proper mounting, they can serve both purposes well.
We went back out and did the drilling in the plane. Easy. I did have to remove my interior side walls from the baggage area, as they did not clear the new hardware. Peeled back the grey vinyl and used snips to modify the aluminum. Glued vinyl back in place and used a bunch of paper clips to clamp the fabric. It was a chance to glue the other edges which has loosened over time.
Another hour or two and got a buddy to help us lift the canopy back over the top. I suggest reliable help at this point. It is a nervous moment to have your canopy balanced above all that paint and hardware.... you don't want to slip. It fastened right into place with the original two bolts and slid back and forth. See my other thread comment for an easy way to lift the canopy into the S bend and slide it back... using just your shoulders while getting out of the plane. Fresh rollers all around and an opportunity to clean the gunk out of the original tracks... makes it all slide nicely.
Very well thought out and constructed modification.
You won't be dissapointed !