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Opinion on my canopy fairing please

Reilly

Active Member
Hi guys

My first fiberglass effort and not unhappy with it so far.

I would just like some opinions from the gurus on the area and gaps around the hinge bolt holes. I know its a less attractive part of the 12 but are mine too large or is this how it should be? I did take time to ensure that the bolt hole on the template was directly over the bolt.

Appreciate the feedback
 
Find a socket that fits the pivot bolt head. Wrap a couple of turns of electrical tape around the outer circumference of the socket. Put the socket on the bolt head and fill the outer gaps with fiberglass resin. Remove the socket and clean up the hole. After final painting you can cover the hole with a circular piece of tape or a snap-in grommet.
 
Thanks David that is my plan for the holes.
I am just not sure of the gaps forward and above of the bolt hole between the fiberglass and the top skin
 
Just trim those edges so that they don't rub on the aluminum panels when the canopy is opened and closed. Be sure to leave sufficient room for final paint thickness on both parts (fiberglass and aluminum). Also, be sure to trim the upper forward side portion of the canopy fairing so that you can access all of the screws in the avionics bay cover -- follow the plans. In some cases, cutting the clearances too closely may come back to haunt you as the airframe ages and is used.
 
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Fiberglass

Love the socket trick. Gotta remember that. Looks good. Not sure I would ness with the gap.
However, if you really want...
The gap can be fixed a couple ways. One is heat. Warm it with a heat gun or blow dryer till almost too hot to hold a hand on it. Any hotter and it bubbles and it's toast. Weight it down till it cools.
The other is to apply a release like packing tape to the fuse. Apply a bead of floxed epoxy. Close it so the flox mix squeezes into a seal. Leave it till it cures. Should fit perfect.
 
Here is an alternative that I came up with for the front bolt. Select your planned socket for tightening the bolt. Pick a pick of aluminum tube that fits over the socket. I had a piece the perfect size in my leftover parts from previous builds. Cut the aluminum to approximate the desired profile but a little high. Sand the outside of tube with coarse sandpaper and clean well. Lightly grease the outside of your socket just in case you overdo your epoxy, epoxy the aluminum in place with the socket aligned on your bolt. The soft aluminum will sand to your final profile. You will have a perfect hole setup for easy access to that bolt.
 
Here's what mine ended up looking like:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/r3mzRJYeCrnfP7hUA

I'm not sure how you ended up with the second screw visible on the aluminum piece that covers the instrument panel (F-01240-1). I went down and looked at the trim template. It does look like I have more meat left in front of the bolt head. Not sure these are critical issues - I'm a first time builder so please take everything I say with a grain of salt!
 
I did what Scott did with one more enhancement: use flock around the aluminum tube to make it solidly locked in place. Another tip: when you trim the fiberglass edges make a decision as to whether you want no gaps around the pivot points or if you want to be able to remove the avionics bay cover without removing the canopy. I contoured my fiberglass so there are no gaps. Looks great, but I can?t get to all the avionics bay cover screws without removing the canopy.
 
Subpar -- You may have to trim a bit more of the upper edge to enable access to the avionics bay cover screws. Check the plans. You want to be able to completely remove the bay cover without having to remove the canopy.
 
Subpar before trimming my fiberglass my starting point for alignment of the template was the bolt hole. Then marked the edge of the template forward and above. That second screw has to be exposed otherwise you cannot get to it irrespective of if the canopy is open or closed. You will have to remove the canopy to get to it.

I had seen Scott from Vans make this comment on another thread so I was aware. However I did not need to trim further to expose it so I think that I did have the trim template correctly marked.

Having said that it just looks like I have too large a gap forward of the fiberglass which does not look nice. Was just looking for confirmation that that it how it should look or not.

Many thanks for all the responses.

Mine has been a very slow build. Started in 2009. Thanks to the lockdown and the build at home I am making good progress. If I finish next year it will be a 12 in 12.

But I am going for a 12 in 11
 
Van?s trim template is wrong if you want to remove the avionics cover. That second screw needs exposed as others said. You will have a larger gap up front on top than you desire for appearance but it is worth it to get access to the bay. I also added a nylon washer under the canopy frame pivots to gain a little more clearance. I cannot tell you how many people traced mine at Oshkosh and Sun-N-Fun to have as a reference. Keep trimming until there is clearance and then trim a little more for paint and clearance at full canopy strut extension.
 
I too trimmed my canopy shroud for access to the obscured screw. To assure removal of the minimum of fiberglass as possible, I removed the hidden screw, installed and closed the canopy, then from INSIDE the avionics bay I drilled a hole through the nut plate screw hole and through the fiberglass to precisely locate the centerline of the screw. See photo.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wa7y3wglxeoyth9/19-06-11 03.JPG?dl=0

I then used progressively larger drill bits to enlarge the hole.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ab4d2b29c5ysixk/19-06-11 04.JPG?dl=0

Then cleaned up the opening for a smooth transition.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tuniaa6kvv6azrb/19-06-11 05.JPG?dl=0

Anyway, for what it’s worth, that’s how I provided access to my hidden screws.
 
The trim template was revised at some point to no longer have the double joggle in the top edge to provide access to the one screw being mentioned.

This was done because with the transition from D-180 to Skyview, there was now a large access opening into the area with just the removal of 4 screws and removal of the PFD screen. If it is a dual screen airplane, there is even more ability for access if the MFD is removed as well.

From our experience, this change made the need to remove the fwd top skin a very rare event and we felt that if it was being removed, the canopy probably would be as well.

So, the profile was changed which gives the side of the canopy fairing a more symmetrical/finished look.
 
This keeps coming up. Hard to understand how the insignificant improvement in appearance by covering up that screw could justify the difficulty to remove the forward fuselage cover. Not to mention the confusion regarding the issue and the number of times rvbuilder2002 has had to respond justifying the change that covers up the screw.
BTW, I'm pretty sure the RV-12 MM still requires that cover be removed for inspection at annual, even for the iS. Just saying...
 
Since both patterns have been previously in use, they are both technically approved so anyone that feels like Tony, and doesn?t think they can do an acceptable level of inspection by just removing the screen has the freedom to do it the old way.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. I wasn't aware of the other template. I'll think about what look I like best and Scott's point about how often this will be an issue going forward.
 
Tony,

I covered the gap. Before painting I also trimmed the wing tip area and filled in gaps with bonds for a nice smooth edge. It?s a bit of a pain to pull the canopy to gain access to the avionics bay, but in the grand scheme of things not a big deal. The MM also called for pulling the gas tank every annual. Anybody think that may cause more problems than it prevents? Just sayin? ......

Rich
 
Tony,

I covered the gap. Before painting I also trimmed the wing tip area and filled in gaps with bonds for a nice smooth edge. It?s a bit of a pain to pull the canopy to gain access to the avionics bay, but in the grand scheme of things not a big deal. The MM also called for pulling the gas tank every annual. Anybody think that may cause more problems than it prevents? Just sayin? ......

Rich

I've had my fuel tank out 4-5 times. Most recently last month to do Flaperon Bearing Bracket SB. Fuel tank not coming out again unless it develops a leak. That's enough of that exercise...
 
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