Canopy Bow Mirror

[drill_and_buck]

Originally Posted by flynwest

I got out of the mirror game I'm just too busy. However I do have some new old stock ones left. If you pay the shipping and donate to DR for his IFR check I'll Ship them out while they last. They will ship after Reno.

Deal. I will take one if there are any left and PM you my contact info.

[Berchmans]

I searched high and low for those nifty curved fighter aircraft mirrors but could not find them. What I finally did was purchase two mirrors from Auto Zone for about $8.00 for the pair. The back on the mirror housing is curved so I cut off the back and replace it with some scrap aluminium. Put some Velcro hooks on the back and some Velcro loop on the canopy bow. From the photo of the installed mirror you can see that I installed them on the aft canopy to give a bit more height and a better view of the back seat. In retrospect I believe I like these better than the larger mirror because they are less on an obstruction looking forward.
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[flynwest]

I think there is still parts in the shop I'll check and let you know.

[flynwest]

I do still have some part to build mirrors. If you come by L36 I'll give you a set since you already donated and I don't have to ship them. I'm in hanger T4 tomorrow from 10 till afternoon.

[Chkaharyer99]

Dan,

Thank you!

I'm not going to be able to make it out to Rio Linda on Saturday.

We have a mutual contact, Lee (RV-7, new AP out of L36). If its not too much trouble can you give them to him?

Lee will be doing the condition inspection on my RV-8 out in Lincoln. I can grab them from him. Let me know if that works.

Thanks again!

Charlie

[flynwest]

That is fine. I'll send them with Lee.

[Saville]

So I got the Kitplane Article written by our own Bruce Eicher and am trying to fashion a couple of canopy bow mirrors.

I got some 1" PVC and cut it to the dimensions in the article. This morning I took it to the plane. The PVC is essentially a "C" when looked at end on.

I slipped the PVC over the canopy bow. It fits ok but rattles a little bit - it's not a tight grip. I figure it will vibrate.

I'm thinking of putting some 3/16" wide, 1" long strips of adhesive-backed felt pads on the inside of the "C" to make things snug. This is the stuff you put on the bottom of furniture legs to keep them from scratching the floor. I'll let you know how that goes.

I had a crummy acrylic mirror and I glued that to a piece of PVC with some silicone adhesive after cleaning both with lacquer thinner. I expected the adhesive to fail because PVC is so slick.

When I tried to pull the mirror off, the mirror broke. The joint was solid. And I didn't even scuff the pvc surface.

I ordered some "shatter-proof" acrylic PVC from Amazon:

Acrylic Mirror Sheet - 12"x12" - Silver - 3mm(1/8") - Laser Polished Edge with film masking - Lightweight Shatter Proof Durable

Sold by: Acrydeal

That arrived today. 12x12 should give me a few tries

So next I'll cut a rectangle from that and shape it. I traced the shape of the canopy bow this morning.

I'll report on the results. I've read and re-read the article to try and understand the dimensions of where the "C" is glued to the back of the mirror.

[BruceEicher]

Originally Posted by Saville

So I got the Kitplane Article written by our own Bruce Eicher and am trying to fashion a couple of canopy bow mirrors.

I got some 1" PVC and cut it to the dimensions in the article. This morning I took it to the plane. The PVC is essentially a "C" when looked at end on.

I slipped the PVC over the canopy bow. It fits ok but rattles a little bit - it's not a tight grip. I figure it will vibrate.

I'm thinking of putting some 3/16" wide, 1" long strips of adhesive-backed felt pads on the inside of the "C" to make things snug. This is the stuff you put on the bottom of furniture legs to keep them from scratching the floor. I'll let you know how that goes.

I had a crummy acrylic mirror and I glued that to a piece of PVC with some silicone adhesive after cleaning both with lacquer thinner. I expected the adhesive to fail because PVC is so slick.

When I tried to pull the mirror off, the mirror broke. The joint was solid. And I didn't even scuff the pvc surface.

I'll report on the results. I've read and re-read the article to try and understand the dimensions of where the "C" is glued to the back of the mirror.

Hi Gregg,
Sounds like you are on the right track. But what class PVC pipe are you using? I used the heavy wall "Schedule 40" and it fit tight with no vibration.
I struggled demonstrating and describing just were to position the open end of the "C". Make a few and position them a little different.
If you need some pipe or mirror I have some precut. No charge!

[Saville]

Originally Posted by BruceEicher

Hi Gregg,
Sounds like you are on the right track. But what class PVC pipe are you using? I used the heavy wall "Schedule 40" and it fit tight with no vibration.
I struggled demonstrating and describing just were to position the open end of the "C". Make a few and position them a little different.
If you need some pipe or mirror I have some precut. No charge!

Hi Bruce,

Yeah I'm using Schedule 40. Couldn't find the thinner stuff.

If you could part with 4-5 inches of pipe and one mirror I'd greatly appreciate it. I'll send my address via PM.

Thanks! Very kind of you to offer.

[BruceEicher]

You got it Gregg.
I have the bow pattern, I'll cut up some extra parts and send them your way.
Any one else, let me know.
Cheers!