A New Sunshade

[abeus]

I am working to develop a new shade for vans aircraft and am wondering how much people would be willing to pay for a sleek, elegant canopy shade?

[mulde35d]

Really depends how slim, how well it works, and how rugged is the design. If you came up with a thin design that could be repaired, replaced, or just never wore out while effectively blocking the sun I would gladly pay a few hundred depending on the quality. I bet you would cap out quickly though at anything over $500 since Kroger is a descent product and under $250.

For me personally the thickness is the most critical aspect since my head is within 1” of the canopy with a headset on. Just my opinion, use at your own risk. Second greatest concern is the invasiveness of the install. In particular, afixing something to the expensive canopy that is difficult to replace would be least desirable. Would also need to be retractable / removable for things like aerobatics if the large RV population were your target audience.

Happy to beta test for you as I am about to order the finish kit on a 14A If you desire.

[catmandu]

I am a suction cup sun shade user. $10 each at big box stores, and you can position them exactly where you want them. I occasionally get whacked in the head when a suction cup breaks loose. I kind of like that wake up call, so I put it back in the same place, over and over, and get whacked again.

I do this because I can't stand to sacrifice visibility for shade, like one must with the rail system of certain shades. You find a way to mount a quality shade over the top half of a tip up, that is removable when not needed, but still stays in place, and does not rub against my headset, I'd give you $200.

[abeus]

Thanks for the input! This is great! I would definitely be interested in have you (catmandu) beta test it once I get things a little more ironed out. The more feedback the better.

[Gyrodoug]

Originally Posted by catmandu

I am a suction cup sun shade user. $10 each at big box stores, and you can position them exactly where you want them. I occasionally get whacked in the head when a suction cup breaks loose. I kind of like that wake up call, so I put it back in the same place, over and over, and get whacked again.

I do this because I can't stand to sacrifice visibility for shade, like one must with the rail system of certain shades. You find a way to mount a quality shade over the top half of a tip up, that is removable when not needed, but still stays in place, and does not rub against my headset, I'd give you $200.

Any pictures of your shade setup???
Thanks.

[Pilot135pd]

Originally Posted by abeus

I am working to develop a new shade for vans aircraft and am wondering how much people would be willing to pay for a sleek, elegant canopy shade?

I'm very interested but haven't bought anything for the same previously mentioned reasons. Can't find myself attaching anything that could scratch the canopy and I don't want something permanent to get in the way of my view when I don't need it, like when doing acro.

If you can come up with something that will not scratch and won't fall off, I can test it on my RV-8 in the Texas heat to see if it withstands the acro and doesn't fall apart.

[plehrke]

Originally Posted by catmandu

I am a suction cup sun shade user. $10 each at big box stores, and you can position them exactly where you want them. I occasionally get whacked in the head when a suction cup breaks loose. I kind of like that wake up call, so I put it back in the same place, over and over, and get whacked again.

I have same setup and familiar with the falling shade but still i believe is my best option. I like the flexibility of moving it where I need it with minimal vision blockage.

[emsvitil]

I recall reading (on the internet, so it must be true) about a tint that you could control.

It was either clear or opaque (with in between stages)

or

variable darkness

[Paul 5r4]

Another suction cup guy here. I did have some roll out auto shades that were mounted on the forward part of the roll bar area. Problem was... and it was frequent... that the sun would be well below the shades. Took them out and now have two of the fold up type. I've discovered they work extremely well. Here's why. First they are completely mobile to anyplace on the canopy even right down to the lower canopy rail. I've also discovered that when the sun is bad enough, I can overlap them and it really helps in controlling the suns radiant heat that makes it through only one to strike me. They are stored between the seats, deployable in a couple seconds, easily moveable, and just as quickly stowed. Like previous post mentioned.... around 10 bucks. I like simple!

P.S. Also as mentioned earlier, the occasional hit in the head wake up call is good too! :-)

[bjdecker]

Originally Posted by emsvitil

I recall reading (on the internet, so it must be true) about a tint that you could control.

It was either clear or opaque (with in between stages)

or

variable darkness

https://www.smarttint.com/