Slider fit question

I have the windscreen cut and sitting on the plane, and the slider plexi is clecoed to the frame and sitting on the plane. The fit for both seems to be pretty good - not perfect, but very acceptable in my opinion, except at the very top/center of the canopy. The windscreen is sitting "slightly lower than the sliding portion of the canopy," per the instructions, all the way around except as it nears the top/center.

The plans call for the forward bow of the slider frame to be sitting 3/8" higher than the roll bar at the top/center (Dwg 43, Detail B), but now my slider plexi also sits 3/8 higher than the windscreen at the top/center. Is this going to be a problem later in the process, or will it all work out? Do I need to work with the frame some more to lower the height of the slider (with the plexi clecoed), relative to the windscreen?

I'm looking forward to some input here.

Thanks.

Hi Greg..

You're probably going to have a fiberglass strip on the windshield that the canopy will tuck under when it's closed. That piece of fiberglass is uphill, higher in the back, on top of the canopy but you don't want a joggle in that piece and it sounds like that's what you'll have with the condition you describe. IMO, the canopy and the windshield need to form one smooth, continuous line as it was before you cut it. Some windshields are shimmed to match up with the canopy.

Regards,

Take you time at this point and work out a perfect alignment

Take you time at this point and work out a perfect alignment. I had to bend my forward canopy bow and I had to insert many custom shims between that bow and the sliding part of the canopy plexiglass to get perfect alignment of the edge of the windshield and the front end of the sliding part of the canopy where they were cut apart. This is a hard part of the airplane that is beautiful if done right and a disaster if alignment errors are allowed to go unchecked or unfixed. Your gut is right I think since you stopped to ask.

Bob Axsom

Important project in a project

ge9a said:

I
The plans call for the forward bow of the slider frame to be sitting 3/8" higher than the roll bar at the top/center (Dwg 43, Detail B), but now my slider plexi also sits 3/8 higher than the windscreen at the top/center. Is this going to be a problem later in the process, or will it all work out? Do I need to work with the frame some more to lower the height of the slider (with the plexi clecoed), relative to the windscreen?
Thanks.

Click to expand...

so that means 3/8 plus the slider canopy thickness too high over the roll bar? You are at the point where you can visualise with a stright edge-the fiberglass windscreen/rollbar lip as it should fit a consistant gap over the slider. I'm unsure if I would want to try and bend the roll bar to make that fit to the slider front bow. Yes, It should be the other way- bend the slider front bow to a constant measurment as it fits to the roll bar.
I'm a little ahead of you in an old 6A slider that has been fun to work with-
Bob has it: Take your time- At this point go ahead of the manual and make sure the frame fits well all the way around the rear and side frames and front bow- taking measurments and checking the fit of everything- If you have 23/27 years of RViator book- there is a good articles that detail measurments of the slider frame and how to bend it and ways to shim it. I have had to start over with my frame since the rear skirt didn't come out correct enough for me: I had to really study this system before I had a clear understanding of how it "ALL" goes together......yea, take your time.....

It worked for me

GOOD. It's really tough for the home guy to bend the roll bar to make it taller in the middle so you must progressively shim up the windshield to raise it 3/8" at the centerline. Hide the shims later with gookum-pucky and paint.

BETTER. It's somewhat easier to bend the slider front bow to get it lower in the center. The hard part is keeping the sides of the front bow from moving outward when you push on the top. A 2 foot oak 2x4 under the arch and big "C" clamps work well to flatten the arch along the front bow. Use a telephone pole as a shop-aid to rebend the bow the other way if you go too far.