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Canopy frame 'bending'

chepburn

Well Known Member
Well,
I know the canopy frame needs some 'Persuasion' to make it conform to the fuselage, but, how many of you had to bend the rear bow down about 4 inches to bring it in line with the plan spec of 3/4" gap at the rear point?
My aft bow is 2-3 inches above the turtle deck skin with the frame in its full forward position.
Is this normal? If it is, I guess I better start doing some more bench pressing to be able to bend it into position.

Thanks,
Chris
 
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Chris, the aft end of my 8 conopy frame had to be lowered about 3 inches to meet the 5/8 to 3/4 inch target. I used a conduit bender for leverage control needed and it worked fine.
 
a pic

Well....after taking a picture...its seems that I only have to persuade the aft bend down another 1.25 inches..... a little (a lot) different than 4!!!

Here is a pic...it still seems that its NOT going to be easy to get that last 1.25 inches though!

frame.JPG

Chris
 
Some Adjustment Required

From my understanding, it's not uncommon to have to bend the rear bow down to make it fit. On my RV-8 frame, I had to adjust it downward by about 2 inches.

I found that the key was to put the frame on a carpet, with a padded 2x4 located as a fulcrum around the cross beam. It was then a matter of straddling the frame with arms on the forward part, and applying some "persuasion" with the feet on the rear bow. Yup, the visuals seem awkward and sound somewhat brutal, but it worked out just fine!

BTW, I just finished gluing with Sikaflex on my canopy, and am very pleased with the method.
 
Mine was about 3 inches, but it seemed like about a foot and a half. Not a fun job, the bending is easy but the stress level is high!!!!
 
Chris, sorry I have not learned how to post pictures to this site. If you look under canopy in my Kitlog Pro listing you can see several pictures of my using the half inch bender to make the correction. I know they cost a few dollars but the beauty of using it is control.
 
Mine was real far off too, bending it was not a problem, I was just afraid of breaking a weld. I set the front "bow" on the floor, stood on it, braced the aft bow with my elbows and cranked away. Fun stuff.
 
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Gunter - thank you for the tip it worked a treat as my initial gap was 2 3/4". As a picture paints ..... here is one for others who follow (forgive the weight lifters belt - you need quite a bit of grunt and my back is not the strongest in the world!)

FP27042010A0000N.jpg


My log entry here.

Regards

Bob
www.rv-8.co.uk

For search: Canopy frame bending, canopy frame aft gap
 
Bend is fairly easy

Chris,
My frame was about as far off as the rest. I secured the frame to my "infinite inertial mass" work bench with the offending loop hanging over the edge. I think I used a 2x4 to lever it down in the usual -bend-fit-bend-fit-bend-fit, fashion.
Don
 
Did mine yesterday

First time, had my lovely co-pilot wife stand where you see the case of oil and tile mortar. With just this lesser weight and the boards under the engagement pin rib, no problem to slowly bend, mine about 2 inches by leaning on the aft most part of the frame;). Hope this helps someone:
img0112ce.jpg
 
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