N546RV
Well Known Member
I suppose it was high time the training wheels came off...it's been fun seeing the detail of the construction manual fall off a cliff as I start on the canopy. Tonight I started working on fitting the canopy frame for the first time and...yeah, I've got questions.
First up is regarding the C-661 slide block. Obviously this needs to be drilled for the clevis pin that attaches it to the back of the canopy frame, but I'm not seeing any sort of guidance on the plans or elsewhere about locating this hole. Presumably I'd locate it on the fore-aft centerline of the block, but that still leaves the vertical positioning. About the only useful thing I've found so far in searching the forums is to position the hole such that the anchor pin doesn't drag on the slide rail.
I'm guessing this is about all there is to figuring out the hole position? I suppose in the grand scheme of things precise positioning isn't critical, since the canopy and the skirt will be fitted to the fuselage, thus accounting for any variance in height or whatnot?
Next up is the position of the canopy frame when closed. With the frame fully forward, it sits about 3/4" from the windscreen bow; the forward movement is limited by the anchor pin fitting into the anchor block. The reason this gap seems wrong to me comes from me reading ahead in the manual, specifically where they suggest trapping a piece of cardboard between the frame and windscreen bow to provide a straight cut line. There's no way I'm trapping anything that thin in the gap.
Wondering how this worked out for others - did you have the large gap? It seems if I want the frame to slid further forward, I need to maybe remove some material from the anchor block, or the anchor pin, or both.
First up is regarding the C-661 slide block. Obviously this needs to be drilled for the clevis pin that attaches it to the back of the canopy frame, but I'm not seeing any sort of guidance on the plans or elsewhere about locating this hole. Presumably I'd locate it on the fore-aft centerline of the block, but that still leaves the vertical positioning. About the only useful thing I've found so far in searching the forums is to position the hole such that the anchor pin doesn't drag on the slide rail.
I'm guessing this is about all there is to figuring out the hole position? I suppose in the grand scheme of things precise positioning isn't critical, since the canopy and the skirt will be fitted to the fuselage, thus accounting for any variance in height or whatnot?
Next up is the position of the canopy frame when closed. With the frame fully forward, it sits about 3/4" from the windscreen bow; the forward movement is limited by the anchor pin fitting into the anchor block. The reason this gap seems wrong to me comes from me reading ahead in the manual, specifically where they suggest trapping a piece of cardboard between the frame and windscreen bow to provide a straight cut line. There's no way I'm trapping anything that thin in the gap.
Wondering how this worked out for others - did you have the large gap? It seems if I want the frame to slid further forward, I need to maybe remove some material from the anchor block, or the anchor pin, or both.