What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Luckiest guys on the planet...

comfortcat

comfortcat

Well Known Member
Greetings!

According to several folks here at KWHP (Whiteman, SoCal) My brother-in-law and I are the second luckiest guys on the planet. We have now installed the RV-9A canopy roll over bar and canopy frame and THEY FIT!!!

We finished the rails this week-end, and all looks good and slides smoothly! No bending at all. Wow.

BUT, as we wait for the other shoe to fall, we are now looking at the height issue.

QUESTION: How do we measure the height of the slider canopy frame for correctness? I believe this canopy is too tall but I'm not sure how to get the correct measurements.

Any advice?

2mdkqs3.jpg



6jeqmd.jpg
 
Isn't life great, I feel sorry for the earlier frame folks. My 7a frame fit out of the box also! I would not cut the verticle tubes on the slider until you have the canopy cut and glued-riveted on, then you can place your windscreen and measure from there. I think I ended up citing mine 3/8 inch or so. Also, I would not rivet the top slide rail until you are finished with your skirt. Moving it forward or rear will move the rear of the canopy up or down for a tight fit.
 
Remember that the canopy will cause the frame to spread outward between about 3/8" once it's attached - you'll want the canopy frame to be slightly small by that amount without the plexiglass on it, so that the plexi pulls it into the perfect position.
 
Handles

Congratulations, David, on the fit of your canopy bows. I wasn't so lucky with the canopy frame for my RV-9A. Had to bend (or try to bend) the front bow of the slider frame. I managed to get it close enough.

Now is the time to drill the holes for your roll bar handles. I welded up my own handles but they are also available from http://aircraftextras.com/Handles1.htm

It is possible to drill the holes for the handles on the roll bar while it is mounted on the fuselage, but the easiest way is to remove the bar and drill it on the drill press. Locating the holes has to be very precise to make sure that the handles don't hit the sliding canopy bow when the canopy is closed.


 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top