A

aeromichael

I'm New Here
The good news is, that fitting and cutting my canopy is much simpler than I thought (electric angle grinder + Dremel cutter for the small stuff). The bad news is a big question mark on my forehead.

Here is the problem:

Whereas the fit of the bubble in the front and at the sides is perfect, it seems that the rounding of the canopy bubble at the aft end is completely different from the rounding of the canopy frame. Whereas the shape of the bubble is kind of "roundish" the frame is much more pointed, much narrower at the sides than the bubble. The area where this problem occurs is aft of the cockpit when the canopy is closed.

O.K., perhaps I can pull the bubble in but this creates a lot of tension on the bubble and the frame. It just seems wrong. I also tried to bent the rear section of the frame a bit further up than the recommended distance between the rear canopy rail and the frame (approx. 3/4 inch) but then the canopy skirts would not fit anymore. A big gap below the lower edge of the skirts and the fuselage occurs (A problem other builders had who have not adjusted the shape of canopy frame before they started fitting)

Did anybody experience the same problem? How did you resolve it?

Thanks in advance for your help, suggestions and support
 
Canopy

Micheal,
Mine didn't fit very well at the rear either. I bonded mine with Sika 295UV so the 1/4 inch gaps at the rear were no problem. Hope this helps.
Bill Woods
RV 8 QB
 
Sorry

Hi Michael,
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but the frame needs to fit the contour of the aft skin before you attach the canopy or the skirts. We had to make three sets of skirts to keep them tucked in close to the skin. With only the frame on the airplane, take a long ruler or straight stick and lay it on the fuselage and the frame's rear bow to check the contour . Remove the frame and bend it (with your foot if you have to) until it fits pretty close.

Regards,
Pierre
 
Michael,

If I am reading you correctly, then that was about the only area where I had to pull the canopy in a little as well - juts forward of the rear of the canopy bow about six to twelve inches. I didn't like the idea of it being under tension from the rivets, but it has been fine for almost two years and close to 600 hours of flying, so I guess a little tension is OK. I don't think I'd re-contour the frame unless it obviously doesn't match the fuselage.

This is the "art project" part of building an -8....

Paul
 
Thanks Paul, Pierre and Bill,

very helpful. It is good to know that I am not the only one having this problem and to know how you dealt with it.

Fortunately I have not yet firmly attached the bubble and the skins. So I still have all options.

I guess I will slightly bend the the rear of the frame to better match the shape of the bubble, pull in the bubble a bit and do the final touches with some Sikaflex. Some Aspirin may help as well.

Thanks
 
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