T

tvalek

I'm New Here
Can anyone give me some direction. Went flying today and when I got back noticed a 6-8 inch vent (crack) in my canopy coming in from the edge.
I'm sure I need to stop drill but is there anything out there to repair it?
 
Some options

That's too bad. Long cracks like that are difficult to repair. Yes, stop drill it just a hair past the end of the visable crack. Be sure to support the crack area and don't apply any pressure when drilling. You can glue a patch of thin plexi about two inches wide and an inch past the stop drill point to re-inforce the area but it's not pretty.

Here's a source for a plexi glue http://www.eplastics.com/Plastic/Plexiglass_Glue/IPS40-PT

Other than getting a replacement (I recommend http://toddscanopies.com/ ) I don't know of anything that will both repair the crack and look nice.

Al Thomas
N880AT
RV-8A QB
never ending panel wiring
 
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tvalek said:
Can anyone give me some direction. Went flying today and when I got back noticed a 6-8 inch vent (crack) in my canopy coming in from the edge.
I'm sure I need to stop drill but is there anything out there to repair it?
Click to expand...

Weldon makes an acrylic glue that is perfect for this type of repair. It is nearly as thin as water and can be applied with a syringe. Capillary action will wick the glue into the crack void and the melt/bond them together.

I cant remember the the glue # right now but I'm sure someone else will chime in with it.
 
Another suggestion is to stop drill the crack, then apply a few drops of "super Glue" , just barely enough to fill the crack. It will bond to the plexi-glass, and save an expensive replacement. I have repaired a canopies sucessfully this way.
 
What about running a redhot wire or pin into the material as versus a drill bit, has this been tried?
 
Weld-on #3 is the stuff that Scott described. I used it to repair a similar crack made during the building process and 4 years later it has held up well.

The stuff is available at ACS, but I see you are in Wisconsin like me, so you are welcome to stop by and borrow mine if you are nearby. I'm based at East Troy Muni, where are you from?
 
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