[Paul Austin]

Hi All
About to install the rear canopy in my RV7A tip up canopy and wondering if anyone has a good soloution to attaching the Rear canopy without using the nuts on the inside or sustituting the nuts for somthing else as i find the row of nuts very unattractive.I have already drilled so have to use screws of some description(should have just used sika flex). Any Ideas anyone?????

 

[hydroguy2]

Seems like your choices are nuts, nutplates or a thick backing strip drilled and tapped. Instead of the Vans recommended backing strip, you could fab one out of .187 AL, round the edges and polish it. May look like a nice collar to finish off the interior edge.

too much work for me, plus I like the nuts

 

[roee]

Backing strip + acorn nuts

My solution: Make a well-fitting backing strip from 0.025" aluminum. Instead of nylok nuts, use acorn nuts with lock washers and/or loctite at the tip of the screw (making sure it comes nowhere near the plexi!). Paint the backing strip, washers, and acorn nuts with the interior color prior to final installation. After the paint cures, install carefully as to not scratch the paint.

My primary motivation for using the acorn nuts was safety related. I didn't want any sharp objects in the cockpit, such as the ends of the screws poking through the standard nylok nuts. And the motivation for the backing strip is that I think it makes for a more robust installation, helping spread the load of the fasteners more evenly across the plexi. But incidentally, both also make the installation much more aesthetically pleasing.