[Marvin]

After 10 years of service my RV8A canopy cracked and now I have to replace it. I ordered the canopy and I think I'll put a new skirt on it to make the fit a little better than the original one. Question glue or rivet the canopy on? Which is the most preferred way. I would appreciate anybody's ideas and concerns about either system.

Dick Johnson. AKA. Marvin

 

[Mike S]

Dick, sorry about the canopy-----you are in good company it would seem.

Try using the search function, there have been a few threads on this in the past.

Marvin-----------------This Marvin???

 

[BSwayze]

Hello Dick (Marvin),

I'm certainly biased, but I'm a huge fan of using SikaFlex adhesive on the canopy. I have also helped several other builders with their canopies, so I have a fair amount of experience with it. There are quite a few threads and discussions on it here in the forums. If you do a simple search you'll turn them up.

I'm curious what happened to yours? Where did it crack? Any pictures? Any details would be helpful to others here as well. I'm wondering of any of the cracks radiated out from the holes drilled in the plexiglass. I've seen that before, and it was one of the reasons I spent so much time studying the alternative method, and going this route instead.

With the traditional method of drilling holes and using hardware, you have a finite number of points holding the canopy in place. Just count the bolts and the holes. One of the biggest reasons to consider using Sika is that it's bonded all along the entire mating surface, using an infinite number of points. Every square millimeter is bonded to the frame, and in my way of thinking, this drastically reduces the stress on any individual point. There are a number of other considerations as well, but this is the big one IMHO. The icing on the cake is that it looks fantastic!

I ran a test on the material, actually using products that had long been expired. I bonded a scrap piece of plexi to a piece of aluminum. About one square inch. I let it cure for a week. I have used all my strength to try and pull it apart, and it can't be done. I have showed the test piece to others, and they can't pull it apart either. This material is amazing. There is a picture and much more detail on this test in this thread right here... post #29:

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=83918&highlight=Sika+strength&page=3

I'm building a 7A with a tip-up, so it's not the RV-8A that you have, but you can still check out my website and see how it worked for me and the methods I used. Here's a link:

SikaFlex Canopy Installation

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. I hope this information is helpful.