J

Jess Baker

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I'm looking for any suggestions for the replacement of the rubber molding on the tip up canopy. I have a 1992 RV6 and the molding that is located on the top of the fire wall that the canopy rests on when closed is in bad shape. It's either missing portions of it, or breaking down. I have looked in the Van's catalog, but could not locate any replacements. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Jess
 
Go to your local hardware store and look at their selection of sealing strips for doors and windows. That is where I find replacement seals.
 
Vans sells...

...and shows a S88D20 seal on the plans (Vans part number S88D20X60)

It is not the "P strip" that the aviation department of Home Depot sells - it might be better described as teardrop shape.

This shows it better - it is a much thinner material than the P strip, and I believe is more compressible.

pem-s88d.jpg


Page link if pic does not work...

The part number came off a RV-7 plan, IIRC the RV-6 initially used a "V" shaped rubber here, but I can't find the reference at the moment. (found it - see later post)

This is the Aircraft Spruce (and HD) P-strip, at 1/4 inch thick -

PSTRIP.jpg
 
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I just worked on this problem myself, and tried three different profiles from McMaster:

1129A95 - D-shaped profile, adhesive backed
1129A964 - P-shaped profile, adhesive backed
12335A43 - D-shaped profile, self-clamping

By far, I liked the 12335A43 the best. The only catch is, when compressed it's still a tiny bit too thick for the gap, and my canopy latch doesn't fully close. I tried a peice of it and removed it, then tried the 1129A95 D-shape. It fits better, but I still may need to adjust the fit of the latch. I haven't flown with it yet, but it does seem to close off all gaps, and still has some play left so when the canopy gets lifted in flight (it raises a bit due to air pressure) it should still seal.

If I do decide to adjust the latch mechanism to give more clearance, i'd be inclined to just go back to the self-clamping one though. I'm adverse to adhesives, as they always seem to age funny and you end up with pieces of weatherstripping peeling off in the heat. The self-clamping one just grabs the inner flange of the canopy, and fits quite nicely (everywhere but the very back corners, that is).

[edit] Just looking at McMaster right now, I found a 1/2" by 1/4" seal that looks like the one Gil recommends above. It's p/n 1067A3.
 
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The original seal...

...shipped with the -6 kits was a V-shaped seal... my pic -

rubber-channel.jpg


I guess the idea was that the tip-up rested firmly on the metal bukhead, and any air getting through opened up the "V" to create a seal.

I believe it is similar to this Spruce part, but seems a bit better formed --

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/vstrip.php

Spruce's pic -

05-01900.jpg


Does anyone know the history on this seal, and why Vans changed to the other seal shown above for the later -7 (and -9, I presume) kits?

The "V-seal" would seem to put less force on the lip of the tip-up, and thus enable it to fit into it's original, non-sealed location better.

Was the original "V-seal" not effective?

Anyone flying a -6 with this "V-seal" and can report?
 
Snowflake said:
I tried a peice of it and removed it, then tried the 1129A95 D-shape. It fits better, but I still may need to adjust the fit of the latch. I haven't flown with it yet, but it does seem to close off all gaps, and still has some play left so when the canopy gets lifted in flight (it raises a bit due to air pressure) it should still seal.
Click to expand...
Update: I flew down to Independence for the Homecoming fly-in using the 1129A95 D-Shape. It seals well enough when the plane is parked, but in flight there's about 3/16 to 1/4 inch of lift in the canopy about 6" aft of the panel. That means the seal lifts off the sill, and you can see the great outdoors through the gap.

So I guess I go back to trying to figure out how to get the canopy to stay down in flight.
 
Are we talking about...

Snowflake said:
Update: I flew down to Independence for the Homecoming fly-in using the 1129A95 D-Shape. It seals well enough when the plane is parked, but in flight there's about 3/16 to 1/4 inch of lift in the canopy about 6" aft of the panel. That means the seal lifts off the sill, and you can see the great outdoors through the gap.

So I guess I go back to trying to figure out how to get the canopy to stay down in flight.
Click to expand...

..a seal along the canopy sills?

I thought post #1 was referring to the seal at at the front bulkhead F-668 that goes across the fuselage....:confused:

All of my seal pictures were referencing the traverse seal at F-668.
 
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