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GuppyBob

Member
Question for anyone who has used a flatwrap windscreen on their -8...did you need to cut down the rollbar to allow the windscreen and canopy to fit together better? I've looked at either raising the canopy or lowering the rollbar so that the steeply sloped windscreen would "flow" better into the curve of the canopy. I really like the look of Lyle Hefle's canopies, and I have the flat wrap from airplane plastics. ANY help, advice, photos, etc. would be GREATLY appreciated...thanks!!!
Bob
 
Also interested

I too am going to do this (though not ready yet). Any additional info would be great. Thanks. Dave
 
This is what I'm doing

I'm a huge fan of Lyle's airplanes too. I love the flap w/s, much more like an F-15.

I'm using a longer than stock w/s and modifying my baggage door.

This picture shows the stock w/s vs the new one..

FP26062009A0000Y.jpg



Click on the link on my address for details.
 
Wow, those look awesome. Were you able to just order just the windscreen or was it an entire canopy?
 
Chanler,
You just order a "flatwrap" windscreen from the folks at airplane plastics. They will know what you mean...I am still researching how to make it fit well, because the flat wrap and the canopy bubble have a disparity in relative height where they meet at the rollbar. It looks like I will either have to raise the canopy approx. 3/8" or chop the rollbar and lower it slightly as others have done. I am still trying to contact people that have done this successfully to see how they handled this issue.
Bob
 
Please do post your solution, when you have one. I really like the looks of this, too. I'll be starting my RV-8 in December. So, obviously, I won't be needing the solution for a little while. But, it would be great to have one when it's needed. Thanks!
 
Roll your own...

...windshield. We made a mold exactly the same shape as the airfoil for landing light lenses. Brian put the plastic in his oven at 350 degrees and placed it on the wooden block and let it drape over it....turned out nice.

At Cessna many years ago, they draped the 150/172 windshield plastics over a male mold covered with what appeared to be felt.

I figure that some thin plywood soaked and steamed could be wrapped over bulkheads and fit to the airplane so it matches the slider part.

Regards,
 
I used to work for a plastics company (about 100 years ago) and we made helicopter windshields and F-111 canopies. We would lay a flat sheet over a mold that was covered with a felt like material. At the right temp the plastic would become pliable and then it was vaccumed to make the form. The inspection process was very critical as any sign of distortion or "fisheye" and the part was scrapped. Interestingly the F-111 canopies couldn't be inspected until they were gold tinted. No I dont have one. :mad:
 
I like that flat wrap idea. Doesnt the F1 rocket have something related?

ANd does anyone have a link? Ive looked through the web on airplane plastics but couldnt find anything
 
Call Vans

If you call Vans and ask them for the number of Airplane Plastics in Ohio, they will give it to you. Then ask Airplane Plastics for the "flat wrap," and they will give it to you (for $250 I think). Dave
 
Yep

Dave called it Jeff and Becky are great folks, but they work via phone not internet or email. Ph 937 667 2858
They asked me for the deminsion from the roll bar to the most fwd point where the windshield meets the top fuselage skin.
Let me know if you need help or have questions...
 
I too like the flat wrap windshield, and was going to build one....
HOWEVER, some guy on the RV-7 forum did an experiment. He wrapped his 'regular' windshield with a piece of Lexan and tapped it on, forming the perfect flat wrap. Then he did speed tests.
He got NADA. No increase in speed.
I sure like the way a flat wrap looks, but that wasn't enough for me.
I built the stock windshield and baggage door, and moved on.
If the flat wrap does not fit well to the bubble slider, you may need spacers to lift the wrap or the bubble enough to get a nice smooth and low drag join at the aft edge of the roll bar.
This is where you might consider the SIKA flex attach method. You need spacers when using SIKA, so if you need spacers to fit the wrap to the bubble, then the SIKA system might be your solution.
 
Speed increase

I didn't think there would be much of a speed increase (if any), but I never tested it because (1) I thought for sure it wouldn't be a speed decrease and more importantly (2) it just looks a lot better in my opinion.

As far as the transition from the wrap to the canopy (roll bar weldament attachment) goes, it's like anything else -- it takes some time and messaging, but it is definitely doable in a pleasing manner. I used Sika and liked using it, but it think it can be done nicely for those who don't want to use Sika.

The nice thing is that you can make it at any angle you want. Brent's comes out further forward than mind, and his looks outstanding (his paint/polish job helps too :)). Dave
 
Thanks Dave!

Thanks Dave! I also didn't expect a speed gain from the windshield, it was purely an aesthetic decision for me. To contrast Dave, I mounted my per the plans and like Dave there were no issues, but I did a lot of trimming on both the windshield and the canopy. I seem to recall somewhere around 50 or more cuts to get it like I wanted it and although it's not perfect it fits well. The piece I got from Jeff is very oversized and I couldnt come up with a scientific way to cut it down so I just used the iterative approach. I got pretty good at it by the end....;)
 
vernh59 said:
I used to work for a plastics company (about 100 years ago) and we made helicopter windshields and F-111 canopies. We would lay a flat sheet over a mold that was covered with a felt like material. At the right temp the plastic would become pliable and then it was vaccumed to make the form. The inspection process was very critical as any sign of distortion or "fisheye" and the part was scrapped. Interestingly the F-111 canopies couldn't be inspected until they were gold tinted. No I dont have one. :mad:
Click to expand...

When I worked at Hughes in Culver City in the 70's I would always admire the collection of Hughes 500 plexiglas canopies in the scrap bin. They must have made far more canopies than helicopters to get a good one...:)
 
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