A

apatti

Well Known Member
All,

Has anyone had any recent experience with Todd's Canopies? People in the past seem satisfied with them. I just haven't heard anything lately.

Other related questions... Tint or no tint? Thickness? Would you do it again? How much credit does Van's give for excluding the canopy from the finishing kit?

Thanks,
 
Great Canopy!

I purchased a RV-3 Todds Canopy last summer, it is Smoked and the thicker plastic. Optics?? A-1 great, Color of the tint... Very nice shading without going too dark. Profile...looks great. Packing and shipping, well done and I thought the cost was fair. Phone conversations, very polite, honest and helpful. I have mine all trimmed and mounted. No problems or cracking, but I was very careful!!! I need to send Todd some pics as promised, but I have not taken any pics of the finished product. I would vote yes for Todd. :)
 
Todd is about as nice a guy as you can possibly deal with. Very straight forward and honest. I bought my RV-8 canopy from him awhile ago when I had a way to get it home for free, but I haven't worked on it yet. Go for it.
 
Why do some builders consider Todd's canopy to be superior to the kit supplied canopy? What are its advantages?
 
Over 3 years ago when I was at the finishing stage several other RV8 builders and myself persuaded Todd to make a few 1/4 in. windshields for a little extra bird protection and mostly peace of mind. I've personally seen what a west Texas buzzard can do to a spam can's wing leading edge. The new windshield mated with Vans canopy after a few hours of trimming and shimming, filling and sanding and the optics are fine. The overall shape extends approx. 3 in. forward to just aft of the fwd baggage door which gives it a slightly different profile and I am very happy with it. I must take a picture and send to Todd as promised. I highly recommend Todd's Canopies.
 
Rick6a said:
Why do some builders consider Todd's canopy to be superior to the kit supplied canopy? What are its advantages?
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Much cheaper, variety of thicknesses, variety of tints and some trimming already completed. Nice guy too.

Will do his canopy again.
 
Interesting comments. A few years ago, when I had the 6A finishing kit delivered, its shipping costs were considerably more expensive....$150 more than either the previously shipped wing or fuselage kits. When I inquired as to why, I was told it was because its contents were declared "plastic" (because of the canopy) as opposed to "bar stock" that was listed as the contents of the previous kits. That to me, was no small chunk of change.

If the economics remain the same today, one would think it would make some sense to omit the (plastic) canopy from the finishing kit and have Van declare the finishing kit's remaining contents as "bar stock." Has anyone actually done this or am I just tilting at windmills?
 
plastic

I omitted the canopy for the finishing order, and the shipping form still said "plastic" . . . I didn't know there was a difference and didn't ask. ignorance being bliss, and all that.
 
The shipping classes are interesting. There are different rates for different types of material. Makes no sense to me, but thats the way it works. Before my fuselage shipped, Van's gave me a quote for the shipping charges, but when the shipper called it was a lot more. It turned out that someone made a mistake on the class and used the one for a QB instead. It seems that the kit can be classified as "aluminum angle and bar stock' whereas the QB, since it is already put together, has a much more expensive classification. The error got fixed quickly, but it was a little bit of a scare for a few minutes.

I don't know how Van's classified my finish kit. I removed the cowl and the canopy so there was no plastic in the box. If not for the canopy frame, it could have shipped UPS.
 
Confusing stuff

LTL Shipping classes can be VERY confusing. Not only do they vary depending by the type of material or product being shipped. They also very depending on the density or weight per cubic foot as well. I think an extreme example would be a quick build fuse. Big friggin box with moslty air inside and an airplane!

Why Van's call the finish kit "plastic" is beyond me. Maybe it has something to do with not only the canopy but the cowl and other fiberglass parts as well. I would assume if you ordered a finish kit less the canopy and the cowl it would fall under another class.
 
Guarantee?

It seems like I remember Todd's offering a replacement guarantee even if you cracked the canopy while installing it. I don't see any mention of that on his website. Am I just remembering wrong (nothing new here since my brain is full and has been for a while :) ) or has this policy changed?
 
When I got mine he told me that if I cracked it, he would replace it for free. I would just have to pay shipping. He also said I didn't have to worry about the temperature when I worked with it. This was a couple of years ago, so I don't know his current policy.

Give him a call, he's one of the nicest guys you will find to work with.
 
Shipping

Current quote on shipping to California:

"It will cost $130 to ship a LongEZ canopy to Sacramento with FedEx Ground."
 
I recently purchased an RV8 canopy from Todd. Great product, fits, tinted, better than Van's origional equipt. Todd was most helpfull, he delivered the canopy, part way in his personal van. I also need to send him, his only request, a photo of the installation. Total cost was less than Van's wanted for shipping alone.
Dick
 
Dancer,

The last time I talked to Todd, he only made canopies for Van's tandem planes. Maybe he will expand to the side by side at some point. Give him a call.
 
The lines of Todd's canopy seem much more streamlined than Van's. However I was wondering if you lose any headroom with it, especially in back, or is it just an optical illusion?
 
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briand said:
briand said:
3/16" thick. :eek: QUOTE]


Have these always been made so thin?

I finally had a chance to go through, examine and inventory my finish kit and noticed it only takes a few pounds of pressure to push in the canopy. I thought someone posted that the Todds' were 1/4 thick. I figure if they start out with 3/16", after the stretching/forming is done the dome part is probably even thinner.


http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/va..._name=21314&product_id=10477&variant_id=44341
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When I talked to Todd earlier this week he told me that the 1/4" canopies were unnecessairily heavy. He says he now uses .220" thickness.

When I mentioned tinting (I want some tinting but I want to be able to see at night) he said a lot of folks are going with #2094 Light Gray. He said this is similar to what a lot of autos have. Anyone care to comment on their experiences with different tints?
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.220 is still quite a bit more than .177. IF I ever build again or(god forbid) I need to replace my canopy I will go with Todds for sure. The canopy I have is pretty light so I can't imagine the extra thickness will add much weight overall.

I personally think the tint on mine is too dark but I don't have the money to replace it so I'll live with it. I don't know how it will do in night VFR but I figure all you can see at night are lights anyway so maybe it won't matter.

Edit:
I just weighed my Vans canopy and it comes in at an untrimmed 23 pounds. I figure about 20 after its trimmmed. So the .220 would weigh about 4.86 pounds more.
 
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Just for laughs, if I remember correctly, my Glasair windshield was 3/8 inch thick. Side glass was 1/4 inch. I must say it was comforting to know I had some bird strike protection.

My 7 ,well ,a bug strike will probably cause damage.
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briand said:
Edit:
I just weighed my Vans canopy and it comes in at an untrimmed 23 pounds. I figure about 20 after its trimmmed. So the .220 would weigh about 4.86 pounds more.
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We didn't talk weight difference this time. However, I did ask him about that a while back. My best recollection is that he said there was a 4 - 5 lb increase in his .220 canopy. So, nice estimate.
 
Todd? Todd? Anyone seen Todd?

I want to order one of Todd's Canopies. I sent an email, no reply. When I called, it rolls straight to voicemail, and the voicemailbox is full, so I'm not allowed to leave a message. I have tried to call for three days with the same result. Does anyone have any info?

Thanks,
Bart
 
Todd's gone

vmirv8bldr said:
I want to order one of Todd's Canopies. I sent an email, no reply. When I called, it rolls straight to voicemail, and the voicemailbox is full, so I'm not allowed to leave a message. I have tried to call for three days with the same result. Does anyone have any info?

Thanks,
Bart
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I received my canopy from Todd yesterday. He shipped it Monday right before he left for Europe. Not sure how long he'll be there but explains why you can't reach him.
Bill Woods
RV8 QB
IO 360 A1B
 
Thickness

While trimiing the lower edge of the canopy on my -8, I measured the thickness of the trimed slice in the area between the front and rear seats. One side was .090 in. the other was about .100 in. Afraid to guess what it is at the top!

If I had it to do over, you bet I would go with Todd's. I can diet a couple of days and lose 4 or 5 pounds.
 
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