Hi all,
I glued on my canopy with Sikaflex and started sorting out the skirt. I have read through all the skirt topics I could find here and am a little sketchy on some of the details.
1. The amount of overlap of the skirt and the canopy. I have about a 1" area of primer and sikaflex. I assume I should bond the skirt to that level but not above. On the rear, where there is no frame except that under the canopy, should I have more overlap?
2. The plans show this as riveted on. I want to sikaflex it. I think that would make a tighter seal. It looks like serveral people have done that. I assume that is better than trying to get fiberglass resin to bond with the plexiglass. I will have to re-fit the rear as I have Todd's canopy and it is a slightly different shape--the pink moulding doesn't fit well at the rear. So, lay it up, peel it off and then bond it?
3. At the front, where it meets the fairing around the windshield, is that a butt joint or should the windshield fairing overlap? How are most of you handling that issue?
4. It looks like the skirt just lays on the fuselage sides. In flight, is that held down by wind pressure? The skirt seems relatively flimsy and I am having trouble visualizing a good seal.
5. On the inside, there is a good three feet along the sides where all that is between the occupants and the cold, cruel world (emphasis on the cold) is a 1/16 thick fiberglass. Does anyone insulate that or carpet it? Is it an issue?
6. At the rear, an allowance has to be made for the canopy track. Is this something that should be sealed as tight as possible without interferring with the track or do you need a pretty good gap to prevent wear damage?
7. I have heard mention of blocking the canopy open my a very small amount so that when it is closed, the skirt fits tighter. The whole skirt seems so light weight that I can't see that would make much difference. What's the real world experience?
Anyway, sorry for the long post. I am trying to understand the engineering so I can adjust my canopy for optimal fit.
Michael Wynn
RV 8 Finishing
San Ramon, CA
I glued on my canopy with Sikaflex and started sorting out the skirt. I have read through all the skirt topics I could find here and am a little sketchy on some of the details.
1. The amount of overlap of the skirt and the canopy. I have about a 1" area of primer and sikaflex. I assume I should bond the skirt to that level but not above. On the rear, where there is no frame except that under the canopy, should I have more overlap?
2. The plans show this as riveted on. I want to sikaflex it. I think that would make a tighter seal. It looks like serveral people have done that. I assume that is better than trying to get fiberglass resin to bond with the plexiglass. I will have to re-fit the rear as I have Todd's canopy and it is a slightly different shape--the pink moulding doesn't fit well at the rear. So, lay it up, peel it off and then bond it?
3. At the front, where it meets the fairing around the windshield, is that a butt joint or should the windshield fairing overlap? How are most of you handling that issue?
4. It looks like the skirt just lays on the fuselage sides. In flight, is that held down by wind pressure? The skirt seems relatively flimsy and I am having trouble visualizing a good seal.
5. On the inside, there is a good three feet along the sides where all that is between the occupants and the cold, cruel world (emphasis on the cold) is a 1/16 thick fiberglass. Does anyone insulate that or carpet it? Is it an issue?
6. At the rear, an allowance has to be made for the canopy track. Is this something that should be sealed as tight as possible without interferring with the track or do you need a pretty good gap to prevent wear damage?
7. I have heard mention of blocking the canopy open my a very small amount so that when it is closed, the skirt fits tighter. The whole skirt seems so light weight that I can't see that would make much difference. What's the real world experience?
Anyway, sorry for the long post. I am trying to understand the engineering so I can adjust my canopy for optimal fit.
Michael Wynn
RV 8 Finishing
San Ramon, CA
