sirlegin

sirlegin

Well Known Member
On the sliding canopy, is there any pros and cons to building the windshield trim strip out of aluminum versus the fiberglass recommendation?
 
Don't Do It - No to the Aluminum Tiara

My "Tiara" is in aluminum and I will probably redo it in fiberglass. It is too malleable. Passengers and avionics techs have a tendency to put their paws on it and bend it as they move in and out of the plane, no matter the briefing. I narrowly escaped cracking my canopy when I slammed the canopy into a bend someone put into it. The canopy is looser now so I can just slide it forward and close it with the handle, but I still check it very carefully.

I recommend fiberglass over aluminum for this reason.

Hans
 
painless said:
Are you referring to the "tiara", which is located in the area where the windshield and canopy meet, or the windscreen fairing located where the windscreen meets the fuselage skin?

Either area has been done in aluminum. I did my fairing in aluminum, but I could not get the tiara to sit flush to my liking with both the windscreen and the canopy with the canopy closed. It is definitely doable, just takes some finesse. The aluminum windscreen fairing was actually quite easy to do.

Regards,
Click to expand...

Got any photos of your windscreen fairing? Thanks!
 
I'm a sheetmetal person by trade, and thought about it.
But I like the fit of the fiberglass. I have no rubber seal, and heavy rains will never enter the cockpit. I have to blast the canopy with a hose to get a few drops inside.

L.Adamson
 
Fiberglass is easy and looks better

Go with fiberglass, it was a lot easier to do than I thought it would be.

N96FS%20Photos%20080304%20034.jpg


N96FS%20Photos%20080304%20044.jpg


N96FS%20Photos%20080304%20046.jpg


N96FS%20Photos%20080304%20054.jpg


N96FS%20Photos%20080308%20004.jpg


N96FS%20Photos%20080308%20005.jpg
 
Is a trim strip necessary?

I'm preparing to attach my windshield. I've never done any fiberglass. The plans describe a fiberglass layup at the bottom of the windshield in a lot of detail,

They also barely mention a "trim strip" that hangs off the back of the windshield between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. It is shown on drawing 43' section K-K.

My question is: do I really have to make this trim strip? I can't find it mentioned in the instructions. It seems like it will be fragile, and a pain to make. Is its function really to cover the gap to keep water out?
 
I made the trim strip ("tiara") out of four layers of carbon fiber. It is extremely stiff and I'm not too concerned with people grabbing onto it to get in/out of the aircraft. The rest of the fairing is fiberglass, so no aluminum-to-CF contact.
 
IowaRV9Dreamer said:
My question is: do I really have to make this trim strip? I can't find it mentioned in the instructions. It seems like it will be fragile, and a pain to make. Is its function really to cover the gap to keep water out?
Click to expand...
This is actually the easiest part of the windscreen fairing to make, Dave, and it keeps out drafts and noise in addition to moisture.

ChiefPilot said:
I made the trim strip ("tiara") out of four layers of carbon fiber. It is extremely stiff and I'm not too concerned with people grabbing onto it to get in/out of the aircraft. The rest of the fairing is fiberglass, so no aluminum-to-CF contact.
Click to expand...
Ditto on this, except I used 3-4 layers of 8oz BID fiberglass sandwiched between 2 layers of carbon fiber. Although I instruct passengers not to put their weight on it, I really have no concerns about damage if they accidently do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.