My RV-6 is parked outside in the weather. Alaska can get a little rough at times.
Been thinking on ways to seal the top of the cowling where the tip up canopy meet.
At first bought new weather stripping from VANS. Installed, rain leaked through!
Next were different types of weather stripping from different places. Nothing would work. Sitting outside in the rain, even with a canopy cover on, rain finds its way into the inside of my panel.
Read here at VAF sometime back that someone had used tape across the top to help seal part of it.
My plan was to use some 3M 4” wide wing flap protective tape. The issue was going to be when the tip up was open, how to create a non-stick area that could fold instead of unstick from the cowling.
Decided to try some kitchen plastic wrap held in place by blue painters masking tape.
It worked!
Step one was open the canopy and make a small mark where it opened directly above the cowling,
Step two found me using masking tape to tape the plastic wrap the length that the 4” tape was going to cover. Then about 6” extra length of plastic wrap would insure complete coverage when the 4” tape was applied.
Step three was when I took a xacto knife and cut the plastic along the seam where the canopy and cowling meet. Now the plastic wrap width was correct. Here is a photo that shows step 1, 2 and 3 completed:
Step four dry positioning of the 4” 3M tape and cutting to the correct length. Basically centered on the top part of cowling along the flat portions, not on the curved sides.
Step five lined up the 3M tape, peeled the backing from the sticky side and stuck the 3M tape down along the path across the very top of the cowling, using at least 1” on the canopy and three inches on the cowling. Pressing firmly to insure a good bond along the length. You can see when it is bonded correctly, it almost can’t be seen. Here are two photos showing the 3M tape applied and the plastic wrap strip can be seen under the 4" wide tape:
Step six was to trim the plastic wrap to the ends of the 3M tape. Remove masking tape and excess plastic wrap to a dumpster. Photo showing 3M 4" wide tape without the masking tape and the plastic wrap is trimmed to the end of the 3M tape:
Step seven was when the canopy was opened to see if it worked. Notice the fold when the canopy is open:
My canopy opened in flight a year or so ago, it bent the aluminum frame up in some places-you can see the damage under the 3M tape in the photos.
Hoping this fix will stop most of the water leaks when parked outside.
Best regards,
Mike Bauer
Been thinking on ways to seal the top of the cowling where the tip up canopy meet.
At first bought new weather stripping from VANS. Installed, rain leaked through!
Next were different types of weather stripping from different places. Nothing would work. Sitting outside in the rain, even with a canopy cover on, rain finds its way into the inside of my panel.
Read here at VAF sometime back that someone had used tape across the top to help seal part of it.
My plan was to use some 3M 4” wide wing flap protective tape. The issue was going to be when the tip up was open, how to create a non-stick area that could fold instead of unstick from the cowling.
Decided to try some kitchen plastic wrap held in place by blue painters masking tape.
It worked!
Step one was open the canopy and make a small mark where it opened directly above the cowling,
Step two found me using masking tape to tape the plastic wrap the length that the 4” tape was going to cover. Then about 6” extra length of plastic wrap would insure complete coverage when the 4” tape was applied.
Step three was when I took a xacto knife and cut the plastic along the seam where the canopy and cowling meet. Now the plastic wrap width was correct. Here is a photo that shows step 1, 2 and 3 completed:
Step four dry positioning of the 4” 3M tape and cutting to the correct length. Basically centered on the top part of cowling along the flat portions, not on the curved sides.
Step five lined up the 3M tape, peeled the backing from the sticky side and stuck the 3M tape down along the path across the very top of the cowling, using at least 1” on the canopy and three inches on the cowling. Pressing firmly to insure a good bond along the length. You can see when it is bonded correctly, it almost can’t be seen. Here are two photos showing the 3M tape applied and the plastic wrap strip can be seen under the 4" wide tape:
Step six was to trim the plastic wrap to the ends of the 3M tape. Remove masking tape and excess plastic wrap to a dumpster. Photo showing 3M 4" wide tape without the masking tape and the plastic wrap is trimmed to the end of the 3M tape:
Step seven was when the canopy was opened to see if it worked. Notice the fold when the canopy is open:
My canopy opened in flight a year or so ago, it bent the aluminum frame up in some places-you can see the damage under the 3M tape in the photos.
Hoping this fix will stop most of the water leaks when parked outside.
Best regards,
Mike Bauer