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Big Day for N143WM & Lexan attachment

Y

yankee-flyer

Well Known Member
Today (31 Dec) we joined the fuselage and tail cone for N143WM. Construction started 4 Sept and the tail cone, wings, flaperons are done with not much left on the fuselage now that the two parts are joined. First time builder with about 650 hours at this point.
I'm planning to do as everyone suggests and leave off the turtledeck skins and rear glass, but would like to know if anyone used a sealant between the rear glass and turtledeck skins when they were finally attached. Seems likely that there will be a leak (air and/or water) there if there's no sealant.

Happy New Year everyond and thanks for all the adice so far.

Wayne 120241/N143WM
 
I thought about sealant, but chose not to. It is very tight there with no air leaks at all. Water leaks are possible I suppose, but normally if you are parked outside you should have a canopy cover on it.

Leaving the turtle deck off is a huge deal IMHO. I did not, and I wished I had. I was constantly fighting the skins in the way. I think Marty left them off and it really helped with construction. Literally, the last thing I installed was the rear window.
 
Best decision I made. After FINAL assembly in the hangar, the last two pieces attached were riveting the turtledeck skins and then instaling the rear window. The skins had been cleco'd and the rear window installed months earlier to ensure a good fit. They were then removed till the very end.
 
rear window sealant

On my 7, I used a thin black ribbon seal strip, I think it had a Piper part number for sealing Piper windows. I fastened the window in with #6 SS screws. It worked very well and I have no leaks.
However when traveling, I do use a canopy cover when a hangar is not available.
 
Question re: turtle deck and rear window timing

I have done nothing with the rear window and turtle deck skins, except cleco the right side on while I fit the fuel tank filler tube. Am now working on the canopy. Is there any reason to fit the skins/rear window now and then remove them, or do you guys think it is OK just to leave those components on the shelf until the very end?
 
Hey John

If you have clecoed them to make sure they generally fit well, I would for sure leave them until the very end. I did not install my rear window even for the inspection ( Yes, I asked in advance if it was OK ).

John Bender
 
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