acroboy
Member
I have been building the long long long long build RV-4. Plans 1705 from the 80's. I retired, sold my other airplane, and got busy finishing the RV-4. Today I guessed I was a week from setting up my DAR inspection for first flight. After building the canopy assembly I kept the canopy covered in plastic to protect it.
Today was the big day and I uncover the canopy for the first time in many years. I am crushed, the canopy has a big crack as shown in the photo. Note this canopy was secured purely with Sika and has no rivets or screws. The crack does not propagate to or from an edge. The crack is simply in the middle of the canopy.
So now the questions.
Are there alternatives to Van's canopy like Todd's used to make? Or should I just buy Van's?
How likely am I to save the frame, skirts, etc. ?? I am really depressed think of redoing all of the canopy assembly.
While I am sure its much easier to repair with the canopy assembly off of the aircraft, can it be done on the aircraft? Should I even try? Once quite a long time ago I tried removing the hinge pin unsuccessfully. If I have to remove the assembly I probably need to drill out the pop rivets and plan on some repainting.
Any suggestions that make this go easier?
Thanks for your help. It is a really sad day....
Brad
Today was the big day and I uncover the canopy for the first time in many years. I am crushed, the canopy has a big crack as shown in the photo. Note this canopy was secured purely with Sika and has no rivets or screws. The crack does not propagate to or from an edge. The crack is simply in the middle of the canopy.
So now the questions.
Are there alternatives to Van's canopy like Todd's used to make? Or should I just buy Van's?
How likely am I to save the frame, skirts, etc. ?? I am really depressed think of redoing all of the canopy assembly.
While I am sure its much easier to repair with the canopy assembly off of the aircraft, can it be done on the aircraft? Should I even try? Once quite a long time ago I tried removing the hinge pin unsuccessfully. If I have to remove the assembly I probably need to drill out the pop rivets and plan on some repainting.
Any suggestions that make this go easier?
Thanks for your help. It is a really sad day....
Brad