Canopy Reinforcement Glassing

[Zero4Zulu]

On my old 6A that I'm rebuilding, the fiberglass and foam filler in the front channel inside the tip up canopy frame was done really badly, so I carved it out of the channel and found that there was very little adhesion anyway. I doubt that it was helping to stiffen the canopy much.

Question is, should I put glass/foam reinforcement back in the channel and what is the best method to construct this? Any photos?

Or will the newer sheet metal bracing fit the 6A tip up?

Thanks for any help.

Steve

 

[RViter]

Canopy reinforcement kit?

I think this is the p/n that I ordered for my RV-6A,
CANOPY BRACE TIP-UP 6,7,9 REINFORCE KIT $20.00

Of course, you need to check for your own peace of mind.

I have yet to get that far, but there are plenty of them out there.

 

[noelf]

I installed the three aluminum braces on my -6A tip-up during the initial build. It helped firm up the frame wobble quite a bit, but it can still move around.

I thought about removing the canopy, setting it up on end, and pouring in a mix of epoxy / filler into the channel, but just have not gone that far yet. And I don't know if that will help all that much.

On my -6A install, I had to trim the outside edges of the L & R side braces to clear the instrument panel, and I believe this is where a lot of the stiffing help comes from. YMMV.

 

[jpowell13]

Canopy Stiffener

Check out Sam Buchanon's RV6 Journal/website. He used plywood and fiberglass and said it worked well. The pictures and description are in the Finishing Kit part of the the website.

 

[az_gila]

I used the original foam and glass method and it's OK.

But I think the newer metal re-inforcement kit mentioned above would be much easier and quicker to install and do a better job.

 

[Zero4Zulu]

Gil,

Can the newer metal re-inforcement kit be installed with the canopy in place? Is it installed with pulled rivets?

Thanks,

Steve

 

[billnaz]

7 stiffener works well

The aluminum stiffener which is standard now worked well on my 6A with little modification. Way easyer than glassing, and a cleaner look too. IIR you can use 1/8" pops if needed because of access.

 

[Zero4Zulu]

For the record in case someone is repairing a RV6 or wants to improve the wobbley canopy. I installed the newer canopy re-inforcement kit and it made a big difference from before. It wasn't easy but I was able to install it with the canopy in place. I had removed the front cracked canopy fairing so I was able to back rivet under the front edge of the canopy and didn't break it...yet.