Drilling Tip Up Canopy Hinges

[rcarson]

I have been having one heck of a time getting the canopy to fit up to the front skin properly and have had to have the holes on one side filled twice and the other side once. It seemed like it was always off 1/16 - 1/8" no matter what I did on the left side. I called Van's and disscussed it with them and told them what I thought would be a better procedure and upon agreeing they said it might be a good idea to post it.

This could be common knowledge to some but it wasn't to Van's. I took a 1/4" transfer punch and marked the spot since it was too close for my 90 degree drill,(use the 90 if you can) removed the canopy, drilled the 1/4" holes and reinstalled the canopy to see if the holes lined up properly before drilling for the 3/8 bushing. This way if there is an adjustment you can do so by adjusting the 3/8 bushing the proper amount. I used a 1/4" file to adjust the hole then drilled with a new 3/8" bit. I found that even when the spacing is good before the front skin is rivetted on it tends to move once it's hammered down. Hopefully this will help someone else avoid sleepless nights and turning the air blue.

 

[Bavafa]

Looks like you are done and no useful info any more.

How I went about doing this part of the build was by cheating and reverse assembly, drilled the hinge holes first exactly in the middle to guarantee edge distance. Then I fitted them in to blocks where the hinge holes should be according to the VANS measurements. Then as one assembly fitted the blocks into the supporting bracket once the canopy frame was aligned correctly. It actually went relatively painless. Now, I cannot say the same thing about the rest of the canopy but that is almost to be expected

 

[gasman]

In the non pre-punched kits, the 6 in this case. The bushings came installed in the frame, and all we did was position it on the air frame and drill to it's final location.

I have never looked at this part of the 7. But if I was going to fit the frame, I would mount the bushings 5/16" oc. from the top of the ear. Then fit the frame to the final position by patching over the existing (pre-punched?) holes. The higher you mount the pivot point, the less chance the skin will snag when lifting.

 

[rcarson]

Canopy hinges

That would have been good to know before I snagged the skin and bent it. Now I'm looking for a way to shrink the skin back to it's original shape. I have heard that dry ice sometimes works.