What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

RV-7A Slider Canopy frame

K

kfirestone

I'm New Here
I am building a RV-7A QB with a slider canopy. The back bows of the canopy frame are uneven. The left bow slopes downward and at 8 inches out from the center it is 1/4 inch lower, and the right bow at 8 inches out from the center is 1/4 inch higher. It appears that the entire rear bow was welded at a slight angle to the center frame. Any suggestions???

Ken Firestone
Austin, TX
RV-7A
 
Most all...

do not fit worth a darn out of the box. You will need to bend the frame into shape. I used ratchet straps and some hand force. It is a massaging act of course... bend the rear in, the front wants to bend out and visa-versa.
 
Last edited:
It was a very frustrating and slow process. I eventually did what some others recommended: I cut the aft rear bow and then it was really easy to bend everything in just the right shape. Then a friend welded the bow back together.

Problem solved.
 
RV-7A slider canopy

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll leave the canopy for now, and go on to the electrical.

K. Firestone
RV7-A
 
We had one frame that was so bad we cut it at the rear and then set the frame up correctly and re-welded it. Van's knows all about these slider frame issues but has yet to address the issue. It would seem the jig is out of wack... maybe even got bent somewhere down the road.
 
I had all kinds of problems with my canopy frame. Using blocks of wood, clamps and jumping on the frame only made it worse. One day I was in the Home Depot and saw a conduit bender (the thing with a pipe handle and a rounded groove thingy on the end...the lights went on... I bought one, took it home and it worked like a charm. I was able to bend the tubing at any point along the radius with ease. What I had been cussing at for weeks was finished that afternoon. Give it a try!!!

Reminder...get a size larger than your tubing so it won't mess up the powder coating...ask me how I know.

Good Luck
 
Jkkinz said:
I had all kinds of problems with my canopy frame. Using blocks of wood, clamps and jumping on the frame only made it worse. One day I was in the Home Depot and saw a conduit bender (the thing with a pipe handle and a rounded groove thingy on the end...the lights went on... I bought one, took it home and it worked like a charm. I was able to bend the tubing at any point along the radius with ease. What I had been cussing at for weeks was finished that afternoon. Give it a try!!!

Reminder...get a size larger than your tubing so it won't mess up the powder coating...ask me how I know.

Good Luck
Click to expand...
This is what I did as well. Really made it manageable. Other than that, the canopy frame is just something that you need to wrestle with (literally and figuratively). I don't think there is such a thing as an easy canopy.
 
RV-7A slider canopy frame

Thanks guys for the info on the conduit bender. I'll give it a try.

K. Firestone
RV-7A
Austin, TX
 
Anybody getting rid of theirs?

I foresee a buyer's market in used conduit benders eventually!
 
The current welding fixture was built but Art Chard, Lee McDaniel and myself in the early 90s and currently hangs on the wall in my shop, it is certainly not bent nor has it ever been bent!

The reason this continues to be an issue is simple, it has proven over the years to be impossible to make two bows the same. Vans does all the bending and they do a very good job and they have improved there technique over the years and many different approaches, to make it even harder the bows relax over time and open! The bows are very flexible and are flexed into the fixture, welded and when removed they just spring back to there original shape, we even adjust the bows the best we can to match a template before welding but still there are no two alike. This type of structure will always require adjusting buy the builder.
 
Russ McCutcheon said:
The current welding fixture was built but Art Chard, Lee McDaniel and myself in the early 90s and currently hangs on the wall in my shop, it is certainly not bent nor has it ever been bent!

The reason this continues to be an issue is simple, it has proven over the years to be impossible to make two bows the same. Vans does all the bending and they do a very good job and they have improved there technique over the years and many different approaches, to make it even harder the bows relax over time and open! The bows are very flexible and are flexed into the fixture, welded and when removed they just spring back to there original shape, we even adjust the bows the best we can to match a template before welding but still there are no two alike. This type of structure will always require adjusting buy the builder.
Click to expand...

Russ,

I'm not talking tubing bows... its more like the tubes are welded in a 1/4" different location on the opposite side of the center frame. One high on one side and low on the other. Some even forward or rearward. Something is not in line somewhere. Yes... you can build a canopy frame where they all come out very close to the same, it's done in precision manufacturing everyday. Maybe a change in the design would be appropriate... a different material...
 
Last edited:
any comments on the Home Depot Conduit bender ? It seems like a great idea. I posted a link on the previous page. Can someone tell me exactly how it works?

Thanks,

Darren
 
kevinh said:
It was a very frustrating and slow process. I eventually did what some others recommended: I cut the aft rear bow and then it was really easy to bend everything in just the right shape. Then a friend welded the bow back together.

Problem solved.
Click to expand...

Kevin,

Where did you make the cut on the aft bow? I am considering this option, but will try the conduit bender first. Thanks!
 
Darren,

I used the conduit bender that came with the 3 ft pipe attached. The one in the picture attached to the post only shows the bending head. As I said before, they come for different size tubing. Get one that has a tubing size larger than the diameter of your canopy bow.
The head portion has a hook that holds the tubing in the groove. All I did was put the whole thing on on the floor and tweaked the shape of the canopy bow. Mine was angled outward along the bottom so much that I could not get it to fit the track. If I tried to narrow the side to side dimensions, it only bent at the top giving the bow a high point at the top. Using the bender I was able to get the necessary leverage to bend the tubing much closer to the lower ends of the bow. It follower the contour of the forward windshield bow almost exactly.

Hope this helps
 
Protecting the finish

Did you do anything to protect the powdercoat from scratching? I'm thinking that maybe a little tape on the bender or the frame would be good.
 
ArVeeNiner said:
Did you do anything to protect the powdercoat from scratching? I'm thinking that maybe a little tape on the bender or the frame would be good.
Click to expand...
Yes, I used masking tape on the bow to help prevent scratching. For me it was kind of pointless b/c I ended up painting my bow before final installation anyway.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top