RV-8 Canopy Skirt

[N804RV]

By the time I got both halves match-drilled onto the canopy frame, the aft end wasn't anywhere close to any kind of easy joinery. I wound up whacking off more than I should have and making several relief cuts on one side to get them close to symmetrical. But now I'm left with a bit of a gap.

Did anyone else end up just glassing the whole rear end of the skirt?

 

[rlmccarter]

Yup, I focused on getting the sides like I liked them and cut away the tail as needed. It's been a while but I think i clekoed a piece of scrap aluminum to the underside of the tail to hold it together while i glassed the top. Then I removed skirt and the aluminum and glassed the bottom. Then I layered glass on top and bottom of the tail sanding and reglassing until I got a nice shape. It took time.

 

[PhatRV]

Mount the canopy on the fuselage in the close position and fit the skirt so that you get a good tight fit. For the rear, if any of the sections is "bow" away from the fuselage, cut the slits and apply fiberglass back to maintain the skirt integrity. Also mount the tail and the tail intersection fairing. As you slide the canopy back, it may interfere with the rear tip of the skirt. This was how I faired in the canopy skirt of my RV8. I did this on both sides.

 

[Marlonyoung]

Followed his example and then had to work on and glass in the “tail” too

 

[RV7 To Go]

Yep same as above. I glassed in a little relief at the tail for the rail when the canopy is closed.

 

[Low Pass]

By the time I got both halves match-drilled onto the canopy frame, the aft end wasn't anywhere close to any kind of easy joinery. I wound up whacking off more than I should have and making several relief cuts on one side to get them close to symmetrical. But now I'm left with a bit of a gap.

Did anyone else end up just glassing the whole rear end of the skirt?

Yep.