Sika slider C-653

[JeremyL]

A question to those that have bonded their canopies with sika. Did you bond the C-653 cover strip with sika or some other way? Another option I was thinking is that since it’s bonded, there isn’t a need for the cover strip? I just bonded my canopy and it went super well and I’m pretty sure that canopy is not going anywhere, ever. Thanks in advance!

 

[rmartingt]

I'm not flying just yet but I just left it off. No point to having it with no fasteners going through there.

 

[jaradtke]

You need to protect the primer from UV exposure. I bonded the cover strip in place.

 

[9GT]

I Sika bonded my canopy but used Flame Master tank sealant on the C-653 cover strip along with a few screws. I originally planed to forgo the cover strip but I wanted a small lift assist handle on the top aft end, and wanted something other that the plastic under the handle so I decided to install it.

 

[Desert Rat]

I didn't install the cover strip. Also, at least on the side by side models there's no need for a UV blocker because vans is now shipping the SC-15 canopy as the standard and it has UV blocker built in.

 

[jaradtke]

I didn't install the cover strip. Also, at least on the side by side models there's no need for a UV blocker because vans is now shipping the SC-15 canopy as the standard and it has UV blocker built in.

Manufactures recommendations.

 

[Desert Rat]

Manufactures recommendations.
View attachment 70143

Yeah, I get it. But as I said, the SC-15 canopy is UV blocking.

 

[JeremyL]

Thanks for the responses, but if I could some more information and possibly more people that have bonded their canopies… I know more than 4-5 people have used sika on a 7 slider .

 

[wirejock]

Thanks for the responses, but if I could some more information and possibly more people that have bonded their canopies… I know more than 4-5 people have used sika on a 7 slider .

I didn't install the strip. Not flying yet. Will be hangared.

 

[Scott Hersha]

I bonded mine on with SilPruf, no fasteners. Jeff Rogers (Airplane Plastics), who makes our canopies and is close by where I live, says we don’t need any screws/rivets, etc., on this part of the slider RV canopy. He says nobody but Vans recommends installing solid fasteners in that center pipe in a slider canopy. Almost all cracks he sees in an RV slider canopy, is a perpendicular crack emanating from a hole in the canopy on that center tube for a solid fastener, and is due to a slight or greater stress being applied at the fastener (rivet or screw). If there is any flex in the plexiglass when installing the rivet or screw, it will eventually crack. The SilPruf I used is a product made to glaze windows on skyscrapers and boats, and is used on almost all Glass-Star airplanes to bond all their windows. It is a long term silicone type product that is applied with a caulking gun.

On my RV6 slider, the center canopy tube didn’t line up perfectly with the canopy bubble. It touched the frame at the front, and at the back, but in the middle there was as much as a 3/16” gap. If you were to put a solid fastener in there to pull the canopy bubble down tight, it would introduce a stress in the plexi bubble, and eventually possibly crack.….. actually, mine did. On my replacement canopy, I used the SilPruf, which fills that gap. It looks good, and holds the canopy with a little “give” to allow for expansion. The canopy bubble is held firmly along the forward, aft, and side canopy fasteners as designed, and I believe is held just as firmly on the center tube by the SilPruf.

To the OPS original question, in this application, no center aluminum strip is required, or desired.

 

[JeremyL]

Thanks for the replies guys. With that information I will leave the center strip off. The plane is hangared and I have a cover for it when away from home.

 

[Dave S]

I bonded mine in place just used a thinner layer, figuring worse case the latching mechanism was a mechanical bond. 30+ hours and no issues yet.

 

[Biggiesauls]

Did not use that strip at all. Did Sika bond on slider and windscreen to all surfaces. Did use required primer which, when masked off, makes for a nice "targa" strip. Been flight over a year since Airworthiness.

 

[jwd295]

Used sika 295 UV, in white, and no cover strip. That product has UV resistance built in. We liked the look of the white on the white powder coated canopy. Unfortunately, our primer was black, so in this upper canopy area, you can the black stripe from the primer, but inside the white adhesive with the white powder coat was perfect. Looking back, I believe they make a primer (205 maybe) that might be clear.

 

[Iluke]

I bonded mine with SikaFlex and did not use the cover strip. Mine is hangered so no long term UV exposure, and as a previous poster said, if you carefully mask it, the primer makes a nice looking "margin" around the clear part of the canopy.

I did add a small handle for opening and closing the canopy. I fabricated it out of a piece of aluminum angle with a finger hole in one flange and the other flange attached to the center tube with #6 machine screws through two slightly oversized holes through the Plexiglas. I've been flying it almost three years now with no issues.
-Ivan

 

[rapid_ascent]

While many have decided to not to install the cover strip I decided I wanted to go ahead and install it. I used Sika as the adhesive and it went relatively well. It's a little tricky since there isn't much to position the cover strip or a way to really clamp it down.

To start off I purchased some 1/16" o-ring for use as a spacer for the Sika. I then used super glue to glue short pieces of the o-ring to the back side of the cover strip. I wasn't sure if this approach would work, but others here have suggested it so I gave it a try and it seemed to work.

Before the actual gluing process I cut some "clamping" blocks that I planned to use to hold the cover strip down. These were slightly narrower than the strip so they didn't touch the Sika. They were of varied lengths so that they would follow the contour of the canopy. My plan was to use Gorilla tape to hold the strip in place.

For the canopy latch hole I cut a short piece of 1/2" wood dowel and added a couple of wraps of shipping tape. Make it long enough so you can get a pair of pliers on it to twist it for removal.

In my case I had two aft holes for the handle that I plan to add. I glued the standoffs in place at the same time.

The other prep that I did was I calculated how big the notch in the Sika tip needed to be to get the right amount of material for the width of the strip. That also seemed to work pretty well.

The Sika is applied using the standard process. I inserted the wood dowel after the primer had been applied to that area so I would be able to remove it later. I added the cover strip to the canopy and then began my clamping. There was some minor squeeze out which I used a popsicle stick to clean up. The only problem areas were under my Gorilla tape. I went back and tried to clean those areas up too with mixed success.

I did end up going back doing a little touch up and then carefully sanding the finished edge. 220 grit seems to work fine for this. I'm happy with the results and glad that I added it.