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Slider Canopy Questions

G

gcman6

Member
Hi all I'm building an RV-7 slider and I think I have the canopy frame bent to my liking. I have about a 1/4-5/16" inset from the fuselage sides to the canopy side bows to allow for the canopy frame growing wider by 1/2" (1/4" each side hopefully) after sika-ing the canopy on that Vans calls for. Currently the canopy frame won't slide back as it hits the fuse skins. Anyone else have that problem and does gluing the canopy on and everything expanding solve that issue? I'm a little worried I'm going to glue the canopy on and it's not gonna expand enough to clear the top skins when sliding back.

Also I haven't drilled my canopy tracks to the decks yet. I was thinking of waiting to do this until after the canopy is glued on so I know the exact width of the canopy. Has anyone had any issues with doing this? Or should I just drill them now and add 1/2" to the width of the side bows currently?
 
You’ll be surprised how much spring back there is with the plexiglass in place. Try securely clamping the plexiglass to the frame and compare your before and after measurements. That will help determine how much additional preload you’ll need to apply to th frame.
 
Don't know your craftsmanship with glass and epoxy vs metal. But I was a LEZ builder and later in life build an RV9 slider.
I believe I would look into the glass fab d skirts that are available for this area if I built again. I've never been satisfied with the " lack of skirt fit up on slider closed position.
 
jaradtke said:
You’ll be surprised how much spring back there is with the plexiglass in place. Try securely clamping the plexiglass to the frame and compare your before and after measurements. That will help determine how much additional preload you’ll need to apply to th frame.
Click to expand...
What he ^ said. Every canopy is different. The only way to get reasonably close is to measure the flex on yours.
Personally, I would make sure it clears the aft deck. If it's a bit wide, a fiberglass trim will hide it.
 
I just finished this and sikaflexed the canopy. I had a horrible time getting the frame inset per the plans and being able to actually clear the aft skins. Talked with tech support and was told by other builders to get the frame as tight as possible but don’t worry about the inset dimensions. Make sure the frame clears the aft skins (I even trimmed the aft skins just a bit and it helps.). The frame will flex out but not as much as I expected. Any issues with the frame being a bit wide, you will take care of with fiberglass skirts.
main point is, you want it to slide at the end smoothly without scraping. If that means it’s a bit fat, so be it.
 
Thanks for the replies. Great advice and I am planning to do a fiberglass skirt so I think I'll adjust the frame so that it slides aft without hitting the top skins and go from there.
 
I just went through the slider frame/Sika process a couple weeks ago. I had a heck of a time fitting the canopy frame. I ended up cutting the forward bow and TIG welding it into place. I went with the plans guidance for measuring and setting the spread width. Cut a couple boards to length, wired them in place , then Sika-Flex install the canopy. After cure and clean up, the canopy fell right in place perfectly on the rollers and the aft frame cleared the skins rolling it back.
 

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9GT said:
I just went through the slider frame/Sika process a couple weeks ago. I had a heck of a time fitting the canopy frame. I ended up cutting the forward bow and TIG welding it into place. I went with the plans guidance for measuring and setting the spread width. Cut a couple boards to length, wired them in place , then Sika-Flex install the canopy. After cure and clean up, the canopy fell right in place perfectly on the rollers and the aft frame cleared the skins rolling it back.
Click to expand...
Yep, I also cut mine apart and re welded, the side bows were too far out to get right without creasing, ran some saw cuts to the inside of the box section and shaped them to a jig (the fuselage shape} and re welded, Followed Larrys one piece canopy skirt instructions, very pleased with the result.
 
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