Sliding Canopy - Opening From Outside

[lrfrey]

My sliding canopy is just about finished and rolls back pretty easily once the rear is over the "hump" of the rear track. From the inside this is easily accomplished, just push up near the rear of the center bow with one hand and slide aft with the other hand.

From the outside this is difficult because there is really nothing to lift on.

Is this normal or did I do something wrong in constructing the rear slide. (Wouldn't be my first mistake).

Larry

 

[vlittle]

Most builders fabricate some small tabs out of angle stock and rivet them to the aft canopy side rails/skirt to use to pull/lift the canopy when standing on the ground.

Sorry, no photos... my website is still down.

 

[chris mitchell]

me too!

Hi Larry, I'm interested that you say this because I have exactly the same problem with my RV-8. I'm not familiar with the -7 set up but presumably its the same with a small spike fitting into an HMW plastic block right down at the extreme forward end of the track, that holds the rear part of the canopy in place at max. forward travel? Like you I can get the canopy open from inside but from the outside there is just that little handle to pull on. I'm about to do the glass work over the roll bar but am reluctant to start for fear that I'll end up with the canopy irrevocably jammed shut.....

I was thinking of reaming the hole in the block out a little (just a little) but I might start with some silicone on the spike first to see if that helps. FWIW I don't think you can have done anything wrong with the rear slide (again, assuming its similar to the -8). If you have, then I've likely done the same.

I'm hoping you get some really clear "do this and it'll be fine" responses!

Chris

 

[mburch]

This seems normal to me. A lot of folks bolt an external handle the aft end of the center tube, as I did:

There are a lot of different ways to do this... mine is a stainless drawer handle from the home store, but I've also seen them made out of bent strips of thick alclad stock.

I've also seen sliding canopies where the builder has riveted a small piece of angle to one of the aft corners, but I personally don't like this as much since it puts a twisting force on the canopy when you pull on it.

cheers,
mcb

 

[Kahuna]

Home depot, aviation department, door hardware.

 

[Bob Axsom]

Conflicts with my experience

I have an RV-6A that my wife and I built and I have tried to avoid putting anything out in the wind that I don't have to. My experience may be different because the planes are different models but the sliding canopy differences between an RV-6 and an RV-7 are not detectable to me. Below are some of my observations.

If the canopy has been closed for a while the first opening is more difficult and I have to thump the opened latch with the heel of my hand to break the seal (this moves the canopy an almost imperceptable amount - certainly far from even approaching the hump in the center track rail). After that I can just pull on the latch to open it until it sits closed for a while. If this is the situation you face you might consider just doing what I do. If the rail is bent differently such that the normal back pressure on the latch can't get the plastic follower to transition the hump easily you may want to put on an external handle. Once you have fitted your canopy and trimmed your skirts I don't think you want to try reshaping the front end of the center rail.

Bob Axsom

 

[alpinelakespilot2000]

Larry-
If you're building a taildragger, I'd follow Matt Burch's advice above and put a handle on the top tube. This allows you to pull the canopy back without it racking at all. If you're building a nosewheel version, the top tube handle might be too high to pull for some people. Thus you may need side handles.

I have "handles" (1/16" thick angle stock) riveted on the aft part of the side skirts (into the square side tubes). However, after the initial installation, if I pulled on just one side at a time, the canopy had a little tendency to rack because one of the rear pins holds in the nylon block more than the other side. What I've had to do is ream out the nylon blocks a little more--that's where the initial sticking was for me. It doesn't stick nearly so much now. Even enlarged slightly, the nylon blocks hold down the aft part of the canopy really well. Usually what happens is that, despite the careful attempt, drilling the nylon block at exactly the proper angle is almost impossible to do.

Hope this helps.

 

[lrfrey]

Thanks Guy's excellent advice. I too considered the racking issue and decided to go with the center rear handle. I ended up with the same "make and model" handle from Home Depot as Kahuna... maybe we could get a quantity discount!

Larry

 

[Webb]

Repost

Here at the pictures without having to click on the site. At the time, I never thought about drawer handles and built my own. I just used a piece of left over angle stock. Can is for reference.

After looking at the way the canopy opens, it lifts up first and I thought a center handle that lifts and then allows you pull back best route to go.

 

[lightning]

Can is for reference.

your handle did not look that big at first.

guess it's been a long time since i've seen the canopy up close