I'm screwed...

[cjensen]

The CANOPY!

Decided to screw the canopy on this weekend. Sorry guys, but there won't be any lengthy write up on Sikaflexing my canopy.

This came about on Saturday morning when I had a choice to make...order a new can of primer and wait a week, or drill some holes, and move on. Rob Johnson graciously gave me his leftover primer (the stuff is $56 a pint!), but it had not been used for quite some time and had hardened in the can. So, rather than give up a perfectly good working weekend, I decided to drill holes. I had already compromised and was going to do a combo Sika and screws, so there were only a few holes left to drill.

Here are some pics of the weekend progress...

Holes drilled...



Masking for paint...



Painted...



Clecoing (and I painted the inside of the glass along the roll bar)...



Rear window in...



There are no cleco's in the top of the canopy, but the holes are drilled. Need some washers to space out the gap that I had for Sika along there. Also, I haven't drilled the rear glass yet, so I still have plenty of canopy work to do.

[bullojm1]

Chad-

Looks great! Keep up the good work!

[Brantel]

Chad,

Thats OK because the more I thought about it, I had pretty much decided to do the same. I figured I could use the $120 or so somewhere else. There is nothing wrong with the Sika, I just figured why not do it the old fashioned way!

I also am planning to paint the inside like you did. That looks almost as good as Sika.

Now if you would do a Targa strip that would be great. Without one I imagine that rollbar area will leak bad.

Anyone got any good links to Targa strip details?

[Spike]

Looks really good Chad.

[jim_geo]

I like all that Black. Nice work Chad. What was funny about the post is I was looking for the crack. It's OK I figured it out.

[weezbad]

Looks great Chad. I had hoped to watch the sika process but oh well.

I would be careful painting the plexi, I painted two shims and found the "dupli-color t-100 black" caused crazing at the screw locations radiating out from the screw. I don’t know if a camera will capture it. One might think this was caused by the screws but there is less pressure here than at other locations, and it is isolated to the aforementioned shims. The rest of the frame is painted with rustoleum. Perhaps I should have let it dry overnight, or perhaps it’s just an anomaly. It took several weeks to appear and hasn’t changed since.

I’ve been building my paint booth for three weeks and I'm almost finished. I need to get the siding on the exterior walls but I can use it now. The siding comes in Thursday. Missed the order cut off by a friggin day.

[Brantel]

Does the Krylon for Plastic or the Plastikote stuff attack plexi?

[dons]

Looks mighty sharp Chad.

[Rockyjs]

Looking good Chad.

Here is mine with the plastic freshly removed. I still need to paint the aft section of the plexi.

Brian: I did a leak test and very little water leaked in from the roll bar. With the rear window sikaflexed in place the roll bar acts as a gutter for water. Adding a small bead of caulking at the roll bar aft skin sheds most of the water. Later I'll add an RTV or Sika seal on the roll bar (similar to how they make seals for boat hatches). I don't believe a Targa strip will be necessary, although they aren't too difficult to make.



By rockyjs, shot with Canon PowerShot A40 at 2008-06-30

[Brantel]

Looks great Rocky,

Did you document your process for doing the Sika anywhere?

I am still interested in this, but I just can't find enough info on the web to make me take the plunge.

[Rockyjs]

Brian,
I'll have a look through my log and photos. The documentation is probably not that great. I did it with my 15 year old and picture taking was a little tough. I followed mostly the recommendations of others as far as spacers etc. It's not difficult to do, but you do have to keep moving once you start. I think the hardest part was the rear window, which I installed alone at a later time. It was nice to have the entire cockpit area open by removing the canopy after the plexi was attached and storing it in the crate to continue with the wiring and all the other inside items.

The engine start is planned for tomorrow, and I just coordinated with a DAR. I still have some small odds and ends (a placard here, a wire tie there) but the aircraft is virtually done. It weighed 1093 lbs with a CG of 79.20 in. ready for flight.

I'll try to put something together. I also helped on a -7 slider a few months ago, and I'll check and see what documentation might be available over there.

[flytoboat]

Chad,
Looking good! You're moving right along!

[cjensen]

Rocky...when did you install the canopy and rear window for good? I'm thinking of installing the foward canopy now, and taking the whole assembly off until the end, and waiting until the end to install the rear glass.

Opinions?

[Rockyjs]

Chad,
After gluing the front canopy I put it back inside the finishing crate for storage. I didn't install the rear window for a long time. It really made it a lot easier finishing the interior, instrument panel and wiring with the canopy removed. I terminated the canopy release handle at the sub panel and have had the canopy off several times.

[cjensen]

Thanks Rock! I started installing the front canopy this weekend...



I got side skirts riveted on, and screwed the canopy to the side rails/skirts. Still need to put the nuts on the screws across the top (ran out of washers...), and do the fiberglass (LATER!), but it's just about done!

[JohnR]

Awesome!