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I need an RV-8 Canopy

n38139

Well Known Member
Thought I would see if anybody had an RV-8 Canopy. Mine has a crack in it behind the rear seat.
 
I have a spare, but not ready to give it up yet. I hope to have mine mounted by September and will offer the second for sale if you still want it then. I'm in Kentucky.
 
FYI Wentworth has a wrecked -8 that appears to have a good canopy, they are auctioning the salvage.
 
Yeah mine did that too;
The canopy cracked straight up from the weld where the lower & upper tubes joined behind the rear seat. I fixed it with some German product, which seems good, was clear and over-all might have held..but for the original stress riser and the fact that I couldn't add the repair material down into the Sikaflex and the skirt area. The second time, the crack went straight up, almost to the top of the canopy.
I ended up cutting out the crack with a Norton disc, and extended the cut all the way across the top to the other side to prevent the crack from migrating somewhere else, then I Sikaflex'd a hand fit and carefully rolled Targa Strip over it. Works great. Such a repair could keep you flying this summer, longer if it looks good.
I first saw the 'Targa Repair' on an RV-4.
 
I have the same darn crack. I stop drilled it and have been flying with it for quite some time. Purely cosmetic at this time though I'd like it fixed at some point. It seems like this is a real problem with the 8's canopies. One day I guess I'll try to replace the canopy. The previous owner had the same thing and actually got insurance to fix it!!

Anyone know of any solid canopy guys on the west coast?
 
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