Sparky
Well Known Member
As stated in the many, many discussion on this topic, picking the type of canopy you want to install in your side-by-side RV is a personal choice. You need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each type and determine which are more important to you.
So here is my attempt to put together a collection of the advantages and disadvantages of each to help in making your choice. I have tried my best to be as objective as possible, so please don?t be too hard on me if you disagree. Whenever possible, where there were conflicting opinions, I chose to use the preponderance of opinion as interpreted by me. I purposely only included the factory canopies, and did not include other custom applications.
In my opinion you really can?t go ?wrong? with either choice...
Slider
Advantages:
? Subjective: Looks ?cooler? on the ground and while taxiing with canopy open
? Less susceptible to wind damage on the ground when open
? More ventilation while on ground and while taxiing with canopy open
? Roll bar (especially with handles added, or using canopy brace as a hand hold) allows easier ingress/egress, especially for us ?older? folks
? Less susceptible to water ingress to area behind instrument panel
? Slightly better accessibility to baggage compartment with canopy open (not quantified)
? Can be unlatched and opened from either pilot or passenger side from either inside or outside of aircraft
? Allows slightly more instrument panel real estate
? Possibly better protection from bird strikes due to forward roll bar?
Disadvantages:
? Roll bar causes poorer forward visibility
? More weight than Tip-up (not quantified)
? More expensive than Tip-up ($100)
? Poorer maintenance access behind instrument panel
? Less space on turtle deck available to use for antenna installation
? Ferrous roll bar more likely to cause interference with magnetic instruments mounted in instrument panel
? Ferrous canopy frame more likely to cause interference with magnetometer (depending where mounted) in open vs. closed position
? Tall folks need to ?duck? slightly while closing canopy
? More susceptible to ?drafts? in flight?
? More difficult installation?
Tip-Up
Advantages:
? Subjective: Looks ?cooler? in flight, and on ground with canopy closed
? Better forward visibility
? Less weight than Slider (not quantified)
? Less expensive than slider ($100)
? Better maintenance access behind instrument panel
? More space on turtle deck available to use for antenna installation
? Unlikely to cause magnetic interference with magnetic instruments/magnetometer
? Less susceptible to ?drafts? in flight?
? Easier installation?
Disadvantages:
? More susceptible to wind damage on the ground when open
? More susceptible to water ingress to area behind instrument panel
? Slightly poorer accessibility to baggage compartment with canopy open (not quantified)
? Less ventilation while taxiing with canopy ?cracked? open (although adequate in most opinions)
? More difficult ingress/egress, especially for us ?older? folks
? When open, allows visibility of ?clutter? behind instrument panel
? Can be unlatched and opened from only pilot side from outside the aircraft, and slightly more difficult to unlatch and open from passenger side from inside the aircraft
? Allows slightly less instrument panel real estate (right and left sides, canopy eject handle area)
? While building, depending on garage ceiling height, (especially with ?A? models) care must be taken to prevent striking ceiling, lights, garage door opener, open garage door, etc, when open
? Need to be slightly more careful while closing to avoid damage?
? When in open position, has been reported in a couple of instances to possibly focus sunlight and cause overheating of interior items?
? Possibly less protection from bird strikes due to no forward roll bar?
Because these are MY interpretations, I certainly invite anyone reading this to perform your own search to get more information and the detailed opinions/arguments to form your own interpretations.
Hopefully, this will be helpful to someone trying to make the choice of Slider vs. Tip-up...
So here is my attempt to put together a collection of the advantages and disadvantages of each to help in making your choice. I have tried my best to be as objective as possible, so please don?t be too hard on me if you disagree. Whenever possible, where there were conflicting opinions, I chose to use the preponderance of opinion as interpreted by me. I purposely only included the factory canopies, and did not include other custom applications.
In my opinion you really can?t go ?wrong? with either choice...
Slider
Advantages:
? Subjective: Looks ?cooler? on the ground and while taxiing with canopy open
? Less susceptible to wind damage on the ground when open
? More ventilation while on ground and while taxiing with canopy open
? Roll bar (especially with handles added, or using canopy brace as a hand hold) allows easier ingress/egress, especially for us ?older? folks
? Less susceptible to water ingress to area behind instrument panel
? Slightly better accessibility to baggage compartment with canopy open (not quantified)
? Can be unlatched and opened from either pilot or passenger side from either inside or outside of aircraft
? Allows slightly more instrument panel real estate
? Possibly better protection from bird strikes due to forward roll bar?
Disadvantages:
? Roll bar causes poorer forward visibility
? More weight than Tip-up (not quantified)
? More expensive than Tip-up ($100)
? Poorer maintenance access behind instrument panel
? Less space on turtle deck available to use for antenna installation
? Ferrous roll bar more likely to cause interference with magnetic instruments mounted in instrument panel
? Ferrous canopy frame more likely to cause interference with magnetometer (depending where mounted) in open vs. closed position
? Tall folks need to ?duck? slightly while closing canopy
? More susceptible to ?drafts? in flight?
? More difficult installation?
Tip-Up
Advantages:
? Subjective: Looks ?cooler? in flight, and on ground with canopy closed
? Better forward visibility
? Less weight than Slider (not quantified)
? Less expensive than slider ($100)
? Better maintenance access behind instrument panel
? More space on turtle deck available to use for antenna installation
? Unlikely to cause magnetic interference with magnetic instruments/magnetometer
? Less susceptible to ?drafts? in flight?
? Easier installation?
Disadvantages:
? More susceptible to wind damage on the ground when open
? More susceptible to water ingress to area behind instrument panel
? Slightly poorer accessibility to baggage compartment with canopy open (not quantified)
? Less ventilation while taxiing with canopy ?cracked? open (although adequate in most opinions)
? More difficult ingress/egress, especially for us ?older? folks
? When open, allows visibility of ?clutter? behind instrument panel
? Can be unlatched and opened from only pilot side from outside the aircraft, and slightly more difficult to unlatch and open from passenger side from inside the aircraft
? Allows slightly less instrument panel real estate (right and left sides, canopy eject handle area)
? While building, depending on garage ceiling height, (especially with ?A? models) care must be taken to prevent striking ceiling, lights, garage door opener, open garage door, etc, when open
? Need to be slightly more careful while closing to avoid damage?
? When in open position, has been reported in a couple of instances to possibly focus sunlight and cause overheating of interior items?
? Possibly less protection from bird strikes due to no forward roll bar?
Because these are MY interpretations, I certainly invite anyone reading this to perform your own search to get more information and the detailed opinions/arguments to form your own interpretations.
Hopefully, this will be helpful to someone trying to make the choice of Slider vs. Tip-up...