Question for Tip-Up Builders

I live in Houston, TX and bought a flying RV-7A a few months ago. The trim piece on the canopy came off during flight this weekend and I need to find a replacement. Building it myself isn't really an option. I would like to find someone locally to make the piece and install. Thanks in advance for any suggestions. [/IMG]

Fairly sure you had a targa strip which is a very common mod, but all of them are built per plane and by the builder. Not an off the shelf part to order.

Seen them done in fiberglass most often, on occasion metal. Do you remember how yours was made?

ty1295 said:

Fairly sure you had a targa strip which is a very common mod, but all of them are built per plane and by the builder. Not an off the shelf part to order.

Seen them done in fiberglass most often, on occasion metal. Do you remember how yours was made?

Click to expand...

Yes, it was fiberglass. Thanks!

This is not uncommon, as the F/G resin or epoxy do not bond well to acrylic. If you create a new strip, I suggest properly preparing both surfaces and using a urethane adhesive with a few pop rivets for security.

You could also polish it clear again and leave as is. You may want to add some weatherstriping if you go that route. You sand with progressively finer grits to around 2000 grit and then buff/polish. Be sure to minimize sanding into the clear area, as this approach will moderately impact the optical clarity of the acrylic.

Larry

I have one on my tip-up and as others have said, this is a custom made item. I made mine from Carbon fiber and West system epoxy. It is not a hard work at all, requires a bit of elbow grease to make it to a finished product.

Your best option is probably to just leave the strip off since you are not a builder. There are many hundreds of tip-up RVs flying without a targa strip (including my RV-6). If you really want the color contrast in that area you could paint the area of the canopy where the targa strip used to be. But I would just clean up the area and leave it alone. Personally, I think being "stripless" enhances the lines of the tip-up:

I'm in Sam's Club, but if you're thinking of trying to fix it...

First, if you even think about drilling into plexi- STOP. It requires special drill bits/ the holes need to be drilled oversize so screw threads don't touch the edges of the holes/ a little mistake can lead to a large crack in the bubble/ and resin in the wrong places can get pretty ugly.
Doable? Yes, but the canopy is one of the more skilled jobs in the entire build. Search out experienced help or take Sam's advice.
Terry, CFI
RV9A N323TP

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I'm leaning towards leaving it as is. The piece left a pretty good scrape on my vertical stabilizer and elevator when it hit them at 160 MPH, so don't want a repeat. Thanks!