Rv-4 sliding canopy

Has anybody put a sliding canopy on a 4? I could really use some good ideas on this. I have seen a few pics, but having a hard time getting more than that. Thx guys

Short answer, yes...

BARRON said:

Has anybody put a sliding canopy on a 4? I could really use some good ideas on this. I have seen a few pics, but having a hard time getting more than that. Thx guys

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Baron,
As one of the Jurassic RV4 builders on this site, I shared tips on Doug Reeves Yahoo group with the builder of a beautiful RV4 with sliding canopy and retracts. It's still flying and the first photo on the link below. Several others are out there as well. Some issues that exist are simple, the canopy is too long to slide aft far enough to allow rear seat access without hitting the rudder. Van lengthened the RV8 to accommodate= this, and other reasons. The other issue is weight. A sliding canopy weighs more. The best example I saw was a P-51 look-alike assisted built by Lyle Hefel with a P-51 style crank open/closed that worked! Logistically, it's alot of extra work...

Here are some photos of a few examples. Also, I included an old thread link from our old VAF with information on the drawings...

https://www.google.com/search?q=rv+...nNFMKn2AXb8IAI&ved=0CE8QsAQ&biw=2496&bih=1250
Photos

http://www.vafarchive.com/msg/rv4/t2003320000
ancient VAF thread
V/R
Smokey

One thing to consider--------for a sliding canopy, the rails it slides on must be parallel to each other.

Unless you want the rails to stick out of the side of the fuselage, they must start at the narrowest portion of their travel.

Think about the shape of the 4's fuse-------where is the narrowest area the rails must start at, and how will that impact where you sit??

Thanx gentlemen, I bought this RV 4 in desperate need of a nose to tail restoration. I really like the look and convenience of the sliding canopy and have absolutely no intentions of putting anyone in the rear seat. The design and weight are two issues I need to look at the before seriously considering this modification. If I was going to do it, I would do it all the airplane is still open. What you guys think?

I have spoken to the owner of this plane. He says (if I remember correctly) that he designed this slider from scratch, showed it to VanG, and VanG liked it so much that he based the RV8 slider off his design.

The F-1 Rocket has a tapering fuselage with a sliding canopy - they solved the problem of the canopy track rather cleverly, by splitting the track in two and using a two-wheeled roller:



Photos borrowed from here.

mcb

CATPart said:

I have spoken to the owner of this plane. He says (if I remember correctly) that he designed this slider from scratch, showed it to VanG, and VanG liked it so much that he based the RV8 slider off his design.

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This was a local PHX airplane the owner has since moved to WY. Not sure of contact info. Perhaps do an N# search. and write to him.

Thats 23PW for county 23 Pinedale WY. He moved to AZ 15 years ago, but works here in the summer. Its a 160 CS with a flat wrap windshield and slider. Its pretty fast. It is also for sale for pretty cheap.

aerhed said:

Thats 23PW for county 23 Pinedale WY. He moved to AZ 15 years ago, but works here in the summer. Its a 160 CS with a flat wrap windshield and slider. Its pretty fast. It is also for sale for pretty cheap.

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It was for sale at least twice in the past 4 years, this is why I spoke with him. I don't know about cheap...in 2011 it was 47,500, and in 2012 it was 52,500.

Very cool stuff. I like this idea. Looks clean

Cool, yes.
Practical? The tip over has 2 major advantages:
1) You can remove the fuselage skin over the instrument panel in a jiffy. 20 something screws and you can work on the back of the panel, the rudder pedals, everthing is more accessible. My RV-8 is much harder to work on in this area, as the windshield & skin are not removable.
2) Fantastic visibilty, you don't have a windshield roll bar to look around.
23 Papa Whiskey does look nice tho-