What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Canopy Frame Bending Question

Adam W

Well Known Member
Hello All

I am two days worth of hours into the notorious canopy frame bending. I am enjoying the same pain I have read many others before me have endured. I am now at a point that I simply cannot see the answer. Before this it was a matter of finding a way for the frame to bend to the desired shape. Hard and frustrating as that was I made progress today. The side bows are inset the recommended amount plus a touch for sika flex. The front and rear bow heights within tolerance. So now after getting it to look right in it?s closed position I tried the operation of the sliding frame and the lower right rear part of the bow (where it meets the side rail) will not clear the turtle deck as it slides backwards
The problem I see is that if the side rail was to be bent back out towards the fuselage skin enough for the bow to clear I would then not have the inset for the side bow.
So before it was accomplishing the bends that were dificult. But now I just don?t see an answer. It?s either The rear bow clears going backwards or the side bow has the proper inset
I have tried to figure out how the left side is clearing but I cannot see that answer. At the risk of embarrassment I?m looking for any input as I?m pretty frustrated with this portion of the build. Thank
 
FIND AN ELECTRICIAN

When I was at the fitting of the canopy frame, a friend was a retired electrician. He brought his conduit bending tools over to the hangar:
Using the appropriate size tool for the frame he had that sucker bent to perfect fit within 15 minutes.

I too had used the various methods described here on the forum and in the directions - all to minimal success while gaining a lot of frustration and tired muscles.

Use an electrician and you will save a lot of time and get the job done accurately.
 
I spent 2 weeks (every day most all day) trying to make mine work. I would get it to fit in one place and then when I tried to fit somewhere else it would throw out the places that fit. I finally gave up and decided to cut, fit then reweld it. (Yes I have the equipment and know how to do that) In an hour I had it fitted and ready to touch up the paint. That may not be the answer for everyone but it sure made mine go smooth.
 
As Jay mentions above in #3, the canopy frame will spread after applying the canopy. I allotted for this, but the same amount front & back. The back didn?t need as much allotment as the frame structure is half the size of the front. So my canopy back is very tight on the fuselage and it required me to install UHMW sliders on the front edge of the fuselage to allow it to slide back smoothly over the front metal edge. Custom install.
Walk away and revisit it tomorrow.
 
i understand the canopy will spread the frame once its sika flexed in place
but if that spread is enough for the bow to clear then the side bow will be well outside of where its suposed to be.
i think "walk away" may be the best advice
and you 622BH will find it amusinf to know I am an electrician and thought of bringing home a conduit bender but hadnt tried it. i still dont see how the rear bow can clear and the side bow retain the inset

well tomorrow is another day
thank you
 
Follow your intuition and keep massaging it into place. The plexi will bow it back out, I think 1/2? is a stretch, but some, in the -9A plans it said how much to account for this and it seemed to work.

If your rear bow is hitting the side skin when it slides back, try adjusting the plastic block (thicker, more meat) so it raises up sooner as it travels backwards. I trimmed mine too thin (probably per plan) at first and remember re-ordering two replacements blocks to re-fit. Made it work on the second try, still have one in the tool box.
 
good idea ill look at adjusting the track to have it raise sooner as it goes back

thank you
 
good idea ill look at adjusting the track to have it raise sooner as it goes back

thank you

Maybe, but not necessarily the track as much as the plastic block that slides on the track. Maybe a combination of both. I recall you can modify the track a little bit by pushing out the threaded rod.
 
Having just gone through this with my slider, I had the exact same interference with the turtle deck at the back right. Everything else was pretty good. Not knowing exactly how to fix it and fearing I could easily make things worse I just built on.

For me, once the plexi was fit/riveted I still ended up with the exact same interference. I?m still not sure what to do. It doesn?t really hinder the motion of the canopy too much, so I may just add some UHMW tape to the skin, or potentially trim away a hunk of skin.

I did have to add a spacer between the plexi and the rear bow right in that same spot when I was fitting my rear skirt (because the plexi ended up too low with respect to the turtle deck in that one spot). This led me to believe I probably could have bent the side bow out a bit more to relieve the interference and not affect the rear bow fit. And I was able to bend the side skirt in quite a bit towards the rear to hug the fuselage, so maybe the side bow would have been OK bent out a bit at that location.
 
Back
Top