rv8pilotpaul
Active Member
Where is it? I have all the kits now and it's not included! Are we supposed to buy WD-620-PC from Van's?
Am I understanding this correctly?
If anyone has a part number on the canopy release handle, let me know and I'll get it ordered.
Then regarding the canopy being removable, it really is those hinge covers that cause the issue there. Apparently they are fairly finicky and easy to wreck. So, if you ever do pull them, you run the risk of scratching your paint or breaking the pieces. Then, at that point, you'd have to re-create new ones, and paint them to match, and then get them re-inserted without scratching everything. So the short answer is, sure, you can remove the canopy from the plane after it's painted and complete, but it's troublesome enough that you may not be satisfied with how the process goes...so maybe best just to consider it permanent once it's on there.
Then regarding the canopy being removable, it really is those hinge covers that cause the issue there. Apparently they are fairly finicky and easy to wreck. So, if you ever do pull them, you run the risk of scratching your paint or breaking the pieces. Then, at that point, you'd have to re-create new ones, and paint them to match, and then get them re-inserted without scratching everything. So the short answer is, sure, you can remove the canopy from the plane after it's painted and complete, but it's troublesome enough that you may not be satisfied with how the process goes...so maybe best just to consider it permanent once it's on there.
So unless something changes, I wasn't as far off as it seemed.
I safety wired mine because you are right, it will destroy the clips, ask me how I know. After I "permanently" attached the canopy, I had to take it off, which originally I thought, no big deal. WRONG. It destroyed the little tabs when the canopy popped up, so I had to fabricate two more. At that point, as Tim said, removing the canopy for maintenance is not an option because it will ruin the clips and the paint will never match. I didn't put the handle through the panel anyway because I don't think I'll ever jettison the canopy.
The covers did exactly what they were intended to do... pop off if the canopy is jettisoned.
To remove the canopy without popping the covers, you have to remove them by reversing the process you used to install them.