rapid_ascent
Well Known Member
I'm in the process of fitting my canopy frame and having some issues. I managed to get the front bow sitting pretty well in reference to the roll bar. I had to cut about 1/4" off of the bottoms of the forward bow on each side.
I then started trying to get the side bows to fit 1/16" inboard from the side skins. On one side it seems very close. On the other side there is slightly too much bend in the side bow. I tried clamping it against a stout piece of hardwood to flatten the curvature. As soon as I un-clamped it and checked it is sprang right back in the same location. This side isn't off a ton but may 1/16". Suggestions on how to take some of the bend out?
The second problem I have is that the center of the rear bow is up too high. I'm not sure if I created this problem or if the canopy frame had the problem initially. Based upon the instructions I was more concerned about the overall width of the rear bow. I now realize that is the wrong way to work on the fitting. FYI, its more about getting each side of the rear bow to have the correct curvature. I think I know how to work on getting the curvature correct for the rear bow. What I'm not sure about is how to get the center of the rear bow lowered as much as I need. My side bows are 2-5/8" off the aft canopy decks on both sides when the side bow are level to the canopy decks. To get the center of the rear bow in the correct position it seems like I need to be around 2-3/8" which violates the 1/8" difference rule by quite a bit. It almost seems like I need to bend the center frame piece so that the center of the rear bow is lower. I'm not even sure that is possible. Any suggestions on this one?
I know this is normally a frustration part of the build but Saturday is was defeated on this frame fitting. Sunday I didn't even want to look at the plane. That never happens for me. Well it's been a couple of days and I've recovered but the canopy frame still need some man handling.
I then started trying to get the side bows to fit 1/16" inboard from the side skins. On one side it seems very close. On the other side there is slightly too much bend in the side bow. I tried clamping it against a stout piece of hardwood to flatten the curvature. As soon as I un-clamped it and checked it is sprang right back in the same location. This side isn't off a ton but may 1/16". Suggestions on how to take some of the bend out?
The second problem I have is that the center of the rear bow is up too high. I'm not sure if I created this problem or if the canopy frame had the problem initially. Based upon the instructions I was more concerned about the overall width of the rear bow. I now realize that is the wrong way to work on the fitting. FYI, its more about getting each side of the rear bow to have the correct curvature. I think I know how to work on getting the curvature correct for the rear bow. What I'm not sure about is how to get the center of the rear bow lowered as much as I need. My side bows are 2-5/8" off the aft canopy decks on both sides when the side bow are level to the canopy decks. To get the center of the rear bow in the correct position it seems like I need to be around 2-3/8" which violates the 1/8" difference rule by quite a bit. It almost seems like I need to bend the center frame piece so that the center of the rear bow is lower. I'm not even sure that is possible. Any suggestions on this one?
I know this is normally a frustration part of the build but Saturday is was defeated on this frame fitting. Sunday I didn't even want to look at the plane. That never happens for me. Well it's been a couple of days and I've recovered but the canopy frame still need some man handling.