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Sam M.
Unregistered
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 Posted Monday, May 26, 2008 @ 09:28 PM
i was reading through the forums and discoverd you could buy a canopy from europe, i just dont know where, any links or phone numbers?
thanks
Sam
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Collin
Unregistered
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Posted Monday, May 26, 2008 @ 11:40 PM
Dann (N2188) and I are soon going to have some canopies made by Todd's canopies. We will keep you updated.
Collin
P.S. the weather in Oregon this weekend was bad so I did not go to the vintage glider meet.
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Sam M.
Unregistered
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Posted Tuesday, May 27, 2008 @ 00:28 AM
i did read that post,i was planning on just going with a stock canopy.
are they still being made?
ps. the weather down here hasn't been that good here either.
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Collin
Unregistered
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Posted Wednesday, May 28, 2008 @ 11:19 AM
I will check with Todd's canopies about making two versions. (std head room and taller version)
Collin
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Sam M.
Unregistered
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Posted Wednesday, May 28, 2008 @ 01:12 PM
Thanks Collin!
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Bob Grimstead
Unregistered
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Posted Saturday, November 27, 2010 @ 07:12 PM
Hi again Guys,
A couple of weeks ago, I got Tony Hoskins to replace my canopy bubble with a Weiss (Eugenio) one bought from John Giddings.
We decided to fit it by the original 56-screw method.
Of course, it was way oversize, so Tony cut it to shape and to fit with his Bosch PMF180E Multi-tool – a kind of buzzy thing I am told was originally designed to remove plaster casts from healed broken limbs.
For the sealing P-strip we used four metres of P-section 367 from Seals+Direct: sales@sealsplusdirect.co.uk
For hole-drilling we used an Irwin uni-bit No3 (step drill) on a low speed to make 5/16 inch holes.
Into these we fitted rubber ‘top-hat’ bushes from Grommets Ltd: www.grommets.co.uk part No RBF-70-40-145.
They have a £30 minimum order, so I bought 120 of them to have spares.
These were over-length but a loose fit in the holes, so that tightening the screws would make the rubber bushes expand to hold the canopy in place.
Acrylic expands and contracts A LOT with changes in temperature (and thus, altitude of course), so we made sure there was plenty of clearance in the holes.
Into these bushes, we used AN stainless steel Phillips screws with wide but thin AN stainless washers. Sorry I can’t tell you the part numbers, but they’ve worn off the Aircraft Spruce polythene bags.
We had two major problems.
One was hangar temperature. The November outside temperature was between zero and 10 degrees C, with a mostly hangar-rattling wind (and thus draughts). The propane combustion heater maybe raised ambient temperature around us by five or so degrees, so we had to be very careful to support the acrylic at all times and work slowly and carefully. At the finish, we had no cracks or splits, although the whole process took nearly a week.
The bigger problem was that my canopy frame did not conform to original drawing size, was warped and had been weld repaired. Tony and I each tried very carefully bending it back into shape, but it now seems to have warped back into something approaching its original incorrect shape.
If I had known this would happen, we would have made a new, composite frame and glue the bubble to that, as Eugenio suggests.
That’s all I can advise.
Yours, Bob
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Jorgen
Unregistered
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Posted Sunday, November 28, 2010 @ 05:04 AM
Hi Bob,
thanks for sharing that, canopies seems to be something that needs to be exchanged every now and then. I've often wondered why oscillating power tools have been rare outside hospitals, but then again hand surgeons need work too. On "SE-XST" there is a blue-tinted ASH-something canopy (glider type, probably the same "low drag" one you decided to change) with a very nice carbon fiber frame. I suspect Pete Wells at Zulu Glasstek was involved in making that and although he is flying Twister's nowadays he might have some advice to share.
Nice to hear you are perfecting "the Auld Wagon", but aren't you at the wrong half of the planet right now? We have full winter here in the south of Sweden, -5 degrees C and two feet of snow- unusually early for november. It's apparently caused by a negativ north atlantic oscillation (weak low pressure over Iceland, weak high pressure over the Azores) they say and might cause a cold winter.
There has been skis fitted to a Fournier, right?
May the 4's be with you/ Jörgen
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eugenio
Unregistered
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Posted Tuesday, November 30, 2010 @ 04:56 PM
What I suggest is to use the original frame, but glue the plexiglas to the frame instead of using the screws. This system allow you to correct the non perfect shape of the frame since you usually have all the thickness of the gasket that you are not installing to move the plexy. The gap can then be filled with the sealant. It is much easier, lighter and quicker than doing a new fiberglass frame.
So I did on all my RF's
Eugenio
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Markku
Unregistered
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Posted Wednesday, December 1, 2010 @ 03:55 AM
Hi Eugenio
What kind of glue and sealant did you use with the cabin
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eugenio
Unregistered
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Posted Wednesday, December 1, 2010 @ 10:00 AM
I already wrote it somewhere else in the forum, anyway I use polyurethanic sealant (one of the brand name I used was Sikaflex FC11) but other brands are the same. Also the sealant used to glue today's car windshield is fine (in fact it's the same stuff in black colour). If you take a kit for car's windshield it has also a primer/accelerator that probably can be used too (but I never tried it because the kit is very expensive).
First you should trim the canopy in the same way you do if you use the screws.
Make sure the plexiglas fits properly and all the contour is flush with the fuselage (no steps, no voids, just a small play all around).
When you are done, cover the whole fuselage mating surface with a nylon film, not adhesive tape, just a film kept in place by tape. This will avoid sticking the frame to the fuselage.
Next step you spread some sealant over the outside portion of the frame that you already cleaned, primed etc.
The frame should be in position like when it's locked, but must not be locked or you won't open it once the sealant is settled. Put the plexiglas over the frame making sure the sealant touches the canopy at least 2/3 of the perimeter. With some masking tape keep the canopy flush with the fuselage taping it all around the perimeter. Check twice it will stay flush. Let the sealant cure one day.
Once cured you can take away the whole canopy and finish it. The gap between the frame and the plexi should be filled with the sealant (spread some sealant and trim it with your finger). The mating surface can be finished with fiberglass bodyputty that is easier to sand away. You can open the window's hole just after the curing of the sealant so you can try to lock the canopy and make sure everything works fine. Once the plexiglas is glued to the frame it is less fragile. Remember that the job must be done in summer or in a well heated place or you will risk to crack the glazing.
Eugenio
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Markku
Unregistered
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Posted Wednesday, December 1, 2010 @ 04:15 PM
Thank's Eugenio for that information
Markku
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John Marriott
Unregistered
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Posted Sunday, March 27, 2011 @ 11:34 AM
I have an RF4 canopy bubble I'm willing to sell to a fellow RF4 owner for what I paid for it (a little under £1000 if I remember correctly)
Regards,
JohnPMarriott@gmail.com
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Markku
Unregistered
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Posted Tuesday, May 8, 2012 @ 07:50 AM
I got a new Weiss canopy for my plane, and I'll start to fix it after summer. There seems to be a lot of extra material, and therefor it need to be shaped to fit the fuselage. I planned to make a frame or jig, which will suit to canopy opening, and with that frame I can do the preliminary cutting for the canopy.
How about the tools for cutting the perspex without damagin it, there is a lot of extra material aroud the final canopy, and how to make safe the openings for hinges etc.
Markku
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eugenio
Unregistered
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Posted Tuesday, May 8, 2012 @ 03:33 PM
It is easy to work with plexiglass if you take into account some advices. First of all do the job in summer when it is hot, you have less probabilities to crack the material because it is softer.
To cut it use an angle grinder, do not use any kind of saw. A dremel will work too, but it will take much more time.
Do not cut the window before you fixed the plexiglas on the frame. The glueing method is preferable because is less prone to cracking, but the screwed one is good too. In this case you need the holes bigger than the screw stem to permit variations due to the heat expansion of different materials.
The window opening is easy to do with a router, provided you have done a pattern that drives the cutting tool. Also here a Dremel can work, but it takes much more time and without a pattern it is very hard do do straight lines.
Always smooth the cuts, not only in the window hole but all around the canopy.
Use drill bits with a dull angle or old bits with poor cutting properties, if you use a new bit it will screw into the plexiglass and break it.
One more advice, leave some space between the plexiglas and the metal fittings like the hinges or the canopy handle, or it will break very soon, for the same reason you must leave some free space between the screw stems and the plexi.
Eugenio
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Markku
Unregistered
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Posted Wednesday, May 9, 2012 @ 03:43 AM
Thank's Eugenio
Does it matter what kind of cutting disk is used?
The ventilation window is already made by Weiss
Markku
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eugenio
Unregistered
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Posted Wednesday, May 9, 2012 @ 03:38 PM
No matter about the disk, you can use the thin cutting disk for steel (about 1.5 mm), the thicker one (3 mm) or the disk for stone, no matter which one you use. The thin disk leaves a cleaner cut, but all works fine. Obviously I mean the 115 mm angle grinder, not the big 230 mm one.
Eugenio
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Skyhawk 3
Unregistered
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Posted Monday, June 11, 2012 @ 06:28 PM
Does anyone know how much a Todd's canopy is ?
Is it the original shape?
My original canopy is on its last legs after this weekends gales in the UK and I need to find one fast.
Matthew
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jb92563
Unregistered
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Posted Tuesday, June 12, 2012 @ 01:56 PM
I recall his prices are ussually very reasonable.
You will have to contact him for an exact price but if he has made one before it will be cheaper if he still has the forms..
http://www.toddscanopies.com/
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dannparks
Unregistered
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Posted Thursday, June 14, 2012 @ 12:22 PM
I just installed my Todds canopy a couple of days ago and will post a separate thread on it in the modifications section.
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Markku
Unregistered
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Posted Thursday, December 20, 2012 @ 08:21 AM
Be careful with the Weiss canopy, you might get a wrong one, more details later
Markku
[Edit by Markku on Thursday, December 20, 2012 @ 08:53 AM]
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