I am putting the finishing touches on a Hog Bipe and am looking for a little advice. What is the best way to mount the wind screen to the fuse? The wind screen is not "formed" but is a flat piece of plastic. Any suggestions??

John 373786

Screw either end and glue all the way across, with a bit of trimtape over the joint to tidy up.

Hi John,

I haven't found anything that sticks to canopy plastic that well. I've tried just about everything. What I do now is first wash the plastic very well with degreaser. That's degreaser - not dishwashing soap.

Then I mask off all but the the edge that will be glued and rough it up a bit with 220 sandpaper. Then I put a thin bead of slow epoxy on the edge and put the windscreen in place. I use tape or clamps or whatever to hold it. Sometimes I glue only the middle at first and allow it to cure and then come back and glue the rest.

Before any of this I fit the windscreen and remove covering from the model. Finally I do as McFlyboy says - clean it up with tape. Usually I cut a strip of electrical tape since it will conform better than most striping tapes that tend to come up quickly.

A couple screws near the end are a good suggestion, but keep them a ways from the edge of the plastic or it will crack.

I use RC56 canopy glue. I know some have had problems with it but mine have always worked great. It goes on white but drys clear. Had a 60 sized mustang go in and was able to pick up the forward half remains by what was left of the canopy that was still glued to the fuse. Good enough for me. I use it on all my wind shield type installations.
Edwin

You may want to form the windscreen into a slight curve by heating it slightly with a heat gun while it is wrapped around a coffee can or bottle. This way it will relieve the tension the straight plastic would otherwise have. Be careful, a little too much heat and you will ruin it.

DaveB

If you get the right RC 56 its good. The newer stuff is thicker and is garbage. Pacer also makes a great canopy glue that dries perfectly clear. That stuff is some of the best.

Oh Man, I hate putting canopies on. Its the only thing in building left that just sux now that the easy slotter is out by great planes for hinging.

Count me as another fan of RC56. It's always worked well for me.

What is RC56 glue? It looks like it might be an Elmers Glue type glue. I bought the RC56 for my models.

Just guessing, but it looks like some kind of silicon adhesive. I've seen them go on white then cure clear. Dont know for sure though.
Edwin

RC-56 is very good; I tried ca on my Extra and it failed in flight! Finally followed the designer's recommendation and tried Dave Patrick Max Flex CA. It is now my favorite; it glued the canopy to Ultra-cote PERMANENTLY and will not run. A super product. Jim

I also use RC56 glue. Depending on the application, I also use mechanical attachment in addition to the glue. For side panel windows that do not lend themselves well to screws, I puncture several pinholes through the covering where the clear plastic will attach to the plane, roughen the edge of the clear plastic with 200 or 320 grit paper, and glue on with RC-56. For bubble canopies, I like to use the glue supplemented by four small screws- one in each corner. For open canopies, like you are asking about, you can use one screw on each end to anchor it as suggested above, or use stick pins spaced evenly along the whole mating edge. I built a PT-19 1/4 scale and used the pins with RC-56 and it came out looking just like rivits, quite nice. I taped the canopy in place, then using a small number drill to match diameter of the pin, drilled holes evenly spaced along the mating surface through both windscreen and balsa. I then glued the edge with RC-56, and cut off the pins to about 1/4" long with a heavy cutter (vise-grip) since they are quite hard. Push the shortened pins through the holes, and allow to dry while holding the edges down with masking tape. If you go to a fabric store, you can find a wide variety of pin sizes to get the correct scale size pin head.

Should you chose to use a CA glue instead of RC-56, make sure to use the fumeless type (more expensive) as regular CA will fog the clear canopy as it cures.

Pilgrim