Building a canopy frame
 

Just purchased a 25% CAP 232 airframe which is about 85% build... Beautiful airframe covered in the Sapphire Blue Breitling color scheme...

The canopy was provided, but no framing for attachment to the fuselage... The canopy material is light-weight and will not hold it's form unless mounted to some type of framework prior to attaching it to the airframe...

What's the SOP for building a canopy frame to make this work??? I can build a balsa / lite-ply frame which is shaped to the contour of the turtle-deck and cockpit, then sandwich the canopy between layers of the framework, but just need a little guidance in the best-practice for this type of assembly...

Thanks,

Mark

RE: Building a canopy frame
 

Mark....

....normally, the canopy is glued to the airframe, and then a strip of trim tape
is applied to the edge to blend it in, and provides additional adhesion.

The round shape of the canopy (like an egg) gives it the strength to survive
the wind-blast of flight. You can also add a few tiny screws to help hold it on. ;)

FBD. :D

RE: Building a canopy frame
 

Thanks for the input Dave...

The only removable component of the cockpit is the floor, not the entire top deck like on most larger scale planes... Thus my quandry... If the entire top deck was removable from the turtle deck to the firewall, I wouldn't have a problem...

Yes, I can attach the canopy to the sides of the floor piece, but then it's not supported in the front or the back where the canopy meets the turtle deck and cowling...

I'll take a couple shots and post them for reference...

Mark

RE: Building a canopy frame
 

Not sure if someone has a better mousetrap, but I've been using Styrene (plastic) to frame up my canopy, which I am custom making into a sliding one. What is really great about this stuff is that the solvent used to weld this material also works on the canopy material. Cut the Styrene to shape, hold in place, add a couple drops of the solvent, and after 10 seconds, it is a solid piece. There is a slight fogging of the material where it is dissolved and re-formed (right at the joint)- if you can't cover this up with paint or tape on the outside, this may be an issue.

Depending on the orientation you want to build your frame in, you can cut out a shape from flat stock, or you can heat up and bend strips or square stock. I'm really having fun with this stuff.