Fitting Windshield With Cleko'ed Top Skin?

How far can I go fitting the windshield with the front top skin just cleo'ed?

I would like to get to the point of having the windshield drilled to the rollbar so I can set the canopy height and windshield/canopy gap.





And yes, I'm drilling and riveting the canopy.

I think you'll be fine with the plan you described. At the end of the day, you'll rivet the skin, check fit again along the bottom of the windscreen with it cleco'd in place, maybe trim it if the skin "moved", attach the windscreen and lay up your fiberglass.

Sure you want to rivet?

I am sikaflex my canopy down. About to do it (probably tomorrow). Are you sure you want to rivet it down, the sika method seems much easier. I am following the very good article in Kitplanes written by VAF's Wirejock

Where feasible, putting the clecos on the inside pointing out might be more convenient.

Dave

Kyle Boatright said:

I think you'll be fine with the plan you described. At the end of the day, you'll rivet the skin, check fit again along the bottom of the windscreen with it cleco'd in place, maybe trim it if the skin "moved", attach the windscreen and lay up your fiberglass.

Click to expand...

Thanks, that's encouraging.

PilotjohnS said:

I am sikaflex my canopy down. About to do it (probably tomorrow). Are you sure you want to rivet it down, the sika method seems much easier. I am following the very good article in Kitplanes written by VAF's Wirejock

Click to expand...

I figured I'd get suggestions to go with Sikaflex and I almost did.

If I lived in an area where there were other builders who had done Sika on a slider I might be inclined to go that way. Wirejock wrote a great article on the subject and I almost decided to do Sika. But in the end I decided to go with drilling and riveting. This is a process I understand and have some experience with. When I was a young helicopter mechanic, I would repair chin bubbles on Jet Rangers that clients had dropped something through...usually cameras

I'm going to use the technique of opening the holes to ¼" with a rubber insert ¼" x ⅛". Paul Dye says he and others have had good luck with this method and that's good enough for me

David Paule said:

Where feasible, putting the clecos on the inside pointing out might be more convenient.

Dave

Click to expand...

Great tip

Sika

PilotjohnS said:

I am sikaflex my canopy down. About to do it (probably tomorrow). Are you sure you want to rivet it down, the sika method seems much easier. I am following the very good article in Kitplanes written by VAF's Wirejock

Click to expand...

I know that guy! Sorry, couldn't resist. Thanks for reading.

Drilled the canopy

Just recently I the fit, cut and sika (today) on my tip up -7.

To attach the forward skin temporarily (F-771) I used 5/32" aluminum mandrel pull rivets. Used about 40 spaced around while fitting skins etc. Pop right out with a touch of the drill.

Worked nice having the clecos out of the way.