The Wind Screen is the part that is left after cutting the ‘bubble’ in two parts. The aft part is for the Canopy, while the front part is the basis for the Wind Screen.

These two parts should almost touch when the Canopy closes. To make this work, some care must be taken to make it fit. I thought cutting it in two parts would make a perfect fit.

Turns out you still need to make small adjustments. This probably is due to the fact that the Canopy and Wind Screen bases are not level. Maybe you can do that with trimming the Wind Screen on the forward bottom side.

But I found this hard and giving an unpredictable result, so I decided to trim the top aft side (the part that connects to the canopy).

To clean the edges I tried the air grinder and although it works, it usese way too much air (or my compressor tank is too small). Almost all tools that have an air pressure motor are unfit for my compressor. The squeezer and rivet gun are fine, but the grinder, drill and also the paint gun use a lot of air.

Just as with the Canopy, I’m going to use SikaFlex to bond the Wind Screen to the Fuselage and Cockpit bar. To prevent the nasty SikaFlex primer to touch anything else than the parts that should bond, we tape the metal and the Plexi-Glass.

First we apply one layer of fine tape to make the edges sharp. Than we use painters tape to protect the rest of the part. We use a second layer of fine tape, that will be removed after applying the primer.

The function is that if you slightly touch the tape with primer it will stick to the SikaFlex kit and makes it hard to remove later.

With all the parts prepared we can now start with the three SikaFlex components. The first part is the Aktivator 205, which is Isopropanol and it really ‘bites’ into the plexi-glass. So We have to be careful not to touch any unprotected Wind Screen surface.

After a few minutes we can start applying the Primer 207, which is very fluid, but dries really fast and it ‘eats’ your brushes.

You have 20 – 30 minutes after applying the primer before using the final SikaFlex 295 UV, kit.

As soon as the primer is a little dry, we remove the second layer of tape, This reveals the first layer of tape that is no clean and won’t stick to the kit.

I apply the kit in a (reverse) V shape. On several points on the bar we have spacers to compensate for different expansion behaviors of the bar and wind screen.

We decided to apply the kit on the bar and top skin instead of the wind screen. You can probably also do it the other way around, but we thought this to be easier.

So now we can place the wind screen on the SikaFlex. We have marked the wind screen and top skin, to enable lining it up correctly.

If all the preparations are done correctly it will fit. During preparations we had to bent the corners of the Wind Screen a little to make it fit better. This is done by heating them up with a heat gun (BE CAREFUL).

Use some clamps to make the corners stick in place. According to the plans of Van’s, we have created several small brackets to ‘clamp’ the Wind Screen to the skin.

Nice and now we have to wait a few days until the SikaFlex has fully cured.

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-02-24)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets: 40/0  (2021-02-28)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-03-03)

Video

The space between the Rear Skirt and the Fuselage was almost half an Inch on some places, especially where the Rear Skirt meets the Side Skirt. In several video’s I found that some RV builders just left the space as is, which is probably not an issue, but it just looks crappy. I decided I had to solve this.

I didn’t find many useful tips on how to create a better fit. Some builders just created fiberglass skirts from scratch, but besides the extra work, I like Aluminum.
I tried fluting strips of Aluminum and filling the ridges with resin, but it didn’t look good ad it creates a thick border layer with the Fuselage.

In the end I decided to cut the Rear Skirt into pieces, so I can individually bend them accordingly to the Fuselage. I first drill holes about two inches apart and almost three inches from the edge. This will prevent the cuts from cracking. This will probably not happen, because there is no stress on the Skirt, but … whatever.

Now I can attach fiberglass to the inside of the strips, close the Canopy with the strips tightly bend against the Fuselage an let the resin cure. The result is a excellent fitting Canopy. The excess of resin needs to be removed and to finish it, I used Aluminum putty.

Meanwhile in the background I’m working on the Panel. The holes for the USB chargers are already drilled and I’m now working on the holes for the EFIS.

I’m a sucker for symmetry, so the EMS (which looks identical to the EFIS is on the right side of the Panel.
In the middle at the bottom is the hole for the propeller controller.

I bought a Airmaster propeller that is specifically designed for the ULPower 520iSA engine. It’s a constant Speed propeller with a electrical governor (the ULPower engine does not support hydraulic governors).

Oh I also finished my AHARS system, which consists of an MGL SP6 Magnetometer and an SP7 Attitude sensor. I used the “standard” Van’s ADHARS bracket to install them. I can’t use the attachment holes, so I use thin rubber stickers and a Velcro ribbon (and also a tire-wrap) to secure them.

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  4/0  (2020-01-11)

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-10-18)

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-10-19)

Video

What I didn’t take into account is that this only works if the lighting holes that you can make in the Brace, the remaining strip of Skirt Brace an its position on the frame all have to be aligned. Now that I know this, I could have prevented drilling extra holes and de-dimple and cover mismatching holes. Probably a better solution is to drill the holes in the Skirt Brace first and after installing the Skirt drill the holes in the outer Skirt.

Similar to bonding the Canopy to the frame, we are also bonding the Skirts to the Canopy with Sikaflex. Hence we tape the Canopy where we don’t want primer (it’s really nasty stuff). We use Fine Tape and after that broad painters tape to protect the Canopy.

After the Primer has dried, we apply the Sikaflex to the Canopy (Bubble) and insert the inner Side Skirt and tho outer Side Skirt.

Now we need to clamp these tightly to the Canopy, so there is a nice bond. Note the right Skirt Brace with the Lighting Holes. You see the attach strips under the holes and these are not drilled yet. Aligning these with the Side Skirt is a challenge. I had to repair some mismatches.

The Rear Skirt is also bonded to the Canopy, so we use the same procedure at the aft side. Since the Top Strip is connected to the Rear Skirt we also need to tape that part.

We are not sure how much Canopy should be ‘left’ for bonding, but we figure an inch is more than sufficient.

Everything is taped and cleaned with degreaser, so now we can carefully apply the primer on both the Rear Skirt and the Canopy. The primer has two side effects: it dries while you apply it (too fast) and it ‘eats’ the brush. It probably ‘eats’ your lungs too.

When the primer is dry (and waiting for 30 minutes), we apply the Sikaflex to the Canopy. One line with a V-shaped nozzle.

The top strip is attached to the latch for reference and while pulling we push the Rear Skirt onto the Canopy.

I bought some extra clamps, because I knew we needed several places to clamp the Rear Skirt to the Canopy.
The result looks great, however…

What you don’t see is that the fit to the Canopy was not good. There was too much space between the Rear Skirt and the Fuselage Skin, especially at the part where Rear Skirt and Side Skirt meet. I took a lot of effort to make it tight, but I still failed. We have to find a solution to solve this issue.

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-09-02)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  1/0  (2020-09-05)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets: 40/0  (2020-09-06)

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets: 16/0  (2020-09-08)

Video

This modification can be installed on a finished RV, however if you install it while building it is less work. Also, since the track spine needs to be extended (there is an extension track in the Flyboys kit), I decided to ask Van’s for a longer track spine. Turns out they have one, which is actually for the RV-8.

The alignment between the original Van’s canopy track and the Supertrack must be precise to enable a fluent transition between both tracks. In the end you need some shims to even the ‘gaps’ (the shims are also provided in the Supertracks kit).

The rollers of the original canopy are modified with a second roller, which slide through the Supertrack. Again, because I install the Supertrack while building, I only have to build the final roller.

Just like the original rollers, the modified rollers are attached to the Canopy with a bolt through the front frame bar.

The Supertrack itself is attached to the fuselage just aft of the standard rail. Since there is no room besides the Supertrack, the attachment bolts are flush inside the track itself. That means you have to drill bigger holes through the track to be able to reach in with a screwdriver. You can see the ‘big hole’ here on the right side.

The aft side of the Supertrack is fastened to the baggage auxiliary bulkhead, with a small strip.

I’m hesitating to cut a piece of the top skin to enable the canopy to slide even further aft. The proposed trimmed area is mark red on the painters tape. In a later session I did trim this part, but it turns out the bolt that connects the Supertrack with the strip prevents the canopy sliding further than 1 extra inch.

So you can see here the canopy slid all the way back on the Supertrack, without trimming the top skin. Trimming did enable it to go back further, but don’t cut is aft the attachment bolt.

After installing the Supertrack, I continued on the canopy anchor blocks. These secure the aft side of the canopy when it is closed by the latch.

The hardest part is to drill the arresting hole in the block. I decided to incrementally drill it and then test the result by sliding it.

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets: 16/0  (2020-08-04)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-08-05)

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-08-06)

Video

First step is to check if everything fits just fine. I cut a garden hose for making spacers between the frame and the bubble. This will prevent direct contact between the plexiglass and the steel.

The latch hole in the front is a nice way to align the two pieces, in the back we have to make sure we hit the center.

Now we apply a layer of fine tape, which will determine where we stick the glue and we use painters tape to prevent glue to spill over the plexiglass.

The frame gets the same treatment. After the painters tape we apply a second layer of fine tape. This will be removed after priming, because you don’t want the tape sticking to the glue.

After applying the SikaFlex Activator, we can start priming with the SikaFlex primer.This stuff is ‘eating’ into the plexiglass, so you shouldn’t touch parts other than those you want to glue. Also it dries while you are applying it. Checkout how much the plexiglass can bend.

Also the frame is primed. The Sikaflex glue only sticks to the primer.

The primer should dry for about 30 minutes, before you start glue it together.

I use the following products:
* Sika aktivator-205
* Sikaflex 209N (you can also use 209D, but 209N is newer)
* Sikaflex 295UV

SikaFlex comes in two colors, black or white. I choose to keep my Canopy white on the inside, so I use white SikaFlex 295UV.

Now we can place the frame into the bubble and clamp everything together. Again don’t forget the spacers.

You need a lot of (small) clamps to keep the plexiglass close to the steel, but everywhere evenly distanced.

The sides are also clamped to make it fit with the Canopy side skirts later.

Done, we used an entire canister of SikaFlex. We probably could have used less, but there is no reason to spare, because we cannot use the rest immediately.

While drying I tested the Canopy and I must say it looks great.

Meanwhile, I’m also working on installing the fuel system. Here’s a look at the fuel pump and filters in the forward fuselage.

Another task is deciding the paint colors and the interior (leather) color. I decided purchase the upholstery from Robert Lemke in Germany.

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-07-26)

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-07-31)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-08-01)

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-08-02)

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-08-03)

Video

Continuing on the previous session, we are going to mark the exact location of where to make the Big Cut.

Today this we insert the Canopy frame that we fitted in the previous session and use a piece of aluminum strip on the inside to mark the place of the cut on the outside.

I like to use painters tape to mark the cut line, because for me it’s easier to follow tape than a Sharpie line.

Because it’s the middle of Summer and the sun is really nice the temperatures are high enough to cut plexiglass without extra heating.

Armed with an angle grinder, glasses, sound barrier and a respirator, we can now finally start cutting.

I was a little tensed because of the severity people discuss “The Big Cut”, but I must say it’s actually pretty easy (with the correct preparations).

Done, and really nice, so minimal post cutting work is required.

Just sanding the cut edges, to prevent tension spots that can grow into cracks.

With the canopy frame into the bubble, we can now mark the rear side of the Canopy bubble. We leave some overlap, because it’s our intention to bond the Frame and bubble as well as the aluminum rear skirts with SikaFlex, instead of screwing them together.

I’m getting better in cutting plexiglass by the minute.

Last step is the sides. I found out later that I did these too conservatively, but than again, better save than sorry.

Wauw, that really looks great. Unfortunately still a lot of work to do, before it will look like this.

The Canopy frame with bubble looks very promising.

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-07-18)

Video

The task is trimming down the Plexiglass bubble and determining where to cut the part in two. There are no redo’s here!

Measuring everything a dozen times doesn’t help either, because you end up at different locations.
Because we need to start drilling AND because the manual says Plexiglass likes high temperatures (30 degrees Centigrade), we pulled a blanket over the bubble and shoved a electric heater under it.

Turns out that even Dutch summers are good enough for Canopy trimming.

With the center lines drawn, we can start checking the Canopy frame. I’m clueless on how much forward or aft it should be and in the end you need to check the curvature of the Frame and match it with the Bubble (not a very exact science).

Once determined, we can drill the first hole, which holds the handle for the latch.

I used the unibit, which works really well on the Plexiglass. You can see the electric heater under the Canopy Bubble on the table. I guess it’s useless, but at least I tried.

No we need to gradually increase the hole, so the bushing of the Frame fits (as precise as possible).

With the exact location of the Frame set by the hole, we marked the parts that we could trim, to prepare for “The Big Cut”.

Last job is marking where this “cut” should be.

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-07-15)

Video

The special version of the Track Spine is actually a longer RV-8 Track Spine that makes the separate extension kit obsolete.
In order to determine the exact position of the Track Spine, we first need to install the Roll-bar again and temporarily attach the Canopy frame.

On the forward side of the Canopy frame there are two ‘rollers’ that enable the canopy to slide.

With the Canopy frame in place, we can now start determining the location of the Track Spine.

The Track Spine needs to be in the middle of the Fuselage, so that part is simple. However the forward – aft position is determined by the ‘bend’, which pushes the Canopy down when closing.

I use tape to temporarily attach the Track Spine to the Fuselage. This way I can still move it forward or aft.

The sliding rails of the Canopy also need to be (temporarily) fixed to the Fuselage, in order to be able to measure the position of the Canopy frame in relation to the Fuselage.

When the Canopy frame is in the forward position (Closed), the aft top part of the Canopy frame should be so low, that the Rear Skirts that are attached later, meet the top skin of the Fuselage.

The rest of the day I spent measuring and adjusting the Track Spine position, so it meets the specifications of the Van’s manual.

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-07-05)

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-07-07)

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-07-09)

Video

The next kit is the Finish kit, which is the last kit of the Van’s RV-7 and contains mainly the Canopy and the main Gear. We eagerly got the Canopy frame, but while reading ahead found out that we need to start with the Roll bar.

While working on the Empennage I had the Tailcone in the widest part of the workshop, in order to have sufficient workspace.

But most parts of the Finish kit are located at the forward part of the Fuselage. So time to turn it around.
The workshop is not big enough to turn the plane around, so we did that outside.

Determining the exact location of the Roll bar is easy, but attaching it to the Longerons isn’t. Also I figured out that I can not finish this part either until the forward top skin is riveted. There is no way you can reach the rivet holes in the longeron with a bucking bar if the Roll bar is installed.

The “to-do” list of tasks waiting for the forward top skin grows. Reason NOT to install the top skin is access to the forward fuselage for installing the fuel system and avionics.

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-07-01)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-07-02)

Video

The two top Stringers cannot be clecoed to the bulkhead, because it would prevent attaching the Top Skin itself. So according to the manual you have to tape it to the bulkhead.

Now I can fit the most aft Top Skin.

It’s not easy to cleco it, because it’s a tight fit and the order in which you fasten the cleco’s determines how easy it is.

Now that the aft most Top Skin is attached, the distance between the two bulkheads is set. However you can’t determine the location of the stringer. Since I didn’t trust my tape, I measured the distance between the rivet lines on the forward (aft) Top Skin and marked it on the stringer to “center” it between the bulkheads.

Adding the 709 bulkhead to the aft side. It’s easy to insert and remove it.

The forward (aft) Top Skin didn’t fit nicely, I had to apply too much tension to insert the cleco’s. So although the vinyl is thin, I determined to remove the inside vinyl on both the Top Skin as well as the overlapped outside vinyl.

This worked better, although it’s still a very tight fit. I needed to insert some cleco’s on the inside, because I was unable to insert them from the outside. Besides the tight fit, the fact the holes are also under-sized makes it a hard combination.

Another detail is clecoing the angle which attaches the rib / channel between the bulkheads. Apparently it’s impossible to (for Van’s) to pre-manufacture the channel, however I don’t see why.

Very slowly this starts too look like an aircraft.

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets: 34/0 (2019-12-31)

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-01-02)

Video