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Hey guys. Well today was awesome. The good news is I got to ride in a AT802.. bad news is they ripped my canopy off..

I parked my Sonex at the pumps in the grass to avoid them and latched my windshield in best I could but not completely as I've had issues when things get cold I can't get the canopy to open. Well once I got my ride, I walked back to fly home and as I opened my canopy one of these guys flipped that old Pratt Whitney around and blasted me ripping the canopy from my hands and bent my rear bow and cracked my immaculate canopy. I assessed the damage and decided it was airworthy for the 15 minute hop home. It was at 8,000 feet the frame cracked and the crack got bigger. I landed and stop drilled, as well as sleeved the bow. I also glued a heated up piece of lexan to the spot so I can keep flying. (I use it to commute)

I ordered 2 new canopies (my taildragger needs one but i got a spare Iif something happens) and the bow. I spent ALOT of time getting this canopy right and don't want to do it again. But I plan on doing a better job at sealing this one up as I live in Louisiana and it likes to rain.

My question is, my wife works with this stuff for a living. She says if I pull the canopy she can basically copy it and move holds. My friend has told me that it needs to be fit from scratch and I can't copy. I wanted to get your guys advice so I can tool up properly.

Oh, and by the way the comment on my last post that said I don't listen to anyone and do what I want, respectfully understand that Im just looking for advice and tips. Im doing the best I can and having tons of fun doing it!

If your wife can copy it from the same material, likely at a lot less money than buying a new one, ...why the hell not. It would not be the first time in experimental aviation that builders molded their own canopies. I used to read about it all the time in the 80's and 90's. Give it a go, save some dough! You can always buy one if that doesn't work.

I think he's asking whether it's possible to trace the outline and possibly the drilled holes of the old canopy onto the new material. I've wondered this too as it would be extremely convenient. I suspect the new canopy would end up being a bit larger and still need to be trimmed down, but it might required less iteration overall. I doubt the holes will copy, unfortunately.

I haven't had to do this yet, though.

Had similar problem when freak gust of wind pulled my canopy out of my hand. As with yours, the bow bent a bit at the lower corner on the hinge side. The design is such that this will always be the weak point. Mine did not crack, but left the canopy slightly out of shape. My canopy is bonded and I did not want to risk over bending in opposite direction to bring it back so added a simple diagonal brace from bottom corner at the hinge to just past center at the top. This follows the line of the turtle deck bulkhead and does not interfere with access to baggage area when in flight. If your crack is not too bad, adding this might be a quick fix until you get around to installing anew one. The brace is bisected at the horizontal cross brace that is part of the rear bow, and attached to it. Have someone force the rear bow back into shape from the outside while you work on the inside. Attempting to install this with canopy open or removed will result in a shape that does not match the turtle deck.

Big added bonus. Add this brace to your new canopy, it not only strengthens the weakest part, but makes the entire canopy seem much more solid and less like a flop piece of plastic.

If wanting a photo of this, PM me with your direct e-mail, no good way to attach files here.

David A.

DCASonex wrote:If wanting a photo of this, PM me with your direct e-mail, no good way to attach files here.

David A.

If you reply and then go to full editor at the bottom there are two tabs one for options the other to upload an attachment. You should be able to post the pic that way no problem. On a sepreate note i would also be interested in seeing the picture of this modification.

Attempting to attach couple of photos of that canopy diagonal brace, will see what happens. Note; the brace is bisected by the existing horizontal cross bar and is spliced to it with simple splice plate riveted each side, same concept used to attach ends of brace to the bow.

Clicked "preview" and it looks like photos are attached. Thanks for your help.

David A.

That looks great, are you happy with the rigidity as is? you could make it a full A frame if you wanted to make it a bit more rigid but that looks awesome.

DCASonex wrote:Attempting to attach couple of photos of that canopy diagonal brace, will see what happens. Note; the brace is bisected by the existing horizontal cross bar and is spliced to it with simple splice plate riveted each side, same concept used to attach ends of brace to the bow.

Clicked "preview" and it looks like photos are attached. Thanks for your help.

David A.

That brace is exactly what I envisioned building. What materials did you use? same tubing the frame calls for?

Thats a great idea David. It would triangulate the wobbly frame in both for and aft as well as sideways.

Very nice David. It looks like you could very easily add a second brace exactly the same to the left lower corner. Does it seem like this would be further improvement?

Gordon