RivetBangers.com

Posted here as a warning to all - don't be like me!

I was trying to get the profile of the square tubing to match the fuselage. The left side was perfect out of the box.. the aft end of the right side needed to come inboard about 1/4 inch. I was using the "jump on frame between blocks" method of precision construction. After a few jumps I moved it about 1/16", so I thought more jumps would move it the rest of the way.

I took 1 jump too far



I'm sure the canopy frame is trashed, after less than 1 day of work. The square tubing is cracked clean thru in the corners.

This will be expensive and time consuming. I was so happy to be back to the project again... now this will surely take the wind out of me.

Maybe it could be welded, but I don't know anyone who does that and then I'm sure it would need to be bent even more. I'd probably just trash it again when I got it back :mad::mad:

I don't recommend the jump technique - even for a 175# builder.

Wondering why I'm building at all....

That really takes the wind out of the guy

Tomorrow will be better.

Don't sweat it...things happen. Frustrating for sure, but it ain't the end of the world or your build for that matter. Just getting back to work makes this sting a bit more, but it's just a part. Work on something else or figure out a way to make a nice (as can be) patch for it after cutting out the trashed area...

Is Van's making the rollbar out of one piece square tubing now, rather than having the builder make it?

And for the icing on the cake - apparently I pulled a muscle or achilles tendon or something jumping on the canopy, because now my left foot is swollen and I'm immobilized and in a LOT of pain! Figures!

The rollbar (on the windscreen) is made of big round tubing. What I broke was the bottom rail on the sliding canopy - it is made of square tubing.

Maybe I'll just order another one and a canopy to go with it, cause I'll probably break that too.

Thanks for the encouragement guys - maybe its the pain meds, but I'm not quite ready to give up tonight

Take it to a welder. They'll be able to fix it(no one else will know) and then get it powder coated to a custom color. You'll have custom frame for the same cost or less.

You have my sympathies, x 200. I have asked myself 'why?' more times than I can remember. Its a learning experience, and an enjoyable one when things are going smoothly. Sometimes though I find that pushing on is purely a matter of stubbornness.

Some days the project is one of the best things Ive ever started and some days its a boat anchor around my neck. Give it a few days for the emotions to calm. You will get back up and start plodding along again. Keep us informed on how it goes.

Never feel ashamed by asking 'why am I doing this'. And quite honestly, if you ever wake up and decide to stop the project for whatever reason, don't be ashamed of that either.

As for the frame, get a piece of tubing, bend it to the correct profile, and have a local guy cut and weld it in place. Then have it powder coated. Youll probably do that a whole bunch cheaper than what Van's will charge for a new one *AND* you can tell someone its a custom canopy frame


Spike

And on your foot - if you are unable to bear weight or at least it hurts like hell, better get that checked out and xrayed to rule out a fracture. The bones in particular from the mid foot to the base of the toes are prone to fractures when jumping on canopy parts . Hope it is not... .

cnpeters wrote:And on your foot - if you are unable to bear weight or at least it hurts like hell, better get that checked out and xrayed to rule out a fracture. The bones in particular from the mid foot to the base of the toes are prone to fractures when jumping on canopy parts . Hope it is not... .

Yes, ladies and gents...he IS a doc!!

Ah...I was thinking tip up with the square roll bar...

cnpeters wrote:The bones in particular from the mid foot to the base of the toes are prone to fractures when jumping on canopy parts . Hope it is not... .

Well, the foot is better... I think I overextended my achilles tendon (sp?) and the whole back side of my foot swelled up! A bunch of industrial strength Motrin and some time spent not jumping on canopy parts seems to have mostly done the track.

Wish the canopy would heal Going to see a welding friend this evening.

Dave,

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope your foot gets better. If your repaired canopy need further bending, here is the method I used.

Get a long 4x4 and a short 6" piece of 2x4. Round slightly the ends of the 2x4 piece. Attach it to the center of the 4x4. Place the piece to be bent parallel to the 4x4 with the 2x4 in the spot to be bent. Take a couple of "C" clamps and SLOWLY, tighten them to begin to bend the metal tube around the 2x4. Loosen the clamps often and check the results. Repeat as necessary.

Hope this helps. Good Luck.

Steve Chia, metal master extraordinaire, repaired my canopy frame this evening. We began by pounding the tube square, and used the grinder to clean off the powdercoat on the cracked area. Next Steve cleaned up the crack with a dremel cutoff wheel.

I had made a cardboard template of the countoured fuselage side - we transferred that to a sturdy piece of wood. We then clamped the canopy to the wood template (lined with a bit of aluminum). The clamps removed the excess bend in the frame and held it tight and at the correct profile while Steve closed up the crack with the oxy/acetylene torch and a bit of welding rod.

We let the frame cool, release the clamps, and voila - no spring back at all. The frame was now the correct shape and very sturdy. All that remained was a bit of grinding, then a very small amount of bondo for cosmetic reasons. After I prime it and paint it the repair will be invisible. This dark picture doesn't do the repair justice.



I put the frame back on the fuselage and it matches the countours perfectly.

Thanks to all who offered encouragement and/or technical support... but most of all:

THANKS STEVE!!!!

I'll be first to say it.....Told ya' so!

See how easy that was. I find we worry about stuff a lot more than needed. It's just parts and pieces and we're all human. BTW, worried about plenty of stuff myself. I cut my tip up rollbar to short and had to buy new frame pieces....felt awful and pissed off at the time. Now I don't even recall how much it cost, don't care, looks great now.


Congrats on moving on

Now that is what I like to see. Most Excellent!!

Spike

Good work and glad your foot is okay. Perserverance not skill builds airplanes. Not stubborness either as my wife claims! Van's told me in 1999 the average builder will spend $300.00 on replacement parts but you will probably avoid that. However I went over my Quota But flying it is worth while

Bob Barrett wrote:Good work and glad your foot is okay. Perserverance not skill builds airplanes. Not stubborness either as my wife claims! Van's told me in 1999 the average builder will spend $300.00 on replacement parts but you will probably avoid that. However I went over my Quota But flying it is worth while

300 bucks....... crap I blew that on the empennage