Hi Denny, I have replaced the side windows several times over the years. They are cheap enough and easy enough to replace that when they become scrached or cracked they should be replaced. The cost of the plastic locally is less than $20.00 and the rivets are not much of a problem. The first time I replaced the canopy I used Lexan which is very nice to work with because it is so resistant to cracking. Plexiglas is very easy to crack when drilling and riviting the end pieces. I had my new plexiglas pieces in about two weeks before I got to thinking about whether crack resistant is a good thing in an Ercoupe. It seems to me that in the event of a crash I would want the canopy to crack or be crackable so that I could get out of the airplane easily. Lexan would be very poor in this respect. Competitive aerobatic aircraft normally carry a canopy opener in the form of a heavy knife or ax secured to the inside of the cockpit for this use. Automobiles are built in this way for the same reason. The windshield is safety glass designed to prevent the entrance of forign objects and the exit of bodies in the event of an accident. The remaining glass in a car is tempered glass designed to break into small pieces which will do little damage in an accident and which will provide many escape points in the event that the doors are not availible. Replacing the side windows is generally an owner permitted piece of preventative maintainance and both plexiglass and Lexan are suitable for this application so the work and the choice is up to you. Good Luck, Bob Condon
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