Hi Ken, They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it has always been my personal opinion that the original flat windshield and smaller rear windows look better.
The market value argument is also accurate. There are those of us who simply would not purchase an airframe with the large rear windows (absent sufficient financial discount to restore the damage). I also do not like either the appearance or the additional drag from the Forney rubber lock-bead rear window installations, although some owners install the larger windows with screws. The difficulties of properly sealing flat windscreens back in the forties are gone with modern sealants. The originals were made of clear .065 Vinylite, the same thickness used on the rear windows and side screens. Buying sheet material, fabricating and installing a flat windscreen is inexpensive and not all that difficult. Bubbles are twice as expensive and, typically being .080 Plexi, are heavier. Most owners hire professionals to trim and install them. Not all professionals are able to do this well, at least the first time. Regards, WRB -- On Feb 21, 2010, at 14:00, ercoupe1 wrote: > My friend has a uncut/unaltered 1947 415D. He want's to replace all > the glass with new glass and he's leaning towards the bubble > windshield and larger rear windows. I am beside myself and attempting > to talk him out of it. Once cut, you can't go back and the original > look is classic and difficult to go back to at best. I guess my > question would be, if you had the option where would you go? Are there > any real speed gains with the double D's windshield? I just don't like > it because it's not original. What do the masses say?....Ken >
