David Wade wrote: "The part I am emulating is Mark Langfords canopy hinges. I was wondering the procedure that He used to install them as what I want to do is install them and keep them securely in place. Any Ideas?"
I'm not sure what you mean by needing more details on how I installed the hinges. I assume you've seen the details at http://www.n56ml.com/kcf.html , but maybe not. The only detail I can see missing is that on one end they are fastened to a bulkhead that's glassed into the front deck (visible in the 17th and 19th photos from the top), which serves as a huge stiffener for the front deck, but its main purpose is to support the canopy frame. The bulkhead is 3/8 inch foam with about two layers of 9 ounce glass on each side, rolled around the bottom so it's all continuous, and glassed to the bottom of the deck so it's pretty solid. I carved out the hinge attach locations out of the foam and inserted something like 2"x3" spruce blocks where the hinges attached to the bulkheads, BEFORE glassing the foam. They are quite solid, and likely overkill. Other details of the installation at http://www.n56ml.com/kcf.html should be thorough enough, I'd think. I think a more space/weight efficient and stiffer (side to side) setup is what John Martindale is using, which is similar to the Bambi's canopy hinge system, mounted out at the longerons. See http://john-martindale-kr2.zxq.net/ for that idea. I'm probably even going to do something similar to that with Jim Faughn's side swinging canopy...mount external hinges made from carbon fiber that allow the canopy to swing up from the front instead of to the side, then remove the side hinge. His turtle deck is already stiff enough to support the hinges out at the longerons, and the load page is short and direct to the longerons. The advantages to a front hinged canopy are many, including self closing, lots of cooling air in the summertime, and more importantly, the ability to sit up on the seat back and have a great view while taxiing a taildragger. Mark Langford Teledyne Brown Engineering m/s 40 300 Sparkman Drive Huntsville, AL 35807 mark.langf...@tbe.com 256-726-5452 (w) 256-529-5548
