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Canopy Leaks?

rspall

I'm New Here
Forgive my learning curve... Informed choices are the best!

Trying to decide between purchasing an RV14 and RV7, and there are quite a few criteria on my list, one of which I need to research some more...

A few "RV7 folk" have warned me to be careful (not dismiss completely) purchasing a tip up canopy RV7 because of the potential for water leakage which can fry my avionics!

I already own a Canadian Advanced Ultralight which is a tip up, and have no leakage issues - any water leakage is naturally (because of design) channeled away from my avionics!

Of course, RV14 only offers tip up, so... can anyone comment on first hand experience with RV14 tip up and canopy leaks?

Is it difficult to build an RV14 that leaks (in other words is it designed so well that it is hard to f**k up) , or does it take good build skills to avoid a leaky canopy?

Finally, where does the leakage / runoff end up?

Thank you
 
Hinge leaks

I've been flying my -14A for 5 years and nearly 1000 hours and love the airplane.

But I have repeatedly tried to solve water leaks through the canopy hinges with no luck. I use only an inside canopy cover which means there is no external cover over the hinges. The problem isn't in flight, but when parked outside in the rain or when I'm washing it. The plane is hangared so this isn't a big issue but one I can't seem to solve.

The water drips onto the floor on both sides and I put towels there if rain is expected. No electrical components are exposed to it.
 
On mine I used gasket sealer under the hinges when I finally placed them. They are super flimsy and hard to get right. I made up about 4 sets, destroyed 2 seeing about how to set them correctly, and placed the third with the gasket sealer all around. I think Loctite 518 but can't be sure now. I tested a few days later with a hose and there wasn't a leak. I flew about 100 hours before painting and no leak in IFR or washing before or since.

You can buy plastic covers, and I tried that. But they were prone to catch the aluminum lip and made a nasty dent so I went back to the original design.

I suppose it will eventually fail, and then I'll have to razor them out and see about the paint again. But for now all is good.
 
Building a good canopy is perhaps the hardest part of the project but in case of the 14, it is by far simpler than 7 and more assured to have a great fitting/looking canopy.
As for sealing for water, it does take a bit of care but not too difficult. But the water is mostly thru the hinge area and it goes straight to the floor. It will take some pretty good "f**k up" to get it to go to the avionics and fry them.


@Bill,
You might want to try to cover the hinge cover area with piece of clear bra material. It is hard to see and it is not premenet but will put an end to the water leak from there. Something like this and you only need a 2"x3" at most for each hinge.
https://www.amazon.com/3M-Clear-Paint-Protection-36-inches/dp/B00CLIP7QQ
 
The clear bra material is awesome. I use it on my Jeep fenders and it is super resilient. You can't see it unless you look for it. Probably easier than fussing with sealants too.
 
I spent a little time with the rv-14 at their sun n fun tent, just trying to get the feel for it. I kept coming back around scratching my head over teh canopy set-up....
Regardless, Seems to me that the leak problem in the 14 would likely be worse with the conventional gear version

I've been wondering if anyone has modified the canopy by extending the hinge line forward so the run off would fall further forward on the cowling. I've seen few composite planes with that arrangement as well as an overlap "gutter" for the lack of a better word
here's one example I found at random
 

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