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Canopy and windscreen replacement

benrevak

benrevak

I'm New Here
Hi all,

An RV has been a dream since I sat in one as kid at Oshkosh, and am finally in a place where I am able to purchase one. I’ve owned a Cessna 120 since 2011, and a Mooney M20c for ~4 years so no stranger to maintaining an aircraft, but have never done fabrication work.

I’m between a 7 and a 9, and recently I looked at an RV9 that has a ~12 inch crack in sliding canopy beginning from the upper trailing edge, and I am looking for some help understanding how you experienced RV folks would view this in light of making a purchasing decision. Per the current owner, crack formed around 2 years ago and was stop drilled and glued with Weld On 3, with no cracking since. However, you can see in attached photo there is clearly a second crack starting off of the main crack, which hasn’t yet been stop drilled.

In addition, there is a ~3 inch crack on windscreen beginning at one of the attachment points. This has not been stop drilled.

I do not have the knowledge, experience or time to undertake a repair/replacement like this myself.

That said.. would you even consider flying this aircraft as it looks today? Is there anyone who offers canopy/windscreen replacement for RV’s? Anything else I should be considering?

Looking forward to joining the RV grin club with my own plane, and want to make a sound decision on what plane to acquire.

I greatly appreciate any and all advice!

Ben
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The -9 is a great choice from the fleet. To replace the canopy and windshield is one of the most time consuming parts of the build, if you're doing it yourself, if not I would get some quotes for the work and expect a high price.
 
Im in the UK so cant help with that, im sure someone nearer you will be along soon with some info. If you go ahead. consider having the canopy fixed using Sikka instead of rivets, the only hole necessary is the one for the latch/handle.

All the best, Chris
 
FasGlas said:
If you do some searching you'll find lots of threads concerning canopy cracks and your options...
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I think I’ve read them all 😆 this forum has been my primary source of knowledge during this search, but haven’t seen any recommendations for individuals or companies that offer fabrication and installation of replacement canopies.
 
thing is most buyers don't realize, is that they are acquiring an amateur (or supposedly so...) aircraft.
This means, for a starter, that same as in the H-D world, no two are the same.
It also means that the buyer is expected to have a certain understanding of tech issues, mostly re maintenance and repairs.
Having either resolved by a certified or else third party will be difficult, as non-certified people rather work on theirs or close friends, and certified often don't wanna get involved in any homebuilt.

This means the last options is to do as all builders did, learn as much as you can (ressources have never been as plentiful as today) and do it yourself.
Or stick to some certified spam can.

Your choice really 😎
 
While it is a pain in the butt to buy a new airplane and have to immediately dig in and fix it…you will get to know it better. The canopy requires some finesse and patience to get right. I think if you found a shop willing to do it, you’d be shocked at the sticker price.

I’d negotiate the price significantly lower as in $10-$15k usd…just the canopy and freight and wait time is gonna cost you a chunk and then dig in, go step by step per the manual and ask questions here and you’ll find you can do it.
 
Fly an RV, not a builder so take that into consideration but if I was in your situation I'd 1) reach out to my local EAA chapter for their input on local resources, and/or 2) with OSH26 right around the corner & so close to your home, time spent there would help identify other RV's for sale that don't require taking on such an involved repair. Flying one now versus months of repairs sounds the better option to me.
 
Dan 57 said:
This means the last options is to do as all builders did, learn as much as you can (ressources have never been as plentiful as today) and do it yourself.
Or stick to some certified spam can.
Click to expand...
Not the only choices. As an extremely clueless non-builder (“a man’s gotta know his limitations”), on the occasions when I’ve needed professional help with maintenance/repair, I’ve never had any trouble finding qualified people to do the work. This is actually one of the major advantages of buying an RV, it’s by now a well known quantity that doesn’t tend to frighten people who deal mostly or even exclusively with the certified world.

When obtaining such assistance you do generally enter the realm of certified airplane pricing however. 🤣
 
Option 1: if you can patch over the crack area with fiberglass, fill in smooth, and repaint the patched area, then the cracks are stopped permanently. If the patch is carefully done, no one will notice anything different.

Option 2: Full on replacement. I built my RV8 canopy twice and they were a PIA both time, the 2nd time was easier but still PIA. The shipping cost for a new un-trimmed canopy should be in the thousands. Then you have to trim and fit it. This it the PIA part. If you can find a RV9 or RV7 builder within a few hours driving distance, you can offer to pay him to build it for you. Since he has built it before, the 2nd time should be easier, but still a PIA and expensive.

I would choose Option1 to patch up the affected area, and any decent paint shop can smooth out the fiberglass work and repaint to match to the existing airplane. Nobody will notice the repair.
 
Unless you can buy it for a really good price, I would walk away. If your heart's set on it, have an experienced builder A&P do the pre-buy.

As far as the repair/replacement, it won't be easy to cut the windshield off. If built according to plan, the foreward edge is fiberglassed to the top skin and the canopy attached with fasteners underneath. Canopy can be removed and worked on the bench. If built to plan, it's attached to the frame with fasteners.

Significant cost to do both plus buy parts. I would estimate over $10K and months of work.
 
benrevak said:
Hi all,

…for ~4 years so no stranger to maintaining an aircraft, but have never done fabrication work.


…I do not have the knowledge, experience or time to undertake a repair/replacement like this myself.
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Homebuilding is having a few different tools & being willing to learn some different skill sets. Homebuilding usually comes with a mindset of self reliance, of wanting to know their machine completely.

Now getting past that ‘thought of the day…’ if you think you are getting a good price factoring canopy work later, buy it. You live in an area rich with homebuilding experience. You should be able to find someone willing to take on that task, or at least, folks who could mentor you through it.
 
benrevak said:
I do not have the knowledge, experience or time to undertake a repair/replacement like this myself.
Click to expand...
In that case, I would walk away from this airplane. That is, unless you LOVE everything else about this airplane and the seller agrees to knock like $20k off the price for the cost and inconvenience of replacing the canopy.
 
Stop drill the new cracks, repair with Plasifix and enjoy the plane. You can replace the canopy, if you want, later down the road. Gives you time to learn how to do it. Ask for a reduced price for the repairs.
 
Looking at the workmanship I suspect that the rest of the plane is similar. I would tend to think about walking away from that one.
 
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