Thorp Air Command - T18.net

Photo survey time folks. Looking for some examples of how everyone finished off their windshield trim strip at the bottom sides. Working on mine now.....have made patterns for the windshield and canopy and just fitted the windshield trim piece. I currently have a bit of it running forward and blending into the skin. Wondering how everyone tucked, fitted, and trimmed this area.

Thanks for the help.

ss

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Scott Stine
Vincennes, IN
812-881-7923
Arrow 545WA

Did you mean this area ? I did not use a foward trim strip on the windshield. The over the top piece I tucked in between the skin and the roll bar. I also put a beveled edge on all my trim strips. To do that I modified an edge roller with a hardwood guide so I could clamp it into a vise and pull the entire length of the trim strip thru it, thereby maintaining a constant edge. [:p]

RB

Image Insert:

That is exactly where I am talking about. But how does the canopy side skirt trim tuck under the windshield trim strip....magic. The canopy skirt is outside the sideskin and the windshield trim strip is inside the sideskin.....? What does it look like closed...?

Thanks for the help.

SS

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Scott Stine
Vincennes, IN
812-881-7923
Arrow 545WA

Scott,
There's no magic, the side skirt goes up to the side skin/canopy rail edge. When the canopy is closed it tucks up right into the windshield trim strip. The lower front corner of the canopy frame needs to be rounded a bit though.

Here's a sketch ...

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Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

Scott ... As a disclaimer that's just one way to do it ... you can also drop the canopy trim below the side rail if so desired, but you'll just have to shim the windshield trim piece out a bit at the side skin. Look at N718DR for an example of that ... in fact look at N27DW for the other above outlined method as well.

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Lee Walton
Houston, TX
N51863,N118LW
KEFD

I have posted some pix of N711SH and the Starr project that may help in showing the windshield trim-out. I made the boot cowl sheet longer and bent it up to slide the plex under the metal. The last four pix show the tool used for this. The fuselage needs to shimmed out where it goes over the roll bar to accomodate the windshield thickness.

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Bob Highley
N711SH
SN 835
KLAL

Just like Lee sez, that's how I did mine. Canopy trim tucks up under the windshield trim when closed. Took a lot of work to get it just right.

RB

Thanks Bob, I have a nice flange rolled up and I think that with a little "wedge" to shim the skin away from the Roll Bar then I think that I can shoehorn in the rubber, glass, rubber, trim strip, and sideskin over the top. Did you use #8's or #6 screws into the roll bar....? Seems like some go by plans for #8 and some use #6. Never been a size matters kinda guy, but just taking a poll.

thanks

SS

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Scott Stine
Vincennes, IN
812-881-7923
Arrow 545WA

That is one neat flange tool ! Wish I had one like it when I did mine. [;)]

RB

I used #8's as the slightly larger washers give more "wiggle room" for fine tuning. However, the S-18 in the background of the hangar pix used #6. I believe it gives him a slight speed advantage.

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Bob Highley
N711SH
SN 835
KLAL

The first flange tool was a broken wheel borrow handle with a slot cut in it and plenty of grease. The roller has many uses, besides Thorps, Rv's, I used it to put wheel wells in Model A fenders.

Now I don't feel so bad not having that large flanging tool (still wish I had it). My tools of choice were several aluminum bars (different widths) with a slot cut into them (corners rounded and the slot polished) and carefully bending up the windshield flange a wee bit at a time.

RB

I have been using hardwood with a slot cut in it. It seems to stretch the material. I like the idea of rollers. that would make it less likely to stretch.

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Cubes
831GR
Las Vegas

Even using my method I still got some of that "stretch." I blended in the imperfections with a wee bit of high tech filler. To date it has not cracked or flaked and looks very good. The roller seems to be the ticket ! [;)]

RB

I've made up several different rollers for different jobs. The roller Bob posted we made when we were installing a removable windshield in the RV7 we were building. one set of rollers were three bearings stacked to give 3/4" edge, the other roller was made from nylon with a 3/8" edge radius. The long bar allows you to control pressure when forming. I installed a wheel well yesterday in a '31 Model A that has 18 ga. steel fenders.