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Composite-ARF YAK 55SP (3m span)
Unless you are in a very warm room, we rec-
ommend that the canopy is slightly warmed
up with a hair dryer to prevent cracking, but be
careful not to melt or deform it! When the
canopy fits inside the frame, tape it into posi-
tion temporarily, and accurately mark the edge
of the frame on the canopy with a wax crayon.
Remove the canopy and trim exactly to
shape, leaving about 6mm overlap outside the
line all around.
Tape the clear canopy into position on the
inside of the frame, and refit the frame to the
fuselage and bolt into position. Make visual
check from the front and back to make sure
sure that the canopy is straight. Make several
handles with strong tape, as shown, to make
holding and positioning the canopy easier.
Using the tape 'handles', pull the canopy up
tightly inside the back of the frame and fix the
bottom 2 back corners with one very small drop of odorless CA each (ZAP-O recommended).
Check again that the canopy is straight, viewing from the back and front.
Using the tape handles to pull the canopy outwards firmly against the frame, working from the
back towards the front, glue the edges of the canopy in place in 2 more places each side, with
just a single small drop of odorless CA at each position, all the time checking that the edge of
the canopy is tight up against the frame at the front.
Note: Do NOT use any CA accelerator/kicker - you will immediately 'fog' the clear canopy!
Now that the canopy is fixed in position and cannot twist or warp anymore, you can carefully
remove the canopy frame from the fuselage, and use a specialised canopy glue (eg: ZAP
Formula 560) or slow epoxy and micro-balloons mixture for gluing all the edges to the frame on
the inside surface (see photo above). It is most important that the canopy cannot come off in
flight, so make sure that the bead of glue traps the clear canopy firmly in place. Re-secure the
canopy frame onto the fuselage with all 4 bolts while the epoxy-microballoons mixture is curing
to prevent any warps or twists.
If you want a completely rattle-free canopy, you can fill any slight gaps at the front and back of
the frame with a bead of clear silicone. Apply shiny brown plastic tape to the front and back
edges of the opening in the fuselage and wax twice with clear car wax. Sand lightly, and de-
grease edges of canopy frame where the silicone will be applied. Apply a small bead of clear sil-
icone to the front end of the frame only, and secure the frame into position with all 4 bolts until
cured. Remove frame, and trim off excess silicone with a very sharp knife. Then repeat for the
back edge. Do not try to do the back and front at the same time - or you will find it very difficult
to get the canopy frame off the fuselage!
techsupport@composite-arf.com
(below) Duct-tape handles used to pull the
clear canopy against the canopy frame while glu-
ing it in position with a few small drops of odor-
less-CA. Remove canopy and secure the edges
of the clear canopy with a bead of epoxy to trap
it in place (see photo above)
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