Canopy Bows
So OnexMike’s technique didn’t work for me. I lined up the bow with the template and pounded it with the rubber hammer and nothing happened except a lot of bouncing. I’m not sure how he got it to work. No problem. I had a plan “B” which was to make a bending break. That worked well. Though it was a bit of a puzzle to figure out where exactly the bends were needed.
Kerry, Sonex support, insists that all my missing parts are my responsibility. Oh well. My solutions:
- Canopy Latch Handle: I made one today with some extra aluminum angle
- Phenolic (plastic) for latch wear plate: I tested the windshield plastic and found it to be very similar in strength and texture, So I used that instead. See picture below.
- Square tube: Used for the sides of the canopy frame. Funny enough, the kit included enough of this to make one side, but not enough to make both. I ordered more.
- Round tube: Used to make cross brace on back of canopy. I ordered extra square tube for this.
The picture below shows the rear latch wear plate that I installed. Some extra aluminum spacers were added to remove some of the slack. Sadly, the front wear plate wouldn’t fit because the throttle mount is in the way. I had to cut it in half and use only one bolt to attach it. Not sure how the plans missed this.