CARF-Models Sukhoi SU-31
11
Canopy Installation
The canopy frame mounting has
already been completed at the
factory for you. It is held in place
with 4 bolts (M4 x 12mm) and the
holes are counter-bored so the
bolt-heads sit flush with the
fuselage surface. Fitting the clear
canopy into the frame is a little bit
tricky, but this is a step by step
guide of how to do it successfully:
Sand the inside edges of the
canopy frame carefully with rough
sandpaper, to ensure a perfect fit
of the canopy inside. Lay the
canopy on top of the frame, and
mark the rough shape with a felt
pen or wax crayon. Cut the outer
border of the clear canopy with
sharp scissors, about 12mm
(1/2”) too big all around. Unless
you are in a very warm room, we
recommend 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 roughly, mark the final cut line.
Then cut it to exact shape with a 6 - 8 mm overlap all around. Make several hand-
holds with wide paper masking tape (see photo) to make holding and positioning
the canopy easy. Push the canopy up tightly inside the back of the frame and fix
the bottom back corners with one drop of slow CA (ZAP-O or Plasti-ZAP
recommended).
Note:
Do NOT use any CA accelerator/kicker - you will
immediately ‘fog’ the clear canopy! Tape the front of the canopy to the frame
temporarily. Mount the canopy frame to the fuselage (use all 4 bolts), and tape
the back of the canopy frame tightly to the fuselage. Using the masking 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 CA at each position, all the time
checking the edge of the canopy is tight up against the frame at the front. Make a
visual check from the front and back to make sure the canopy is straight. Now the
canopy is fixed in position and cannot twist or warp. Carefully glue the canopy
firmly in place. You can either complete the gluing from the outside, allowing the
CA glue to wick into the joint between the frame and the clear plastic or, if you
prefer, you can carefully remove the canopy frame from the fuselage, and use a
30 minute or a 24hr epoxy and micro-balloon mixture gluing all the edges to the
frame on the inside surface. Even if you use the CA glue method, we highly
recommend that you also glue the inside edges with the epoxy mixture to be sure
the canopy cannot come off in flight.
