FT Spitfire Canopy

[Flynn]

Ok guys, this is what I have so far. Thanks to Doglover for the original idea!

When you put this thing together, it's a B fold and I would cut the base rounded ends a bit bigger and trim to fit. Or cut one and see if it looks good.

The turtle deck, fold the middle part over and get a good placement on the ribs. If you cut the turtle deck long on the ends, you will be able to trim it with scissors

Glue along the top part. You can glue the middle part first, then the front and back



Then I was gluing the front and back sections down. If you leave these long (dotted lines on the plans) you can trim them for a better fit.



Then glue middle section. The front lines up, the back kinda hangs over.



And this is it on the plane.






This is the plan. Print no scale, or check scale on the inch line.

 

[NewZee]

Flynn, Looks good, I might try one out of clear plastic? thnaks for the plan.

 

[Blenderite]

Wow, you actually succeed with the former's. That is where I failed. Good job!

How did you get the shapes correct? Trial and error? I tried using Blender and a export as paper model add-on. Worked OK, but less than ideal.

 

[Flynn]

Flynn, Looks good, I might try one out of clear plastic? thnaks for the plan.

I was thinking the same thing about a clear one during my 3 hour drive to a service call on Saturday. I've seen guys on youtube make a replacement cowl for planes with a wood form, clear plastic bottle and some heat. I think I'll try that around the foam one. Maybe try a wood form, depends on how long the winter is

 

[Flynn]

Wow, you actually succeed with the former's. That is where I failed. Good job!

How did you get the shapes correct? Trial and error? I tried using Blender and a export as paper model add-on. Worked OK, but less than ideal.

Yeah it was trial and error. I used blender back in the day (2001) lol. It's changed a lot since then.

 

[Craftydan]

Flynn,

That's excellent work -- Makes for a simple and well shaped canopy!

Have you considered writing this up for an article on the main page? This is exactly what the articles were created for!

 

[Jaxx]

Flynn,

I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I can't seem to get the entire image to print. Any tips on printing?

 

[Flynn]

Flynn,

That's excellent work -- Makes for a simple and well shaped canopy!

Have you considered writing this up for an article on the main page? This is exactly what the articles were created for!

Thanks Dan! That's a good idea, I haven't created one, but I'll giving a try.

 

[Flynn]

Flynn,

I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. I can't seem to get the entire image to print. Any tips on printing?

Hmm, I'll check it out.

 

[Jaxx]

Actually, I should clarify. I have to scale it up to get the scale in the image to measure 1 inch. When I scale it up the images are cut off. They move off the page. By the way, thanks for taking the time to modify the original plan and sharing it. I am finishing up a Spitfire as we speak, and will be using this canopy on it. Great job!

 

[Flynn]

I had to save it to my computer and then open it with Windows Photo Viewer. I clicked Print. Then made papersize "Letter" and checked the box "Fit picture to frame"

Also, make sure its printing in Portrait

I wasn't able to right click the picture and choose print. Sorry this is my first attempt at this.

 

[Jaxx]

I had to save it to my computer and then open it with Windows Photo Viewer. I clicked Print. Then made papersize "Letter" and checked the box "Fit picture to frame"

Also, make sure its printing in Portrait

I wasn't able to right click the picture and choose print. Sorry this is my first attempt at this.

No sweat man. I really appreciate the effort. I normally use Linux, but I will try to do this on my Windows virtual machine to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Jaxx]

Flynn,
I figured it out. As soon as you said Windows Photo Viewer, it hit me. Once I printed it from my Windows machine, it printed just fine. Thanks for your help with this.

 

[Flynn]

Awesome man! I'm trying to get it all together for an article. Hopefully it goes through.

 

[Jaxx]

Awesome man! I'm trying to get it all together for an article. Hopefully it goes through.

I'm sure it will. It's a great idea. Maybe I'm biased, but the Spitfire has got to be the most popular swappable to date.

 

[Blenderite]

I think it is the most popular because it looks the best. Although, the Slinger or Duster may give it some competition. They are pretty sharp too.

 

[Jaxx]

I think it is the most popular because it looks the best. Although, the Slinger or Duster may give it some competition. They are pretty sharp too.

I agree. I have a Slinger on the assembly line too. DogLover, thanks for the canopy concept that you came up with. The great thing about the community is the fact that it enables one person to build on an idea that someone else came up with. Because of you and Flynn, I will have a sweet canopy for my Spitfires (plural). All that's left is to glue down the poster-board and paint, and the canopy is done. This Spitfire in the picture below is nearing completion, so the timing on the canopy could not have been better. Thanks again guys.

 

[Blenderite]

Glad I could plant a seed!

 

[Flynn]

Looking good Jaxx! Does look like the middle former is a bit high. The one I was testing the ribs fit flush, sorta, with the top. Do you think I need to adjust the plans?

 

[xuzme720]

Think he's going for a later version canopy, where it's more of a bubble over the pilot...