Fitting windshield

[Dave Holl]

All
I am currently fitting the windshield and am not too sure whether I should fit the glazing flush with the butt rib or whether I should have an over hang of say half inch to cover the gap between the butt rib and the wing.
Any thoughts as I have seen it done both ways?

[Dave S]

Dave,

My choice was to go flush with the butt rib. My reasons included: 1) it will not be a watertight seem either way - couldn't think of any advantage in doing an overlap; 2) with an overlap it may be possible under certain circumstances to have pressure on the glazing at the juncture; aand, I wanted to avoid that possibility.

They are done both ways so I think a person has to think it through and decide on what they are confortable with.

Dave S
KF 7 Trigear
912ULS Warp Drive

[924549]

Dave,

I over lapped mine. A couple of reasons why. In my mind I thought it looked better. I maybe over thought this but, having the 1/2" over lap left more lexan around the mounting holes leaving less chance for cracking as the lexan expands and contracts. I put a strip of weather stripping over the 2 butt ribs and center support to raise lexan and have the wing slide under it. It all worked out good.

[rosslr]

Hi Dave,

I am doing this at the moment too - I went flush after seeing that I would need to put a spacer between the cap strip and the windscreen to make sure the wing cleared it. Not that it would have been a big problem. Dave S makes some good points in favour of the overlap though. We intend to have a cover for the odd occasion it might be parked outside and rain is an issue.
Hope you are starting to enjoy an nice spring over there - Wimbledon and cricket ..... Ahhhh!
any photos of where you are up to Dave?

cheers

ross

[jiott]

I overlapped mine, just under 1/4". Thought it looked a little better, more material around holes, and somewhat better rain seal. I did have to taper the underside of the overlap to make sure the wing slipped under it without pressure.

[Flybyjim]

Any photos of what you are talking about, I am just getting ready to mount the butt ribs and perhaps there is a choice how there adjusted at this stage.

[jtpitkin06]

Any photos of what you are talking about, I am just getting ready to mount the butt ribs and perhaps there is a choice how there adjusted at this stage.

Mount your butt ribs as per the manual. They should be flush and aligned with the number one rib on the wing.

The discussion has to do with how to trim the windshield along the butt rib. The manual instructs you to trim the windshield flush with the butt rib with no overhang. Some builders trim the windshield a 1/4 inch or so beyond the butt rib. The overhang covers the gap between the butt rib and number one rib. It can cut down on air and rain leaks. Care must be taken if you elect to have an overhang when unfolding the wings. The number one rib must slip under the windshield overhang. It is possible for the number one rib to snag or pinch the windshield overhang and cause a crack in the sky light portion of the windshield. You might also get some chafing of the fabric on the top of the number one rib.

An alternative sealing method is to trim the windshield flush with the butt rib. Glue in 3/4 inch round weatherstrip just below the cap strip on the outside of the butt rib. When you unfold the wings there is no chance of snagging anything on the windshield. The weatherstrip compresses between the butt and number one ribs to seal the joint.

John

[Flybyjim]

Thank you for the response, I did some research on this site and did find some photos. After looking for this info for a while I am starting to understand how to navigate this site a bit better. A lot of good info here, just need to find it.