Quickie Q2 Lite Construction Manual - page 203

CANOPY ASSEMBLY AND MOUNTING 

INTRODUCTION

.....

 In this chapter, you will install the canopy that you 

previously mounted and cut out in Chapter 8. It is important to the 

passengers' safety to have a canopy that is strong, rigid, and 

securely fastened while in flight. Therefore, do not rush this 

section. 

FORWARD EDGE LAMINATION

.....

 Laminate 3 UNI across the front edge of the canopy, with the 

orientation across the front of the canopy. This lamination of 3 inch 

wide tapes will increase the stiffness and strength of the canopy at 

the forward edge. 

PROTECTING THE CANOPY PLEXIGLASS

.....

 The canopy was shipped to you with a protected coating applied 

on either side. You should be careful during construction that you do 

not remove this coating, exposing the canopy to scratches and 

abrasion. Once the aircraft is completely finished and painted, the 

coating may be peeled away in strips, exposing the canopy Plexiglas 

itself. Whenever, you laminate onto the canopy surface, you will, 

however, need to remove the coating where the bond will take place. 

Protect the edge of canopy/lamination junction with grey tape. This 

will assist in providing a trim mask for knife trimming. 

CANOPY FRAME STIFFENERS

.....

 Three stiffeners will be fabricated. One each will be installed 

on each side of the canopy frame longitudinally, and the third will 

be installed transversely across the bottom of the aft canopy 

bulkhead. At the lower aft left and right points of the canopy frame, 

these three stiffeners join together. 

.....

It is recommended that the core materials for these stiffeners 

be 1/4" thick plywood. An alternative is to use 1/4" thick white 

foam, but this alternative would require several plywood inserts for 

local beefup where bolts are inserted. 

.....

As installed, each stiffener should be approximately 1.3" wide. 

Because the canopy frame sides are curved as they travel forward, 

those two stiffeners should be made about 1.8" wide to allow for 

fitting. The third stiffener, the one fitted to the aft canopy 

bulkhead, can be made 1.3" wide. 

.....

To construct the stiffeners, cut three pieces of 1/4" plywood 

with the following sizes: 1.8" x 30", 1.8" X 30", and 1.3" x 44". Set 

them vertically on the jig table and hold them in place with a dab of 

5-MIN on either end of each one. Round the top corners of the plywood 

so that the glass cloth will flow smoothly around the corners. 

Laminate 3 UNI with the orientation running lengthwise along the long 

dimension. The excess cloth that overlaps onto the table can be 

trimmed later.