My newly purchased G-200 has the canopy piano hinges screwed solidly to the airframe and canopy frame. The piano hinges have continuous loops encircling the wire, which definitely will not break to release the canopy. I've seen other planes (RV4, G202) with what look like pop rivets attaching the hinges, which are supposed to tear away when the canopy is unlatched and lifted. The construction manual I received with the plane doesn't cover the canopy. Does anyone have information from Giles on the recommended attachment devices? (Or from Van's?) I'm considering two approaches: 1. Replace the screws with long pop rivets. Does anyone have specs for the appropriate rivets? I'd have to add washers to reduce the hole size, as pop rivets the same size as the -10 screws would be much too strong. - This worries me a bit, as I don't want the canopy coming off accidentally. I think I might retain one screw on each hinge and hold it in place with a cotter pin bent only enough to keep it in place. The two cotter pins would be connected with a cord so I could pull them out with a single motion. 2. Replace the continuous piano hinges with the type that is made from flanges bent to form the tubes for the wire. These might be weak enough to release the canopy. (Or maybe use a Dremel cut-off disc to make a lengthwise cut in the loops of the existing hinges.) I'm planning to rig up test piano hinges to measure the forces needed to detach them, for both potential solutions. Unfortunately I don't know what sort of forces might be produced by a canopy that's unlatched and raised. I'm guessing maybe 50 lbs at low speed. I assume the force would be applied primarily to the front of the forward hinge, so the canopy would come off in a peeling motion (rather than a lifting motion). I'd like to hear what others have done to address this issue. Allan C-FAMP
Some folks in NZ lost their G202 canopy earlier this year. Richard Hood suggested that the circlips holding the rods to the canopy latch could have failed. These are flimsy at best, so I modified my plane. I drilled 1/16 inch holes thru the two circlip-ed pins and the center snap-ringed pin and added cotters. Took only a few hours, drilling carefully. For my plane, the rod to canopy pin connections were already cottered. I would recommend this highly to any g202 owners out there. Following are before and after pictures.
We have removed the ailerons and found that the bearing in the breakets have play. Thinking of remanufacturing the brackets and use new bearings. Does someone have drawings for the brackets and/or knows the material specs as well as the make and model of the bearings?
Hi everyone, I've taken my wings apart for inspection and found that the wing bolts are too worn - seems like one of the bushings through the main spar is loose. What is the part number for the wing bolts? Help appreciated. Best Lars Najbjerg
I changed out the brackets to allow the gear legs to flex without imparting a twist on the bracket/bolt assembly holding the gear legs to the bottom of the fuselage. The old system was flat faces with rubber underneath and there was a history of broken attachment bolts on the original setups. I also up-sized the bolts from an AN5C to AN6C. Going to the larger bolt reduced the amount of material in the bracket corners slightly, so we used 6013-T6 instead of the original 6061-T6. Sourced the 6013-T6 from McMaster-Carr (sku 9048K111). I have not installed them yet, I need to put a layup of glass to protect the aluminum brackets from the carbon first. But I test fit them on the legs and they seem to fit nicely. Click here for a machine shop drawing of the parts.
I have been using polyurethane bumpers - McMaster Carr p/n 9546K133 - for aileron stops on my G202 for many years now. For my plane this was a simple replacement of the existing stop bolts. You want to check pushrod clearance carefully with the bumpers fully compressed. This significantly cushions the shock load on hitting the aileron stop for full deflection rolls. Andrew Wright andrew@carbonfiberairshows.com
Hello, I always seem to wear out the nylon bushings that I use around the bolts that makes up the rudder stops. Are they necessary? I seem to think that a metal to metal rudder stop is destructive for the rudder "hinge assy" in the long run. Best, Lars
[From the Webmaster: I came across this on the Van's RV forums site (http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=69225), and even though it's a second-hand account I thought it was important enough to post. Comments welcome.] While warming the oil and doing pre take off checks the rudder locked solid in a full left deflection. More accurately the rear linear guide bearing galled and jammed solid the left side rudder pedal tube fully forward. No amount of leg pressure would free it, so [the pilot] shut down on the spot. The AC was towed back to the hangar and more work was in order. Long story short, if you know anybody who flies or owns a G202, politely share this incident and have them pay close attention to the guide bearings and tube assemblies that the rudder pedals slide fore and aft in. Apparently MX has switched to using teflon bushings in place of the linear guide bearings. My friend had some custom teflon bushings made for him. Thankfully all is now well.
Hello I am going to inspect and fly a G202 in the next few weeks any information as to what to look for/possible problem areas/ best engine for performance etc would be greatly appreciated. kind regards Francis Griffiths
