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Can someone tell me how the plastic window pane attaches to the door window frame on the 1940 model. Thanks Rex
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Re: Door Windows
HIi Rex.On my 1940 the plexiglass is around one half inch bigger than the moveable window frame.It has a couple notches for the upper hindges,and is fastened with #4 pk screws.The screw spacing (with out going over to the hangar to measure)as I recall is around two and a half between them. -
Re: Door Windows
Like this?
HankAttached FilesComment
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Re: Door Windows
my T-craft has the welded steel tube doors,with the alum.square tube window frame that swings out.If I get a chance this morning I will try to get to hangar and take a picture.Comment
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Is the photo of the window your Taylorcraft Hank,? the workmenship on it looks awesome, Do you have other photos of it on the forum i belive you a 41 delux, sure nice to look atComment
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That is my 41 and thanks for the compliment. I hope to post a lot of pictures when she is ready to fly (no firewall forward on her yet, hope to hang the engine as soon as it warms up a bit).
The door in the picture is one of the 41 Deluxe wood doors with a square tube swing out window. The return to original configuration has taken WAY TOO LONG. I need to get back in the air (so I can start building up the 45!).
HankComment
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Re: Door Windows
Hi Rex.Took a couple picts.Hope this helps answers your questionAttached FilesComment
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also note that screws are aprox. one and one half inch apart,not two and a half as I stated in a earlier postComment
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Re: Door Windows
Mike,
That is what my 45 windows on the tube doors look like. I need to make new transparencies for those. What thickness did you use and did you have any problems with them cracking at the aft side bend?
HankComment
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Re: Door Windows
Thanks gays, My window frame is the square welded tubing. I have two sets of these window frames and neither set has screw holes, This led me to thank that screws were not used to attach the plexiglass to the frame.
Hank I molded my window panes. In the past I have found that even a slight bend will lead to cracks over time. If you decide to mold yours let me know and I'll go over the problems I had. I'll be out of town until Wed. next week.Comment
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Hi Hank.I rebuilt my bird 10 years ago,and as I remember,the plexiglass(poly-beutyal-spelling-)was .090 and after I screwed it in place,took a hot air heat gun and warmed it up on the aft bend,and have had no tendency to craze or crack so far.I warmed it up slowly and and did not over heat it,as it will create a wrinkle at the bend.It didnt take much heat to do this.Comment
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Re: Door Windows
I know the heat does wonders. When I did the 4 piece glass on the 41 I made a PILE of broken side pieces before I got enough heat on them. Too much and they bubbled, too little and the plexi snapped. I knew I was close when it took a couple of days for the plastic to snap. Just a little more heat and then a summer in the hot hangar to stress relieve the plastic and it lasted through the whole winter cold. When I had to remove the windscreen to repair a tube crack the whole windshield held the curves perfectly.
I think I have made just about every mistake possible making that windscreen. The BIG lesson was NEVER let the screw threads press against the sides of the holes and make sure you drill with a Plexi bit! I drilled every hole oversize and put a small plastic sleeve in each hole for the threads to bear on if the "glass" moved. No more broken "glass"!
I sure like the way it looks for a pre-war plane.
HankAttached FilesComment
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That looks great, Hank. Were you able to make drawings or templates of your windscreen? I really want to make an original style rather than buy a one piece, but I don't have any of the original pieces to use for a pattern.1940 BC-65 that needs minor work...
N27432Comment
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Re: Door Windows
AJ,
I made tracings of all the parts as I built them. When I get back out to my files I can make tracings but what I found out was that the nose of a Taylorcraft is NOT symmetric and different planes have different shapes. The patterns are a good guide, but you have to modify the parts to fit your fuselage.
I started with the metal angles that ran from the wing roots to the boot cowl and the cross piece that ran from one LE to the other. I made a cardboard windscreen to fit smoothly to the boot and a cardboard top glass (the easy parts). The killer was the cardboard windscreens (the side pieces that kept breaking when made from plexi, a windshield is in front, windscreens are on the sides). Once all the cardboard pieces seemed to fit I made a Tempered Masonite windshield for the front so I would have a good template for the plexi windshield. That was the only piece I had commercially made. We have a great place here that makes windshields for boats and has all the right tools to cut, polish the edges and most importantly, drill all the holes without cracking the plexi. The holes in the metal strips are made to match the plexi, easier that way using a drill bushing.
I used the next thicker size for the windshield (ever seen the after pictures of a bird strike?). It was either a half size thinner or thicker, I took thicker! The sides and top piece are just normal flat sheets I cut and drilled myself. The material is inexpensive enough to make a few extra and it was fun to learn to work with.
The original was assembled with rivets, but even the plane in the Sun-n-Fun museum used small screws and nuts so I did too (OK, write the date down, I didn't keep it original for once!) If someone has a rivet squeezer with a 30 inch throat let me know. You AREN'T going to be able to buck those rivets on plexi without cracking it. One crack and you drill all the rivets and start over!
Overall I love the results. It looks GREAT! Really "period" look and new, un-scratched glass is indescribably. If a line boy touches it with a dirty rag he will be dead meat. NO ONE is going to put fuel in my plane or touch the transparencies again but ME! Really not a bad rule for any plane.
HankComment
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