Page 2b: Construction & design photos continued
                 -- Zodiac C-GZDC (and occasionally other Zenairs)

 
 

	Custom canopy sun shade This retractable sun shade has been great to have on sunny days. Two longitudinal music wire rods act as the rails and attach with suction cups.  The fabric is lightweight 'broadcloth'. Three lighter weight music wire stays are sewn into sleeves, to keep the fabric taut against the canopy. Still, the fabric may get somewhat in the way if one is tall and wearing a hat. The well rounded Zodiac canopy doesn't have much headroom towards the outside. Width is 32"; rails are 29" long. Weight 155g, about 1/3 lb.  Alternatives:  A simple alternative would be suction cupped sun shades that are available for car windows, typically built using a black  meshed fabric. I would not try a darkened plastic film that attaches by static cling. Some such products are labelled against use on plastic windows, and I have heard claims that dark plastics against an acrylic canopy will heat up strongly in the sun. Also for these reasons I made sure that clear plastic suction cups were used for my shade.
	Custom attachments for canopy cover I modified the straps of the purchased canopy cover, to attach at four lugs on the fuselage instead of crossing under the fuselage. The "straps under the fuselage" design is common for covers on the market because custom attachment points on the aircraft are not needed. However, there are negative aspects to that design:  1) Difficult to handle in wind. Nothing prevents the cover from blowing off while one scrambles around the aircraft to toss straps under the fuselage and snap the buckles shut.  2) With the flat underbody of the Zodiac aft of the wing, the aft strap would slap against the fuselage in the wind even when tight, creating a concern about paint wear. Our modifications consisted of cutting the straps shorter, and sewing in loops of cord. The 4mm sheathed climbers' accessory cord is strong, and stiff enough to hold its shape. The end of the loop will then easily slip over the lug and won't fall off even if the canopy cover isn't yet tight at all 4 corners. The buckles were retained, and incorporate length adjustment for the straps. Only the two straps on one side of the aircraft have the buckles. (One is in the photo but is difficult to see. The loose end of the strap in the photo is normally tucked into an elastic on the main strap, to prevent it from flailing in the wind.) The aluminum lugs were shaped to resemble nautical cleats. The aft pair, one of them visible in the photo, are rivetted to the vertical steel plates that are part of the boarding step assembly. The front pair are built from heavy L's, and are rivetted just under the fuselage so that they tie in with more than just the skin, in this case the hat section heel-plate reinforcement inside the cockpit.  By using soft loops to connect to cleats, no metal parts are part of the canopy cover itself. Home-made canopy covers are commonly seen to use bungee cords with metal hooks. Even with plastic coating, this would risk scratching the canopy.  The Zodiac canopy cover came from AeroCovers in Ontario. The material is the well-regarded Sunbrella, without any additional backing material. Some companies' designs use a softer inner layer as well, but some materials may trap grit. The price was good and the cover was made to fit well. However, in 2000 another Zodac builder reported that the company had misplaced (?) the template and was slow to admit that. I do not know what the current situation is.

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