Windshield Installation

[tripacer59]

i'm a tripacer owner gettting ready to replace my windshield . i could use any tips and tricks from you guys and gals that have been down this road before , even if it wasn't on tripacer . i use to ask john newman for tips , but now that he's gone i'm lost again . please let me know if anyone has contact with his daughter , and how she's doing . i heard she was with her grandparents , but she may need to hear from us all too ....

[Steve Pierce]

tripacer59, Was very sad to hear about John. I met him several years ago at the SWPC convention in Lake Texoma and we would run into each other at various fly-ins in the area.

As far as the windshield goes, the best advice i can give is measure twice and cut once. I trim trim the bottom until the wing root areas all fit the fuselage nicely. I use a 3" cut off wheel to trim and a Unibit for the holes and dril them a little oversize.

We just finnished doing a new windshield installation on a 1950 Clipper / Pacer. Bob built a new boot cowl so we had to locate the lower windshield collar at the same time. If your collar is in place it will simplify things. [you will already know where the windshield should be trimmed to fit.] We started by inserting the top flange to the full depth possible. We then marked and drilled for the screws on top of the wing root frames where the windshield is attached with clip nuts. Oversize these holes by 1/8" minimum. The Piper Drawings call out for a felt washer between the fastener and the windshield. Once we had the windshield tied down at the top we trimmed the bottom edge to lay in the collar. We started in the middle and worked around the sides. We let the windshield rest on the outside of the door posts so we could tell how far it would engage the three screws on each side. We could also see that the edge was going to be parallel. We did not drill these 3 holes until we had installed the outer collar, working from the middle to the sides. This helps pull the windshield down and back so you don't need to try and hold it in place and guess if the bottom is flush all the way around. We put down a bead of Silicon under the inner collar to seal between the trim and the boot cowl. We then wrapped the bottom edge of the windshield with a thin felt material. We did not use silicon on the windshield itself. We were trying to follow the Piper Manual as close as possible. We will lay down another bead of silicon along the lower edge of the collar where the screws attach to the cowl. I would probably use a light bead along the outer face of the windshield at the collar on my plane.

We were able to get the windshield to lay down nicely along the wing root frame by following these steps. The wing root fairing is perfectly lined up with the leading edge. It looks much better than my airplane. The windshield on my 1952 PA 22 bulges up along the wing root frame so much that I have installed a 1/2" nylon spacer at the top screws. My wing root fairings do not follow the line of the leading edge at the intersection. This was probably cause by installing the windshield without properly trimming it to the boot cowl.

I can post some photos if you need more clarification.

Regards;

Mark Phillips

[Frank Green]

If the old one fit well, take kraft paper and make a pattern off it. Lay it on the new one and it will give you a good idea of where you MIGHT have to trim. I don't like silicone, I prefer 3M automotive window caulk. It comes in a box of black strips 1/8 in by 12 in. I trim with a 3" cut off wheel and finish with a 4" disk sander. Then polish off the sharp edges when you are done to prevent cracks. Take your time, not as hard as you might think.

[tripacer59]

thanks every one ! your info gives me hope i can survive the task . i've been told it's a two person job putting the screws back in , so i've got somebody helping me with it when i get started . any tricks to getting it off without messing up the head liner ? do i start taking stuff off at the bottom or the top first , or does that even matter ? t

[Avalancheman]

Ok, I need help again....Does anyone know what is used to seal the windshield when re-installing? Univair's parts catalog does not show from what I can see any type of gasket, or felt strip to put between the front and rear collar.

I can't imagine that something is not used to seal between the collars and the fuselage. Can a small bead of silicone RTV sealant be used or is there a better way for ease of removal again?

It had been installed with a horribly hard to remove sticky caulk that looked like you could seal your plumbing at home with....

[Curly]

http://www.eaavideo.org/video.aspx?v=979235270001

Have a look at this video - shows how to use butyl tape for sealing windscreen and windows.

I would keep well clear of RTV - mine was installed with it and it's a real bitch to get out of all the window channels. Basically you have to cut it out with a sharp blade and then scrape the residue out. I made a flat "hook" out of an old screw driver and while it worked ok it was still a bugger of a job.

[Avalancheman]

Curly - Perfect. Thank you. This is just what I hoped for.

[mmoyle]

Finshed installing the bubble type windshield today. About 9 hours to trim the windshield, strip and fit the the lower retainer strips. The inner strip was easy. Bit of stretching and a bit of shrinking to fit properly. The external on was a pain. Stretched to follow the contour only to discover it needed to be shrunk to fit tight against the window. Lower right side just ahead of the door has less than 1/16" gap...calling it good.


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[andya]

Matt
is that an original panel blank or custom? If you didn't make it yourself, where did you get it?