Cirrus Canopy

[Paul Agnew]

I just told a friend, who is not on RAS, I would post a request looking for a Cirrus canopy for his pre-1972 Cirrus.

Any leads or pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Paul Agnew
VP - Treasure Coast Soaring Club
Vero Beach, FL

[[email protected][_1_]]

Possibly still available from Mecaplex. If so, get out your checkbook but you get what you pay for. I got an AS-W12 canopy a while back. It was perfect.

[Scott Williams]

I've heard of people searching out someone who is shipping a glider from Europe and including their mecaplex canopy in the container to share costs.

BTW, is it for standard or "open" Cirrus?

Good Luck,
Scott

[[email protected]]

I may have a Std. Cirrus canopy mounted in a frame. Contact me at mhutnick at ptd dot net

[Paul Agnew]

I'll have Jerry contact you. Thanks!

Paul
Treasure Coast Soaring Club

[Paul Agnew]

Talked to him today and he has a Standard Cirrus. He had bought a new canopy and frame, but it doesn't fit right and the guy he bought it from (Todd in Ft. Lauderdale) passed away before he could replace it.

The frame is warped and there's not enough material to remount it.

[Charles Longley]

We had a L-33 canopy at Todd's when he passed away. Ended up getting one from Mecaplex. Money well spent but expensive. Freight was relative cheap we bought an L-23 canopy at the same time to save on shipping.

[JS]

On Friday, March 3, 2017 at 8:19:08 PM UTC-8, Charles Longley wrote:
> We had a L-33 canopy at Todd's when he passed away. Ended up getting one from Mecaplex. Money well spent but expensive. Freight was relative cheap we bought an L-23 canopy at the same time to save on shipping.

I've flown with Mecaplex and a few other manufacturers of replacement canopies. Yet to find a canopy that is equal to Mecaplex.
The Jonker canopy - which I believe is also Swiss - was excellent but the pop-out vent window seemed inferior.
Jim

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Careful buying old canopies. Storage conditions such as heat, exposure to UV, solvents, and other chemicals can make them brittle, warped, and generally unusable. They may be warped merely by improper support during storage..

The cost of installation is a significant percentage of the total bill and installing a canopy that is near the end of its lifespan is false economy.

Even if it is in good condition, the "spraylat" factory protective coating can become welded to the plexi. Many hours of painstakingly chipping the coating off with fingernails or very soft plastic makes for a very unhappy mechanic and exponentially increases the likelihood of scratching the canopy before it is even flown.

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I have used boiling water to remove hard spraylat from an old canopy. Makes the job easy. Canopy won't yield until it is heated to about 350F.
JJ

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There is a factory in Czech republic that can make very good cirrus canopies, but freight is the problem.

[Bob Kuykendall]

I have my canopies made by Aircraft Windshields in Los Alamitos, and I've found their quality to be every bit as good as Mecaplex.