Champ Fwd greenhouse

[Eric Brown]

Question concerning the attachment of the fwd greenhouse Plexiglas at the sides of the greenhouse frame. Neither the parts or service manual offer attachment clues or sealing info. Anybody know the recommended procedure ?

 

[Hiperbiper]

How I did my 7AC is documented in the Restoration section of this forum. Pic start in post #38
Basically the plexi is drilled and countersunk for #8 wood screws and #8 countersunk washers. Locate and drill mounting holes. The rear edge is held in with #8 countersunk machine screws, washers and lock nuts. Dope the wood screws with yellow carpenters wood glue (titebond) prior to final installation to seal the holes in the wood. While covering you'll cover the mounting screws with facric to make it all weatherproof.
Chris

 

[Big Ed]

Here's how my Decathlon came from the factory:

• Front edge fits under edge of bracket mounted to front roof former. 3" tape glued over.
• Rear edge screwed to bracket with 5 holes mounted to middle roof former. Two overlapping 3" tapes glued over.
• Sides are taped down with 3" dacron tape glued to plexi and stapled/glued to side formers.

Front:



Rear:



Sides:

 

[Eric Brown]

Any kind of seal under the plex ?

 

[Big Ed]

It's more of a trim piece. A 1 inch strip of vinyl folded in half with a bead sewn in the edge. It just fills the visual gap between the headliner and the plexi.

 

[Big Ed]

Pic of the bead. Not a seal, purely cosmetic.

 

[Eric Brown]

Update. Here's how I did my installation. The idea was to make the plex an easy remove and replace item. No fabric overlay.

I used .080" plex sheet. I fabricated and installed .032" T3 curved angle strips over the top of the frame sides to create better anchor points for the plex attach and wing fairing screws. I added (2) #8-32 anchor nuts to the fwd attach bracket. I fabricated a cover plate for the aft mounting screws. I added extra width to the plex sheet (slight side overhang) for greater edge clearance of the mounting holes. Clear RTV was placed all around the frame before the plex was laid down. Should work.
See attached photos.