8KCAB Loose Skylight Pictures, '98 Super Decathlon

I just read two stories where people had their skylight blow out completely. I sense a very thorough preflight in my future. What I read was that the fabric you see where the wing came off is supposed to wrap up and be glued to the skylight. I don't love that method either, but that doesn't appear to have been followed here.

There are what appear to me to be some very goofy construction "features" on this line of aircraft, mostly with how things are covered in that area between the wing and fuselage, the way the skylight is held in, the headliner which you cannot replace without stripping the entire aircraft down.

Fabric covering over the fuel tanks. Really?
 
aftCG said:
I just read two stories where people had their skylight blow out completely. I sense a very thorough preflight in my future. What I read was that the fabric you see where the wing came off is supposed to wrap up and be glued to the skylight. I don't love that method either, but that doesn't appear to have been followed here.

There are what appear to me to be some very goofy construction "features" on this line of aircraft, mostly with how things are covered in that area between the wing and fuselage, the way the skylight is held in, the headliner which you cannot replace without stripping the entire aircraft down.

Fabric covering over the fuel tanks. Really?
Click to expand...

There are definitely a lot of things that seem to have been designed and built as they want. I like the fabric wrapped around the skylight for the main purpose of NO water will get in if don’t properly. Other than that, I wish it could be changed easily. Fuel tanks leaking is also my biggest fear..
 
Extreme aerobatics, coupled with a few years' bad welding of tanks, will result in tank removal. Take it easy on the violent maneuvers. If you don't do it yourself, the labor to remove and replace a single tank is several thousand dollars.

My aircraft is the early version, with Super Cub-like wing fairings. I have no trouble with them.

Ron, up at Rainbow, has some suggestions for that window, and I would follow them if I were replacing one. He is very good about helping over the telephone.
 
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