L16 green house

[Tim Juhl]

On my aircraft the edges of the windows were taped before the edge strips were installed. There are no holes thru the glass. So far it has held since 1985, including some flights with the door off.

I've copied some Aeronca drawings showing the wood pieces and the metal brackets and strips. If filling out a form 337, refer to the Aeronca Drawing numbers for these two pages as they are on the type certificate and may be installed without special approval.

What isn't shown are the L-strips attached to the back of the rear bulkhead into which the rearmost window strips are attached. They simply use screws and tinnerman nuts.

Dr Jeff - looking at one of your pictures, I don't see a feature that was on my fuselage. There was a little U tab welded to the tubing at the point of the red arrows. A wood stringer extended from the rear bulkhead and attached there with a small boat. The middle U of the top window bracket fits around the wood strip and supports both the top and side windows.

If the drawings don't come thru well enough just email me and I'll send them direct.

Tim

[Tim Juhl]

Sorry guys, I did a lousy job of formatting that last post.

Tim

[MikeB]

Thanks Tim,
Actually it came out pretty well and very timely as I'm picking up a 4 X 8 sheet of Lexan this morning. Had to order it from the local glass company and wait until they had a large enough order to ship it. Regarding the aluminum angles on your drawing, I didn't know that they existed until I started researching and looked at couple of planes with a green house. As the fuselage was already covered I had to cut some aluminum angles and drill and mount them laying on my back in the fuselage.....much fun!!

Haven't had much time to work on the L16 lately as I've had a brutal driving schedule plus we're in the process of remodeling the "Burned Out Roosters Club" at the airport.

Mike

[MikeB]

OK! I have a 4 x 8 x .125 sheet of tinted ( light bronze) Lexan and it cost about $140 from the local window company including shipping which I didn't think was too bad. In measuring it out, I think I can get the upper green house and two rear side windows out of this one sheet...assuming I don't make any mistakes . Since I'm 'green' about 'green houses, is there any reason not to screw the bugger down especially in the front and center and possibly the rear sides. I realize that original was only held down by the retaining strips but being a natural born worrier I'd also hate for it to pop out for some silly reason.

Thoughts appreciated......

Mike Berg

[Paul Agaliotis]

I've got the original aluminum bulkheads in mine and they don't show any signs of an angle attachment for tinnerman nuts. I used well-nuts in the glass, the fairing secures the galss to the bulbhead with P-K screws.
Mike, keep it at the recommended speed for level flight and I don't think it will be a problem. I believe it's 95 MPH.
Paul

[Tim Juhl]

My personal opinion is that there is nothing to be gained by second-guessing the designers. If you fit the plexiglass properly and clamp the edges between the brackets and trim strips it shouldn't go anywhere. Remember, every screw hole is a potential crack. If you decide to use screws or bolts you should use a drill designed for plexiglass and drill slightly oversize to allow for expansion and movement.

BTW - If you screw the lexan down I hope you never have to break your way out of it. Firemen hate the stuff. Whack it with an axe and the axe will bounce right back in your face. I used regular plexiglass in my aircraft and it is still good after 24 years.

Tim

[drjeff]

Tim,
I actually picked that up after looking at Lloyd's plane. My plane has had several things changed by the previous owner(s) at sometime in the past.
The last guy actually used a pc. of metal and screwed the glass directly to it. I changed those two stringers and welded the tabs to accept the wood up top. The attachment on the rear was a little different too but I ordered the small brackets that you mentioned and added them as well. I'll try to post a picture of it when I get a chance. The wife and I just got back in from Yellowstone Nat. Park and I have some unpacking to do....