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Matt Dralle's RV-8 Project
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Date: 3-19-2009
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Number of Hours: 2.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Taxi Latch Installation - Part 1
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I ordered a special "Taxi Latch Kit" from Rod Bower Aviation for the RV-8 Canopy installation back last Fall. A few weeks later, I received a nice email from Rod along with a replacement bracket. The letter indicated that the original bracket was backwards and that I should use the newly enclosed unit instead.
Long ago, when I was initially fitting the canopy frame to the fuselage, and well before I installed the main canopy latch, I dutifully followed the Taxi Latch installation instructions and installed it on the LEFT side as instructed. This week, however, after I installed the main latch, I noticed that there was a significant interference between the Taxi Latch and the Canopy Latch. So much so that it was just not going to work there.
After some discussions with Rod, it became clear that I should have installed the Taxi Latch on the RIGHT side, not the LEFT side. The problem at this point, however, was that I had already cut the LEFT side down by the requisite .125" to account for the insertion of the Taxi Latch angle bracket.
So what to do...? I really didn't want to just stick a "washer" of some sort under there. It would look like, well, I'd stuck a washer under there. After some head scratching tonight, I came up with the great idea of just cutting the extra left-side bracket down to match the shape of the roller mount! After some cutting and filing and some more filing, it pretty much came out perfect!
The best part is that now I've got that much needed Feng Shui I'm so compulsive about - a proper balance of both the left and right sides!
BTW, the "Taxi Latch" is used to keep the canopy open at various positions, such as halfway or quarter-way. This is handy when flying solo as the pilot can't reach the canopy from the pilot's seat if it is slide all the way open. With the Taxi Latch, a small hole in the canopy rail will keep the canopy at the desired amount of open/closed for taxi, etc.
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Taxi Latch - Left Side Latch Interference
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Taxi Latch - Left Side Latch Interference
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Taxi Latch - Left Side Shim
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Copyright © 2008-2024 Matt Dralle. All Rights Reserved.
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