As some of you may know, I have had a lot of experience with canopies. These are some of my observations. On my first KR, I used the stock clamshell style. That has to be the most simple to build and lightest that you can get away with, maybe other than one that is always open. I did not like it because it was flimsy when open and could not be left open when the engine was running, although, I think some have made it work that way. It allows easy access from one side only. I also don't like the protruding hinge on the side. On this KR, I built a single side "gullwing" door canopy with fixed windshield. It is difficult to build and access is limited. The one that I built must also be very heavy in comparison to some others. Mark Jones probably has the most simple and light example of this one that I have seen. For mine, I really like the way it works and looks, but don't like how difficult it was to build and how much it limits passenger and maintenance access. Oh, and did I mention that it was extreemly difficult to build, as in "real hard". I have had the pleasure of riding in one of the nicest RVs that I have ever seen, and it has a sliding back canopy. Getting in and out is very difficult because there is little that is solid for you to grab on to, and I am sure that it was difficult to build, because of the mechanisms and the fixed windshield, and for a KR, there is stuff that has to go aft of CG, to support it and the operation of it, that adds weight to the wrong end of the plane. The other RV that I have ridden in, and Mark Langford's KR, both have tilt forward canopies. In my opinion, this is the best of all of them. It is very easy to get in and out from both sides, could easily be removed for maintenance access, is almost as light as the clamshell, and I believe that it is almost as easy to build. The only complaint that I have heard about this type, is that it is hard to seal for weather, and that would apply to the clamshell as well.
That's my $1000 worth. If it were worth only 2 cents, I wouldn't have bothered you with it. See N64KR at http://KRBuilder.org - Then click on the pics See you in Mt. Vernon - 2006 - KR Gathering There is a time for building and a time for FLYING and the time for building is OVER. Daniel R. Heath - Lexington, SC
