|
...I parked with
the tail facing the sun. There was no wind so
I left
the canopy open. ...noticed a column of white smoke coming
off of
the glare shield.
...magnification of the sun
through the
canopy when open causing the material on the glare
shield to
burn or scorch. ...I had not heard or thought that the
reflection
from the back side, or inside (remember the
canopy was open with the tail of
the plane facing the
sun) of the canopy could create enough heat to
burn
the glare shield material.
The material on the glare shield was
ultra-leather...
it got so hot that it burned through the ultra-leather
and into the
foam under the ultra-leather.
Art,
Your experience is common with the 235/320/360 airframes.
The potential for the 'glare shield burn' is always there when the plane is
facing away from the sun and the 'forward hinge tilt-up' canopy is
open. It only takes about 10 seconds for it to happen and it will burn pin
holes in the glare shield covering. The canopy acts as a big
magnifying glass and focuses the sun beam right on to the glare
shield.
I have had it happen twice on my glare shield. The first time was 48
hours after the glare shield material covering was made and
installed. I knew in advance about the issue, but got distracted when
I taxied into Lancair in Redmond for the first time. So, I made
another new cover for the glare shield. A few months later, I got
distracted again (different airport this time), and it cooked some new
holes in the cover. So, I said, "the heck with it" and put an EAA sticker
over the burned spot. Five years later, the EAA sticker is still
there. A new cover for the glare shield is on my list of things to
do, but it never makes it up the list very far.
I carry a piece of 1/4 inch thick padded silver insulating material I got
at Ace Hardware cut to the size of the glare shield to put on when the plane is
parked with the canopy open facing away from the sun (like at the Lancair
Redmond BBQ fly-in). The material rolls up and is stored in the
baggage area.
Gary Edwards
LNC2
N21SN
|