Canopy tinting service

Anyone knows of a professional serve of this type in North America,
for an existing canopy with frame?
Udo

Udo.
I make a bunch of transparencies for race cars as well as a few canopies
now and then. My experience FWIW, is that it is a bad idea to tint
canopies to make them darker. I suggest that the driver or pilot
buy the correct darkness of sunglasses for the conditions. On overcast
or murky days, you cannot magically "untint" a canopy to see better, but
you can either take off the glasses, or get lighter ones. NOW if you are
getting
roasted and can't cool the cockpit, you do have the option of using dark
static cling tint to "provide shade" and keep the temps down. The stuff is
pretty
inexpensive and available at Home Depot.

--
Have a great day

Scott
"Udo" wrote in message
ps.com...
Anyone knows of a professional serve of this type in North America,
for an existing canopy with frame?
Udo

Hi,

I don't have a strong opinion on this subject, but I can add one experience
point. I was once part owner of a very nice Schweizer 1-35c that had a new
tinted canopy when I bought into it. It was tinted a medium to dark grew.
It looked fantastic from outside the glider and worked well in bright
sunshine. However, there were times when under dark overcast layers that I
wished it wasn't tinted. It wasn't a big problem at all.

I would think that a very light mirrored tint would be nice - as long as it
is not too dark. It would keep heat out on hot days and look very cool.

Paul Remde

"pbc76049" wrote in message
...
Udo.
I make a bunch of transparencies for race cars as well as a few canopies
now and then. My experience FWIW, is that it is a bad idea to tint
canopies to make them darker. I suggest that the driver or pilot
buy the correct darkness of sunglasses for the conditions. On overcast
or murky days, you cannot magically "untint" a canopy to see better, but
you can either take off the glasses, or get lighter ones. NOW if you are
getting
roasted and can't cool the cockpit, you do have the option of using dark
static cling tint to "provide shade" and keep the temps down. The stuff
is pretty
inexpensive and available at Home Depot.

--
Have a great day

Scott
"Udo" wrote in message
ps.com...
Anyone knows of a professional serve of this type in North America,
for an existing canopy with frame?
Udo

The 2 seat Lark that I did cross-country instruction in last year had a
brown/gold tinted canopy. It was fantastic. It was not quite as dark
as my brown/rose sunglasses. It significantly enhanced vis in all sky
conditions (never flew at night however). It probably lowered cockpit
temps but I don't know.

The first time I flew it I thought the altimeter was malfunctioning
because the ground looked so much closer than what I was accustomed to.
Other pilots noticed the same illusion. Perhaps it's a "blue blocker"
effect.

It's important to understand that the brown, rose, and gold tints
produce a very different result than gray. I would never want a gray
canopy unless it could be varied as needed. That's a ways off
technolgically I imagine, and brown would still be better.

Everyone who flew that Lark loved that canopy. I have no idea how to
tint an existing canopy but I'd sure like to know!

Matt Michael

I am looking for an after market service that can do the job similar to
the original factory conopies if that is all possible..
Udo


wrote:
The 2 seat Lark that I did cross-country instruction in last year had a
brown/gold tinted canopy. It was fantastic. It was not quite as dark
as my brown/rose sunglasses. It significantly enhanced vis in all sky
conditions (never flew at night however). It probably lowered cockpit
temps but I don't know.

The first time I flew it I thought the altimeter was malfunctioning
because the ground looked so much closer than what I was accustomed to.
Other pilots noticed the same illusion. Perhaps it's a "blue blocker"
effect.

It's important to understand that the brown, rose, and gold tints
produce a very different result than gray. I would never want a gray
canopy unless it could be varied as needed. That's a ways off
technolgically I imagine, and brown would still be better.

Everyone who flew that Lark loved that canopy. I have no idea how to
tint an existing canopy but I'd sure like to know!

Matt Michael

wrote:
The 2 seat Lark that I did cross-country instruction in last year had a
brown/gold tinted canopy. It was fantastic. It was not quite as dark
as my brown/rose sunglasses. It significantly enhanced vis in all sky
conditions (never flew at night however). It probably lowered cockpit
temps but I don't know.

The first time I flew it I thought the altimeter was malfunctioning
because the ground looked so much closer than what I was accustomed to.
Other pilots noticed the same illusion. Perhaps it's a "blue blocker"
effect.

It's important to understand that the brown, rose, and gold tints
produce a very different result than gray. I would never want a gray
canopy unless it could be varied as needed. That's a ways off
technolgically I imagine, and brown would still be better.

Everyone who flew that Lark loved that canopy. I have no idea how to
tint an existing canopy but I'd sure like to know!

Was it better than wearing sunglasses tinted the same way? Or simply
more convenient than having that type of sunglasses?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

Tinted glider canopies are usually blue or blue/green
to reduce IR transmission (to reduce the direct sunlight
heat onto the pilot) rather than brown to cut the blue/UV
end of the spectrum (like pilot spectacles).







At 20:06 16 December 2006, Eric Greenwell wrote:
wrote:
The 2 seat Lark that I did cross-country instruction
in last year had a
brown/gold tinted canopy. It was fantastic. It was
not quite as dark
as my brown/rose sunglasses. It significantly enhanced
vis in all sky
conditions (never flew at night however). It probably
lowered cockpit
temps but I don't know.

The first time I flew it I thought the altimeter was
malfunctioning
because the ground looked so much closer than what
I was accustomed to.
Other pilots noticed the same illusion. Perhaps
it's a 'blue blocker'
effect.

It's important to understand that the brown, rose,
and gold tints
produce a very different result than gray. I would
never want a gray
canopy unless it could be varied as needed. That's
a ways off
technolgically I imagine, and brown would still be
better.

Everyone who flew that Lark loved that canopy. I
have no idea how to
tint an existing canopy but I'd sure like to know!

Was it better than wearing sunglasses tinted the same
way? Or simply
more convenient than having that type of sunglasses?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change 'netto' to 'net' to email me directly
* 'Transponders in Sailplanes' http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* 'A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation' at
www.motorglider.org

Was it better than wearing sunglasses tinted the same way? Or simply
more convenient than having that type of sunglasses?

Well my sunglasses are prescription so I'd wear them anyway. With or
without it improved vis, reduced fatigue, just made the world easier on
the eyes. I think the optics of the plastic were really good too and
it was not very scratched so detail in the distance and contrast seemed
remarkable. My front seaters always enjoyed it regardless of whether
they had sunglasses on or not. After you closed the canopy you'd
forget it was tinted in about half a minute. Only when you looked out
the slider vent windows on the side did you realize the difference.
The world looked like it was being projected on 2 really crappy 6 inch
black and white tv monitors. It always made people laugh when I'd
point that out because it was so true. With that kind of immediate
comparison it made you wonder why anyone would ever want a clear
canopy.

MM

wrote:

Well my sunglasses are prescription so I'd wear them anyway. With or
without it improved vis, reduced fatigue, just made the world easier on
the eyes. I think the optics of the plastic were really good too and
it was not very scratched so detail in the distance and contrast seemed
remarkable. My front seaters always enjoyed it regardless of whether
they had sunglasses on or not. After you closed the canopy you'd
forget it was tinted in about half a minute. Only when you looked out
the slider vent windows on the side did you realize the difference.
The world looked like it was being projected on 2 really crappy 6 inch
black and white tv monitors. It always made people laugh when I'd
point that out because it was so true. With that kind of immediate
comparison it made you wonder why anyone would ever want a clear
canopy.

Perhaps because hardly anyone gets to fly a glider with such a canopy?

I do wear brown tinted sunglasses, and I like them, but that doesn't
help me understand how having the whole canopy tinted like my sunglasses
is better than the sunglasses and a clear canopy.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA
* Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly
* "Transponders in Sailplanes" http://tinyurl.com/y739x4
* "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org

My Saab 900 Turbo had factory gold tinting on all of its windows. I
always felt alert in that car, loved driving it long distances (12-14
hours behind the wheel), and I never felt tired at the end of such a
drive. By contrast, my BMW 530 with factory grey tinting on all windows
isn't quite in the same league as far as alertness and fatigue at the
end of a long drive goes. Both cars were driven with clear glasses as
well as neutral gray sunglasses.

I can't really insist that the difference is all due to tinting color,
but I think it's a factor.

-John


Eric Greenwell wrote:

Perhaps because hardly anyone gets to fly a glider with such a canopy?

I do wear brown tinted sunglasses, and I like them, but that doesn't
help me understand how having the whole canopy tinted like my sunglasses
is better than the sunglasses and a clear canopy.