Progress is progressing.
The following canopy frame elements have been narrowed from ~40mm to 25, based on study of numerous online images:
- Both of the arches (stationary and moving) which meet when the canopy slides shut.
- On the sliding canopy, the two upper (at eye height) horizontal bars and the mid-canopy arching bar which crosses them perpendicularly.
- The -3's pair of vertical bars on the stationary forward section.
In other words, the frame parts left as is are the armored glass frame and its surrounding 'ring', the two upper horizontal bars meeting said 'ring', and the rearmost arch on the sliding canopy.
The result is a very noticeably improved view, with less blockage by the former too-fat frame elements.
On the sliding canopy I added extra stiffening triangles as seen in photos.
The whole canopy has been raised 2cm, with the extra space being above the horizontal, eye-height bars.
The aft bulkhead has been raised 1cm, leaving a gap of 1cm at the peak. It was also slightly narrowed, in a tapered way, so as to leave a small gap between it and the canopy at the sides.
The stock untidy glass vertex placement has been exactly tied to the frame vertices.
The frame textures have been altered to accommodate their narrower aspect.
The frame edges (which sandwich the perspex) have been made to be more uniform in width.
I've added a reflection to the slip ball's glass tube as a separate element which nicely alters in intensity with illumination angle. It realistically lies in front of the ball, but is behind the bank needle.
I'll be adding extra sides to the bolt heads on the aft bulkhead.
Looking so much better!
Author
Topic: WxTech Wildcats cockpit mod for stock Wildcats, Ver. 4, Sep 9, 2020 (Read 48609 times)
