Some builders put back windows in the Highlander, and I want them in this one. One of the objections I’ve had to the usual windows is that they’re just added on externally, so they don’t seal well. At the time I ordered the kit, I didn’t know there was any way to put windows in except to have tabs welded into the airframe, make an aluminum frame to support the Lexan windows, and rivet that frame to the tabs. So I had the tabs built into the kit.
Then Steve Henry built his windows without the tabs. He cut a piece of aluminum sheet the shape of the fuselage tubes, cut the shape of the window out of it, and epoxied it to the tubes. He covered right over it, and cut the fabric out for the window (he glued it to the inside of the frame about 1/2"). Then he installed the Lexan window on the inside, using industrial double-stick clear tape and rivets. It looks very good, and it seals well.
When I was looking at the way the window was going in, I realized I could put in much larger windows much the same way.
I’ve epoxied in an extra piece of .040" aluminum angle on each side, exactly flush with the upper longeron and the stringer; it mounts on the stringer right at the spigot. These angles will be the braces for the panels in which the larger windows are installed. Here's the right-side brace:
I cut a piece of brown paper to fit the opening, took it back off, laid out the shape of the window in it, and put it back in place. Here’s how that looks:
The shape has parallel sides. Although the top and bottom may look parallel in this picture, they’re in line with the fuselage shape, so the window is shorter at the rear.
Across the window, you can see the fuselage tube that most builders have been following. I discovered that this brace doesn’t actually present much of a problem. Because the stringer stands away from the fuselage, that brace is actually inside the window panel just far enough that it won’t rub the window. If the window does bounce against the tube, I'll put a couple of rubber bumpers on the tube to keep it from making noise.
Finally, I cut .025 aluminum to fit the shape. That'll get epoxied in, but not til I cut the window shapes out.
The windows are about 11" high at the front, 9-3/4" at the back, and about 30" long. They'll give terrific rearward visibility, and they enhance the lines of the Highlander.
When the .060" Lexan gets here, I'll get back on this. Right now, it's just an incomplete idea, but I wanted to throw it out for others who are getting close to covering.