F-15 canopy question

[Space Tiger Hobbes]

I've looked through my references and can't tell if the red sealant goes all the way around the canopy and windscreen - at least on early F-15As. Anybody got any good photos or personal knowledge?

[phasephantomphixer]

I believe you are referring to the red sometimes beige fiberglass laminate at the ends and attachment points of the polycarbonate canopies?

If so, this fiberglass protects and strengthens the edges. It is usually seen where it hasn't been covered by paint. I usually paint to match by

photos after future treatment, before installation and interior flat black and masking for final exterior paint. That way when you remove the

mask, you have it under the colors and just visible. To me it doesn't look right laying on top of the clear plastic.

[Space Tiger Hobbes]

That's probably it. If you look at the early F-15s and many earlier aircraft, Century Series coming to mind, perhaps Phantoms, there's a reddish or yellowish outlines around the canopies and windscreens. On later F-15s it's not visible and perhaps has been painted over. I found an image on Airfighters for an F-15E where the strip just looks metallic. In any event, best I can tell, it goes all around the canopy and around the windscreen except for the very front at the bottom.

[Ol Crew Dog]

Its not a sealant, it is a phenalic, i guess it could be called fiberglass, hi temp/ hi tensile composite material. The Clear portion of the canopy when swapped is removed while the canopy framing is in a jig to prevent warping of the frame. This is not normally done in the field and usually on a depot level and the canoy would be swaped for a new one if required.

I have done this job personally a few times, easier just to swap it out with a replacment.

The canopy clear portion is placed in the framing with a B1/2 sealant inplace, the henalic framing (the red portion) is placed over the exterior edging of the canopy and secured inplace with numerous very large head Hi-Tourgue screws (thus the metal sheen mentioned is just the heads of the fasteners rubbed off to bare metal. This would also be the same as the windscreen, This was a more common swap in the field.

The B1/2 sealant is a black gray and is seldom seen if the recovery troop is half his worth.

I am very familiar with this as most of our time in Crash Recovery on the F-15 was canopy removal and installation along with rigging if needed, mostly on E models.

I would say with certainty when I was in Recovery for 4 years we would remove or install an E model canopy daily for any maintenance needed in the cockpit, a rig was not required if the same canoy was reinstalled.

Later in the F-15's career this phenalic was painted over wiith the fuselage color much to the dismay of us that had to relace the windscreen and or Canopy,unheard of at the same time on the same jet. It would have been a nightmare with the rig and pressure check.

Hope this helps a bit, sorry about the rant.

Cheers

Dave

[thegoodsgt]

I'm working on an early F-15B at the moment, and from the photos in the Schiffer book, the reddish sealant appears to go all the way around the windscreen.

[Ol Crew Dog]

Like I stated the phenolic was along all the edges to include the center bracing on th A and C models.

On the windscreen bow it was covered by a metal cover plate.

[Space Tiger Hobbes]

Thanks. that helps.