As all tip-up owners and builders know, the design is inherently weak in the area behind the panel when it comes to keeping water off expensive avionics. I get a kick out the fact that Van's states that they have no problems flying their factory planes in the rain...BS is what I say. I just think Van didn't design this plane to be an all weather plane so he has no desire to fix this flaw. That's fine, really...it give us builders something to do.
Most people buy a sail cloth to velcro into the area. There was a lady that was doing these, but from what I can tell, she has disappeared and is no longer doing them. The other option is take some measurements and send it off to your favorite upholstery shop to make one for you.
I didn't like that idea, the sail cloth, although it looks better than nothing...isn't the look I want on my plane. I wanted to design my own cover. Here is what I came up with...so far, not done yet. I've put this down my priority list since its not needed for first flight.
I bought a sheet of 0.018 alum from ACS and with just an idea of what I wanted...started doing some layout with cardboard, and then starting cutting sheet metal. After some trial and error...it wasn't as straightforward as I thought getting around those curves, this is what I came up with.
I plan to seal it up with paintable silicone (ProSeal would work too but I'm not in the mood to deal with it) when I rivet it together. The edge that contacts the sub-panel will have a compressed rubber seal from McMaster Carr. I will also add a 'wall' around the canopy hinge cutouts (not cut yet). This wont hold back a tidal wave of water, but I feel comfortable it will do quite well to keep my avionics dry in most conditions.
I know...I know...like most builders out there, you're saying...wow, you're adding weight to your plane. I say, my plane is built for comfort and functionality...I'm not trying to set any 'time-to-climb' records so weight is not a big deal to me. Second, its 0.018" sheet...its almost paper thin, I didn't weigh it, but its pretty lightweight.
Lastly, the other design goal was to make it easy to remove...there are a lot of components back there that I may need to get to. It uses a minimum of screws, it should be off in a matter of minutes when needed. As I said, not quite done with this yet...but I'll post more details later when I finish it up.
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