Fuselage August 2008 Updates
August 17, 2008
Canopy Triming and Drilling.... - 5.0 hrs

I got to the hangar today and was looking at the canopy to remove it to drill the holes out to 1/4 inch. My worst nightmare has come true. One of the center line holes is cracked. 2.5 inches. The center cover will not cover it up.

First I unclecoed the glass and removed it from the frame. I marked the glass for triming. Once removed I used the diegrider with a sandpapter pad to trim off the excess. This allowed me to remove the excess very evenly. I used a scotchbrite pad to clean up the edges very smoothly. This worked extremely well and I was able to follow the line easily.

I reinstalled the glass to the frame to check the fit of the fiberglass rear trim. Fits very well. Just not sure how I can rivet it reliably. Its easy to lay it on and tape it to where it looks right. I am going to use some hole finders and drill and cleco while the canopy is partially open and see if I can get the fit right as I work my way around.

I still have to complete the side skirts and remove the frame and paint it black before I get to that point but making good progress. Next I have to get this crack under control.


This website was built to document my work in compliance with the FAA requirements needed to certify my aircraft.
My experiences and comments are by no means to be considered as instructions on how to build any aircraft.