Over the last two evenings I finished riveting the canopy frame together. For forward section went together ok, and I was frequently checking the twist as I riveted. There were a couple of interesting rivets, but generally it was fairly easy. I was able to fairly quickly rivet on the side rails and the aft frame. Once done I couldn’t resist setting the canopy on top to see how it looked.
Tonight I finished riveting all of the holes common to the canopy skin and under structure. It took a while but it was easy work. Setting the structure on it’s side I could easily reach both sides and control the riveting easily.
Tonight I worked on riveting the forward section of the canopy frame. I was careful to check for twist throughout the process, and occasionally manipulated the frame to correct any error.
Today I countersunk the base of the forward canopy frame. It’s weird that the plans have you do this step now, vs doing it before it’s riveted to the frame. There are clearly some out-of-step issues with the plans in the canopy frame section, but I’m hoping it will still work out ok.
Tonight I riveted a lot of the canopy frame skin to the sub structure. It was fairly fast and easy going, and everything turned out well.
Over the course of the last week my Dad and I installed the rear window. There is some trimming to do first, which we did with a jig saw and a diamond blade. This was a good setup as it was accurate, square and it melted nicely through the material. With the notes cut, then filed and scraped to final dimensions, the process of drilling the canopy starts. With one person holding a black of wood to back up the Perspex, and the other one drilling, we were able to drill all of the holes without trouble. The forward edge is a little different, as the drill needs to be lined up and square to drill through into the roll bar. The holes are the final sized and tapped. My dad did an excellent job and the finished window fits perfectly!
Since the end of November, I’ve been working on the canopy frame. After debuting and priming everything, I spent time carefully following the steps called out in the plans. There is some fluting required that helps shape the substructure and allowing it to sit flush against the skin. Everything has gone well so far, and the frame seems to be coming together quite easily. Some of the steps in the plans appear out of order, but I’m doing the best I can to follow along.
Tonight I started on the finish kit! I spent some time reorganizing parts and getting rid of now empty boxes and bins. Then I started work on the canopy latch, the first thing I can do without having the roll bar installed.
The first step is to straighten the parts and then clean them up with a file. With that done, the knob is installed, and then the parts are installed into the fuselage.
It’s nice to have another tangible control that moves, installed into the cockpit. It was fun to move the latch, and satisfying to feel and hear the click when it locks into place. I decided not to paint it, as there wouldn’t be enough clearance without scraping paint off the parts. It could also use a trim to allow the handle to sit flush with the outside of the fuselage. I’ll leave it for now and sand it down later.
