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.
