Started this work session with straping down the canopy frame and skin to the front fuse. Used a tie down strap to pull it down snug but not too tight. I added several layers of duck tape in the center area in an effort to get the canopy skin to sit slightly higher than the front skin to prevent snagging.
Once happy with the placement and fit (not happy, just as good as it was gonna get), I drilled, debured and riveted the splice plate and the hinge angles.
Then apparently the Sun, Moon and stars must have been aligned with Mars because the hinge drilling ended up with holes that are almost dead center of the hinges.
Then I did the usual trimming of the seal angle in order to get the unit to rotate.
Once that was done, the frame rotated just fine.
Put the canopy skin back on and then I had what everyone else seems to have. A tighter gap on the copilot side than the pilot side, canopy skin sticking up above the front top skin at the corners, and the center section would catch the front skin and it would not open.
So I spent the next 4 hours filing the skins and making shims to go under the center of the canopy skin and the corners of the front top skin.
This process is horrible slow and painfull. I got it close and decided to move on. I can work on that more later. It seems possible to get it all worked out with shims but I would like to shrink the corners of the canopy skin but I do not have a shrinker.
Got started on the rear canopy frame ribs by marking where the screws will go and then, flanged to the correct angle, fluted and twisted them back into shape.
Made up all the spacers...
Clamped the pilot side rails in place and drilled them to the front canopy frame.
I am not going to drill the side rails to the rear canopy ribs like it tells you in the directions at this time. Seems this causes problems getting the ribs to fit later against the canopy without messing up the 1/8" gap that is suppose to be under the side rails for the seal strip.
