Went to the airport to fly with Bruce S. in the 172. Got once around the pattern just as the snow arrived. Frustrating this time of year. Went to my appointment and then came home and ordered the crimper and D-sub pins. Spoke to Van's about getting an early ship on the remote compass sensor so it could be installed now - no dice.
Went to the shop and Carolyn helped me lower the airframe by putting the front on a low sawhorse and the tail on one of the low benches. Can now swing the canopy frame all the way up.
Began work on the canopy frame. Countersunk the mounting bolt holes using a #30 countersink with the guide padded out with thin strips of electrical tape. Worked OK.
Used the die grinder with coarse ScotchBrite disks to grind down the weld in the canopy bow where the plexiglass bubble will contact it. Smoothed the weld somewhat the rest of the circumference just to improve appearance. Not sure how much it will show in the finished product anyway. Deburred the rough edges on the AL plates at the forward end of the frame. Used a flat file and the die grinder. The aft frame edges are very rough. Not sure how much they will show, but I think they need to smoothed out. Will check Marty's blog to see what he did here.
Met Dave and Brenda for an early New Year's dinner at the Italian Bistro.
