Called Van's and talked to Gus about the fit of the canopy. He says it's not a big deal if the gap at the back end of the canopy is larger than at the top. He also advises leaving a larger than 1/32 gap between the aft window and the canopy.
Marked canopy for removing additional material from spots on aft end and forward end near corners. Heated the shop up to about 80 and kept it there all afternoon. I like working in my tee shirt in January! Carolyn came up and helped me remove the bubble and place it on the work surface, which I made bigger by using the top of the crate.
Ground off the front corners with the die grinder. Then removed small amount of material using the vibrating sander with 80 grit paper, then 120. This seems to work quite well. Will go finer when I'm sure I'm finished removing material. Retaped inside and outside of bubble to protect as much as possible.
Called Carolyn up to the shop through a raging blizzard to help me reinstall the canopy on the frame. Worked the bubble to get it as centered as possible. Taped it down securely. Screwed up my courage and began drilling the forward and aft end of the canopy. Used my new 1/8" (#30) plexi bit. Seemed a bit on the slow side, until I discovered the drill was in reverse. Duh! All holes drilled without apparent damage. Phew!
Taped the side skirts in place and match drilled all the holes into the frame. Removed, deburred, and bent the forward ends to match the fuselage curve as instructed.
Next task will be to remove the canopy again and shave 1/8" off the bottom of both sides. Then on to the "non-claustrophobic helper" part! Should be interesting since I don't have the seats yet. Going to have to do some recruiting!
