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Jims RV-8
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Date: 8-19-2018
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Number of Hours: 4.20
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Manual Reference: 9-3
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Brief Description: Canopy Skirt #14, Aft clecos, bottom cuts, fit
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1. Got the aft end of the skirt fit – After getting the aft skirt cut to the right fit, Bob and I were able cut two pieces of aluminum to fit on the top and bottom surfaces of the aft canopy skirt. We used these two pieces to hold the halves together. Five clecos hold each side. It was important to clear the back of the canopy frame and canopy since I didn’t want to be drilling into those parts.
2. Cut the bottom line to the right point – As I was looking at the canopy skirt to determine what else needed to be done, I noticed that the bottom of the canopy skirt was not in line with the bottom of the front top skin. It’s probably not a standard dimension or a hard and fast rule and there is nothing about it in the plans – just something I decided to do on my airplane. Bob had two good ideas here – we used a chalk line to mark the cut line as the front was off a fair amount but the aft end of the bottom was very close to right where I wanted them. So, we snapped a chalk line, then clamped a steel bar down along the line and cut along the steel bar. Then sanded it up – it looks great.
3. Used the heat gun on the canopy skirt to canopy contact point – There were still a few places where the canopy skirt did not contact completely with the canopy at the top of the skirt, bottom of the canopy. I will see this area every time I get into and out of the airplane so I want it to look good. We continued the method that I have been using, with the hobby heat gun, wood and clamps. This was the most tedious as it is a string of, “see what needs fixing, un-install canopy skirt, heat, apply a bend, cool the canopy skirt, re-install skirt, take a look at the progress, decide if more is needed or move on to another spot”. There is one spot left where the skirt has a seam of two joined layups and it is thicker there. I will need to work this area a bit, but enough for today. Thanks Bob!
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clecos holding aft end together
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bottom straight cuts
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heat gun fitting of lower canopy to upper skirt
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