Tonight was devoted to the initial fitting and trimming of the canopy in preparation of Thursday's "big cut". Not knowing exactly how the canopy and windshield would fit on the fuselage, I asked Ross to drop by and help me put the whole piece in place for measuring. No pictures, but it became pretty obvious that there was about an inch and a half of waste all around except for the aft corners which needed quite a bit more cut. Back to the bench for some more measuring and fitting before breaking out the Unibit and drilling the 5/8" hole for the latch mechanism. First I drilled a 1/8" pilot hole and then enlarged it with the Unibit. Total non-event. I used a round file to open the hole just a little bit more and then put a long bolt, well padded, into the assembly to hold it all in place. On to the trimming.
A check of the temperature showed 80 degrees in the hangar, so why not make some cuts? With the cutting wheel supplied in the finish kit secured into my RotoZip, I began a basic cut on some of the waste area. Cuts like budda...no big deal. After marking the trim line I began along the left side and worked down the line. I found it easier for me to make an initial pass and then go back and cut completely through with the second pass. After using my Dremel with a sanding drum to knock off any sharp edges, I used a sanding block to clean the rest of the edge and moved on to the other side. Ok, so this plexi cutting isn't that scary.
After cutting to the initial shape, I loosely clamped the canopy on the frame and called it a night. I will get a few more clamps for tomorrow's big event and assuming the cold front doesn't come through early I will be making the "big cut" tomorrow night.
