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Dave's RV-7A Builder's Log
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Date: 10-13-2013
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Number of Hours: 3.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: More canopy trimming
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With at least one more day in the 70s, it was back out to the hangar to trim the sides of the canopy and get the majority of the cutting behind me. The process isn't terribly difficult--remove about 50 clecos, carefully pick up the canopy and move it to the bench, stretch tape across the canopy to prevent inadvertent spreading, cut, sand...sand...sand...and the put the canopy back on the frame. Just very time consuming and a bit nerve wracking as there are multiple opportunities for slipping, dropping, cracking, etc.
With the sides trimmed and the canopy back on the frame for safe keeping, it was time to start looking at the side skirts and what I needed to do next. One thing is obvious--I need to trim about 1/4" from the bottom of both front canopy frame legs. This will lower the forward edge of the canopy and align the canopy bow and the roll bar. After that is done it will be important to have the skins riveted in place before fitting the aft skirts in order to have everything in the final position prior to fabricating the aft skirts.
One final note--during the previous session I noted the loss of my beloved RotoZip. Well, the report of its demise is premature. When I plugged the RZ in and fired it up, it worked perfectly. So I decided to try a little experiment. Cutting disc in, canopy braced and ready for cutting, I started the RZ and commenced cutting. Yep, acrylic dust is flammable. Turns out that the RZ was pulling the dust from the cut into the cooling inlets and igniting it. The morale of the story--if it's hot, it's probably burning. Guess that's why a lot of people use an air die grinder...live and learn.
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Sides are trimmed and ready for skirting
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Some trimming on the forward brackets required to lower the front of the canopy
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Spacing looks pretty good
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