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Michaels Web Site
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Date: 1-11-2014
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Number of Hours: 2.50
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Fastening canopy
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Added 3 coats of clear coat paint to the vertical tail tip. No photos.
- So tonight was the big night of starting to fasten the canopy. It was also the night I joined the "cracked canopy club." On the up-side, it was only one crack, and it's small.
- With the canopy temporarily cleco'd in place I looked at the final fit.
- There were a few places where the canopy material was too tight to the adjacent structure, so I trimmed the canopy edges in a few locations, followed by sanding smooth.
- I started riveting (aluminum rivets, per the plans) at the hinge-side. With the clecos in place I started at the forward end of the hinge half and worked back.
- The technique was to insert the rivet fully, then press the plexi canopy as hard as I dared, against the canopy frame, and then squeezed the riveter. I used the hand riveter. No need or sense using the air-powered rivet gun for these soft aluminum rivets. Besides, you get a better feel with the hand riveter.
- Some of the hole were not aligning perfectly. There are 3 pieces you are going through: hinge half, plexi canopy, and aluminum canopy frame. So I was pushing the rivets in, harder than I should have been.At the 5th rivet...
- CRACK! I heard a low crack and looked down to see a crack extending from that rivet, out above the hinge half (photo 3). Dammit!
- I immediately got my smallest plexi drill bit and stop-drilled the crack (photo 3). Then I tried to recover from disappointment, mainly in myself.
- So I took my rivet-sized plexi bit, and carefully drilled through all 3 pieces of material at each hole. The holes in the 3 pieces were really almost perfect, but the slight misalignment was enough. So the drill served to just dress up the slight offset to easily accept the rivet.
- From then on all the rivets on both sides of the canopy went in fine.
- I'll put a little clear silicone in the stop-drill hole and just chalk it up to experience.
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Pilot-side canopy riveted.
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Hinge-side riveted. But...
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Dammit!
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