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Date:  10-8-2019
Number of Hours:  6.00
Manual Reference:  Sec 9, DWGs 41-43
Brief Description:  Fabricating/Drilling C-791 Lower Canopy Skirt Brac

Today I Drilled #40 holes through the upper C-971 Canopy Skirt Brace at 1 9/32” spacing according to the plans diagram. I also marked the center lines for the (10) 1 ¼” ‘lightening’ holes, drilled and then used a Unibit to drill the final sized lightening holes. This C-971 brace, is an S-shape but must be trimmed to fit against the aft portion of the frame as well as curve to follow the shape of frame. This effectively turns a rigid piece of aluminum into a floppy mess. Once the notches were cut and the edges worked with a file, I climbed into the cockpit and shut the canopy so that I could drill the brace to the frame. The drilling process is pretty straightforward—draw a centerline on the frame, line the first hole up and drill. Cleco that hole and start working aft until the aft-most hole is done. The next phase of the fitting requires someone to sit in the cockpit and push the brace against the skirt while someone outside pushes the skirt against the fuselage and drills the two pieces (the holes in the skirt were pre-drilled). With my wife’s assistance, and some major adjustments to get the brace aligned properly, we finished and amazingly, the skirts are flush with the fuselage. A few more little cosmetic adjustments are needed to do a better job of covering the bottom flange with a 1/2” strip of aluminum, then I will spend the next few days disassembling the entire canopy, sanding all the metal pieces including the frame, priming and painting and final reassembly in order to install the dreaded rear skirts.
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C-791 Brace Layout

C-791 Brace Layout

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Drilling Lightening Holes

Drilling Lightening Holes

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Completed C-791 Fabrication

Completed C-791 Fabrication

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