Two steps forward, and one step backwards... the story of this build. Having found that the sliding canopies interfere at their trailing edges with the turtle deck, when their aft brace tubes are installed, I decided to remove the turtle deck arch bulkheads. These are the laminated aluminum and plywood plates that stiffen the front of the turtle deck. My thinking is that if I had installed them incorrectly they could be warping the turtle deck and causing the interference with the sliding canopies. So I drilled out all the rivets, undid all the bolts, removed the cabling and fuel hoses that were secured on the backside of the bulkhead, and pulled out the laminated plates. This did not appear to change the shape of the turtle deck at all and still the pilot side canopy interfered when I tried to slide it into place. Next step is to install the fixed cabin windows to see if they would pull the turtle deck into shape.
