Well I woke up at 0330 to fly to JFK for whatever trip I was assigned and lucky me nothing, so I am off the hook. Nice getting paid for a 3 day trip you don’t have to fly.
I messed around today with the canopy rails. The canopy frame rolls smoothly enough but it was 1/16” narrower at the aft end than the front. After getting the rails all set I drilled all the holes to accept # 8 screws and gave everything a test fit. I think I am ready to start on the bubble!
I spent the last half hour or so looking at the fit of the baggage door. It sits a little high right at the sharpest part of the fuselage curve. I can press in down and get a good fit, so this tells me the flanges of the underside support strips are making it sit high. I want to consult VAF and see what other builders have done to get a flush fit. This is definitely something that can wait. I have to build up some tall saw horses to hold the canopy so I will pick up those materials today and work on that tomorrow. I will be using glue on method to hold the canopy to the frame (Sika Flex) . A builder recommended the tall saw horse that way you can stand inside the bubble while applying the glue to the inside. The stuff is like a thick caulk, so you apply it and form a fillet for a nice look. The idea is the glue like caulk is flexible and will prevent the cracks a lot of guys get.
Rails ready to be screwed down
High spon on baggage door, it sits about the thichness of the skin high.
