Working on the canopy is exciting because it is such a prominent feature of the fuselage. Tonight I began the process of fitting the welded steel canopy frame to the fuselage and the canopy rails. The rear of the canopy slides along the aft rail (which is screwed to the top of the aft fuselage) on a dense plastic block. I drilled the block so that it held the canopy frame off of the rail by exactly 1/16". Then, I fabricated the two rollers which attach the front of the canopy frame to the two side slide rails. Next, I had to pull and tuck the frame so that it fit precicely to the fuselage sides. for one place on the frame, I had to use a crow bar to bend it into submission. I got the whole frame fitted except for the aft most section, which will have to be bent down over one inch. That will take some considerable tugging and I will need a partner to hold down the rest of the frame while I bend the back part.
The aft slider block, which holds the canopy frame to the center rail
