Mar 14, 2024     New canopy roller - (0.8 hour)       Category: Canopy

The first time I drilled the right side canopy roller, I used a drill press because I thought it would be more precise. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to keep the part in position, and there's no tactile "feel" of what you're doing when you use a drill press. As a result, the drill bit walked a bit as it began the hole, and I ended up with a slightly offset hole through the shaft of the roller. This meant that the roller was riding slightly crooked in the rail.

I ordered a new roller shaft the week before Van's bankruptcy announcement, and it arrived the day of the announcement. Lucky timing

Today, I remedied the issue by drilling the holes again, this time with some titanium bits in a hand-held drill. It worked beautifully. Now the canopy should glide open and shut like the weapons-bay doors on an F-35.

  Feb 15, 2024     Canopy skirt -- final sanding - (0.75 hour)       Category: Canopy

Sanded yesterday's filler on several areas of the skirt.

  Feb 14, 2024     Canopy skirt filler - (0.4 hour)       Category: Canopy

Added a few areas of filler to the canopy skirt, just to perfect the "flow" of its contour.

  Dec 30, 2023     Canopy skirt latch and edge trimming - (2.6 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Before I do the windshield top fairing layups, I had to make sure the canopy latch works perfectly and holds the canopy in the right position. It seemed like the latch was pulling the canopy forward a bit too much, so I removed the latch mechanism and filed the hook a bit more.
2. I also solved the "loose latch" problem I was having by filing the inboard end of the "through tube" of the canopy latch. This allowed me to insert a thin washer, which added quite a bit of stiction to the mechanism.
3. Recently, I'd noticed that my canopy skirt was excessively tall at the front end, which means it was not parallel to the fuselage skin seam, and was also going to make me create a larger fairing pocket for it at the front end. I solved both problems by marking the skirt with help from my friend Jim, applying a long masking tape cut line on each side, and trimming the skirt with a Dremel tool. I finished off the cuts with a long sanding board. I then rounded off the corners of the skirt a bit -- for safety and for a better look.

  Dec 18, 2023     Skirt sanding; Canopy latch mechanism - (2.9 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Filled and sanded some slight divots in the outside surface of the canopy skirt.
2. Reassembled the canopy latch mechanism using the new latch arm I just received from Vans. Got in the cockpit, closed the canopy, and marked a starting point for cutting the latch arm.
3. Drilled and repetitively trimmed the latch so it holds the canopy closed without undue stress on the frame. I also made it so there is a slight notch where the canopy frame pin rests.
4. Assembled the latch assembly and tried various combinations of washers so the assembly didn't move laterally in the frame tube. I still have to figure out a way to prevent the handles from turning so easily when the latch is open.

  Dec 11, 2023     Sanding skirt filler holes; Rivet replacement - (2.7 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Began sanding and feathering the filled rivets and screws on the right side of the skirt. Got about half of them done.
2. Masked off the canopy and drilled out and replaced all of the top front CS4-4 rivets with AACQ rivets.
3. Clipped off and filed each of the rivet stems.
4. Removed all the masking tape and cleaned up the glass. Everything looks good.

  Dec 10, 2023     Canopy rivets - QC and sanity check - (3.3 hours)       Category: Canopy

After installing the rivets securing the canopy to its frame, I noted that, adjacent to each rivet, there was what looked like a split in the steel canopy frame, extending parallel to the tube and about 1/4" from each rivet. The "splits" are exactly on the tangent point of the canopy, right where the most pressure is being exerted by the rivets, and there is no irregularity to the apparent splits -- they are straight and smoothly tapered. At the time I riveted the canopy, I chalked these up to being merely pressure points on the frame's paint, caused by the pressure of the plexiglass simply mashing down on it.

Over the past week or so, I'd looked at these marks a lot, and had begun to worry about them. Perhaps there WERE splits in the frame. Perhaps I was headed toward a massive structural failure of my canopy someday. The fact that I had mistakenly used CS4-4 rivets instead of softer AACQ rivets in these holes added to the worry. Even though the thought of pop-rivets being able to split a steel tube seemed crazy, I couldn't let the issue drop, so today I decided to put the issue to rest once and for all.

1. After consulting with my friend Jim, I decided the first step was to drill out a rivet or two and see if I could ascertain whether the apparent cracks were actually there. If they were real, we came up with a further plan to deal with them and possibly salvage my canopy, canopy frame, and skirt.

2. The first rivet I removed, near the top of the canopy, was inconclusive. The "split" was definitely reduced in size to almost nothing but a thin line, but this could have been from the pressure on the paint being relieved, or it could have been because the rivet wasn't pulling the "gap" open any more.

3. I then removed two consecutive rivets from the bottom edge of the canopy, where I figured it would be easier to produce a bigger gap.

4. Using a length of 0.032" safety wire and my sheet bender, I made a short, sharp little hook that I hoped might catch the edge of the "gap" if I inserted it between the canopy and the frame.

5. I used the hook to feel around, and I determined that there was absolutely no crack, gap or split in the steel tubing. I now conclude that what I was seeing was the mashing of the satin paint I used to touch-up the forward canopy frame.

6. I cleaned up the holes and re-installed rivets (the proper AACQ ones this time). I plan to drill out all 21 CS4-4 rivets, one at a time, and re-install the softer rivets. (The only bad part about the AACQs is that some of them leave a slight stem sticking up which will have to be Dremeled off.)

Crisis averted. I can sleep tonight!

  Dec 06, 2023     Sanded skirt filler - (2.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

Used several different sanding tools and techniques to sand and feather the remainder of the rivet filler spots on the left side canopy skirt.

  Dec 03, 2023     Sanded skirt filler; Canopy latch assembly - (3.8 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Masked off the lower edge of the canopy glass to protect it.
2. Began sanding and feathering the filled rivets and screws on the skirt. I managed to get 18 of them done, and I'll continue to work on this sanding project as time allows over the next couple of weeks.

3. Began assembling the internal canopy latch by sanding the handle shaft so the bronze bushing would slide over it. I also filed the latch plate a bit to ease how the bushing fit into it.
4. Test-fit all the components and put the handle in place through the canopy frame, then sat in the cockpit, closed the canopy, and marked an approximate location to trim the latch plate.
5. Cut the latch plate to the marked trim line, then filed it smooth.
6. Reassembled the whole latch assembly and determined where the external handle needed to be mounted. Marked the location, then disassembled everything and drilled and tapped the shaft and handle with an 8-32 thread. Inserted a stainless steel set screw to check the fit. The handle is nice and tight to the shaft, but the function of the latch seems a bit loose on the fixed stud in the airplane, so I might re-do it by making a new latch plate. A little more study is needed.

7. In the meantime, I got out my canopy security lock and determined its best location on the canopy slider rail.
8. Screwed the lock's pin down onto the rail to mark it, then removed it and drilled the #28 hole in the rail.
9. Fit the lock assembly in place, and it works beautifully.

  Nov 30, 2023     Filled canopy skirt fasteners - (0.5 hour)       Category: Canopy

Mixed up a thick micro/cabosil mixture and applied it to the rivets and screw-heads on the canopy skirt.

  Nov 29, 2023     Canopy and skirt assembly - (4.8 hours)       Category: Canopy

I was a pretty momentous day in the history of N8SH. With the great help of my friend Jim, we got the canopy, skirt and canopy frame assembled, which is a project I've been somewhat dreading for many years.

1. First, I removed all the masking tape from the skirt and sanded off the minor drips of resin that had accumulated here and there after the recent work I did on the inside surfaces. I also cleaned and inspected the skirt, inside and out, to make sure all the surfaces were smooth and the edge profiles were good. I spent a little time sanding out a minor divot in the upper edge. I also attached the temporary lifting handle that will stay in place until after the fuselage is painted.

2. Once Jim had arrived, I cleaned the canopy edges again, then we donned rubber gloves to place it on the frame and cleco it all the way over the front rollbar.

3. We lifted the skirt into position and I began installing screws and clecos to get it into position. Most of the screws went in pretty well, although many of them sat slightly proud of the skirt surface on a random edge, which I attributed to the slight deviation in the angle of the skirt holes and the angles at which I'd tapped the holes in the frame. I tried to deepen or modify the countersink profiles a bit, with fairly good results, but it was somewhat tedious. I made plans to perhaps grind off the slightly protruding parts of the screws later. Also, some of the screws stripped, and a few even spun in the holes when tightened -- and that's when I began to suspect the walls of the canopy frame tubes may, in fact, be a bit thin to accept tapping. (I also think the steel used in the frame is a bit soft. I remember that I was able to bend it with a 2X4 many years ago to get it into the proper shape.)

4. Nevertheless, after getting all the screws tightened down a sufficient amount, I began riveting the canopy to the front rollbar. The first few were nerve-wracking, but they came out fine.

5. Next I riveted the top line of holes that attached the skirt, canopy and frame. Most of these went really well, with just a few requiring a firm push on the top of the canopy to line up the three holes, and every canopy hole grommet appears to have stayed in place. I had to slightly open up two holes to get a good fit.

6. My plan was to then remove each screw, add some LockTite to the threads, and re-install each one. But after experiencing some more difficulty with spinning screws and galled threads, we decided that perhaps I should just drill each hole out to #30 and just install CS4-4 rivets. This seemed like a perfect and reasonable option, since I am probably never going to remove the canopy, and all the fasteners are going to be filled and painted over anyway. It also seemed to give a lot more strength to the assembly, since many of the tapped screw holes seemed iffy, honestly.

7. For each hole, I removed the screw, opened the hole to #30, checked the fit of the rivet and adjusted the countersink depth as needed, then pulled the rivet. It went pretty fast, and before I knew it, we were done.

I'm really pleased with the fit of the skirt and canopy, and especially with the apparent lack of stress that I've placed on the canopy -- which is the most critical part of the whole endeavor. The fitment of the skirt is very good, but not perfect -- there are a few minor gaps that are larger than I'd like, but nothing that's a showstopper. I think most of the issues will be resolved after I Sikaflex the intentional canopy/frame gap on either side, aft of the rear cockpit. There will also be some fillets of Sikaflex at the front of the skirt, where there's a gap between it and the vertical frame supports.

Thanks to Jim for a very successful day.

  Nov 28, 2023     Final skirt prep - (2.3 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Sanded down both sides of yesterday's filled holes, then feathered them with fine sandpaper until they were gone.
2. Masked the inside of the skirt to increase the coverage area of the resin-covered areas at the bottom and top edges. (This will keep the semi-rough bedliner away from the canopy glass and the paint on the fuselage.)
3. Sanded off the bedliner in these areas, then cleaned the skirt.
4. Applied clear resin to the new areas with a 1" brush. Removed the masking tape.
5. Once the new areas had dried, I reverse-masked them and sprayed a new coat of bedliner on the interior area.

  Nov 27, 2023     Final canopy and skirt prep - (4.25 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Marked the forward edge of the skirt for some slight trimming so it exactly matches the forward edge of the canopy glass.
2. Marked tangent lines from the edge of the skirt upward, in between the previous skirt holes. Measured underneath the skirt from the tangent point of the edge of the skirt to the tangent point of the canopy frame. Measured the diameter of the frame tube, then derived the additional dimension to add to the first one. This gave me the distance to mark on the skirt for the center of the tube.
3. Drilled a shallow pilot/starter hole in the skirt at each of these locations.
4. Changed to a Plexiglas bit, said a few Hail Marys, and drilled all the way through the skirt, the Lexan canopy, and finally made a mark on the steel frame.
5. Removed the canopy skirt. (There was one screw that didn't want to come out until I persuaded it with Vice Grips. Not sure why.)
6. Removed the canopy, with Jim's help.
7. Opened up the new canopy holes to 1/4", then deburred them and ran a hot soldering iron around their inside edges.
8. Glued rubber grommet pieces in the holes.
9. Marked off two new areas of the canopy frame that will be Sikaflexed to the skirt. These are on the frame diagonals near the back seater's shoulders. Scuffed these areas with 100-grit paper.
10. Sanded the forward edge of the skirt at the trim marks.
11. Enlarged the new holes in the skirt to #30, then countersunk them for rivets.
12. Mixed up some thick flox and filled the holes in the skirt that will be unused.
13. Drilled the new holes in the canopy frame, then upsized them to #30 and deburred them.

  Nov 24, 2023     Canopy and skirt test fit - (1.1 hours)       Category: Canopy

After letting the resin on the inside of the skirt dry, I decided to try another fitting, using a slightly different procedure:

1. My friend Jim helped me cleco the skirt back in position.
2. This time, I went front to back, alternating left to right, using #6 screws to hold the skirt in place to the frame, with ocessional clecos added to hold the canopy. This worked really well, with almost no issues getting the skirt to line up with the holes. On our previous attempt, I guess the countersunk screw holes had some slop in them, and the clecos just didn't have enough holding power to keep the skirt holes perfectly centered. But the flat-head screws certainly did.
3. I noted that the aft portion of the skirt lays down quite a bit better now, probably because of the slight trim of the lower edge I did last night.
4. One of the aft six holes was pretty well aligned, so I will keep that one. My plan for the other ones is to carefully mark where the canopy frame is, then drill at least three more holes through the skirt AND the canopy with a plexi bit (in between the originals), letting the bit just barely touch the steel frame. Then I'll disassemble everything, drill out and deburr the new holes in the canopy, drill the new holes in the frame, fill the old holes, and reassemble everything for the final time.

  Nov 23, 2023     Canopy and skirt prep - (2 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Removed the canopy skirt.
2. Marked the skirt to be trimmed to ease its fit. Sanded about 1/8" or so off the edge of the curved part of the skirt.
3. Marked and taped off a 1" strip around the lower, inboard face of the skirt. Sanded off the bed-liner in this strip, then brushed on some clear resin so the area will be smooth to the touch.
4. During the clecoing of several holes yesterday we dislodged a few rubber grommets, so today I replaced them. In the interest of making it easier to see into the holes, I also replaced the black grommets in the aft six holes with white ones.

  Nov 22, 2023     Canopy attachment (first look) - (4.1 hours)       Category: Canopy

My friend Jim helped a lot today, as made the first attempt to attach the canopy and skirt.

1. Removed the canopy.
2. Masked and sanded the inside of the canopy in the locations where I anticipate adding Sikaflex later
3. Cleaned the lower 2" of the canopy, inside and out.
4. Put the canopy in position on the frame. Clecoed it to the front rollbar.
5. Added the skirt and began to cleco it and the canopy to the frame. This process was not as straightforward as I'd hoped, with one side's holes matching up easily, but the other side's being slightly off. Additionally, the six aft holes didn't line up well, and we could only get three or four clecoes in. As I suspected, there were also one or two holes that seemed more difficult than they should be, We tried different tactics to get things lined up, but there seems to be more work needed, because I do not want to force anything together and risk stressing the canopy.

Observations: 1. The skirt is very stiff, and doesn't have much flex. 2. Having a black-painted canopy frame AND black grommets in the canopy holes makes for a giant black hole when you're trying to insert a cleco. It's very difficult to see if you're lined up. 3. The skirt fits very tightly to the fuselage -- so much so that I think there might be some interference where the bottom of the skirt curves up, aft of the rear seat. 4. The truck bed-liner on the inside of the skirt has a is pretty rough surface, and I think it might abraid the fuselage paint a bit.

I made a list of small things to fix for tomorrow, and knocked off work for the day.

  Nov 21, 2023     Canopy grommets - (1 hour)       Category: Canopy

Installed the canopy attach hole grommets on the right side of the canopy, using a tiny amount of clear silicone caulk to keep them in place.

  Nov 20, 2023     Canopy handle powdercoating - (0.3 hour)       Category: Canopy

1. Prepped canopy handle for powdercoating.
2. Took the handle to my new favorite powdercoating service, Stateline Custom Koating, who not only agreed to do the job for me, but texted me less than two hours after I dropped off the part, telling me it was done.

  Nov 19, 2023     Frame preparation; Canopy handle relief hole - (1.2 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Scuffed the four locations on the frame that will be Sikaflexed.
2. I decided to drill out the relief pocket in the canopy that I made yesterday for the canopy handle attach screw, and instead just make it a 7/16" hole all the way through the canopy. That way, I won't have to wait for the handle to be powdercoated before I attach the canopy and skirt to the frame. This hole will also completely eliminate the possibility that the screw head will ever touch the canopy, and it will also allow the handle to be removed or replaced if needed. I used some Plexiglas bits, followed by a step drill, to drill and enlarge the hole. Then I ran a hot soldering iron around the inside of the hole to smooth it out.

  Nov 18, 2023     Canopy holes; frame preparation, new canopy grommets - (3.25 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Drilled the forward row of canopy holes (the ones that arch over the top) up to 1/8" diameter using a Plexiglas bit, then up to their final #30 size with a regular bit. Deburred the enlarged holes.
2. Decided that these holes could not be enlarged to 1/4" for floating rivets like the other canopy holes, since there will be no skirt at this location. Carefully countersunk the holes with a 120-degree cutter bit and smoothed them with a PermaGrit countersink bit.
3. Used a small Dremel ball bit to cut a small clearance pocket in the canopy for the upper canopy-handle screw. Smoothed it out with a grinding stone and a soldering iron.
4. Masked out the four areas of the canopy frame that will have to be scuffed for the later application of Sikaflex.
5. After deciding NOT to use the white rubber grommets I previously cut for the canopy holes, I cut new ones out a slightly stiffer, black rubber tubing. (This tubing, with a durometer rating of 70, is twice as stiff as the previous tubing, but it's still flexible enough to do the job, plus its black color will be better for this particular installation, since I won't have to hide it with caulk.)

  Nov 16, 2023     Canopy rivet grommets; canopy frame paint touchup. - (1.6 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Cut 46 grommets from soft (35 durometer) rubber tubing.
2. Prepped and painted the front bow of the canopy frame with satin black paint. This will cover the scuffs that were made previously.

  Nov 15, 2023     Canopy skirt drilling and liner - (0.7 hour)       Category: Canopy

1. Drilled out and countersunk the screw holes where I installed additional shim layers yesterday.
2. Used a handheld belt sander to smooth the edges of the new shim installations.
3. Applied more truck bed liner over the new shims.

  Nov 14, 2023     Canopy and skirt fitting - (2 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. With the help of my friend Jim, I removed the skirt, taped the aft part of the canopy with blue painters tape, and drew some lines on the tape denoting the location of the frame holes.
2. I cut several rubber grommets and inserted them into a few canopy holes as guides, then we put the skirt back on.
3. We adjusted and re-clecoed the skirt a bit to get a good fit. I extended the tape lines down onto the skirt, and marked where the lines crossed to determine the location of the six new holes that will be drilled at the back of the skirt.
4. Along the way I determined that there were about eight holes in the skirt that could use a bit more shimming, so I marked them, then removed the skirt.
5. Ground off the truck bed liner from the marked holes, then applied more carbon fiber shim layups to these locations.

  Nov 10, 2023     Canopy and skirt attachment planning - (0.4 hour)       Category: Canopy

I spent some time working out the plan for attaching the canopy and skirt to the frame. I also checked the clearance at the back of the skirt for the screws that will attach the canopy lifting handle.

  Nov 05, 2023     Canopy skirt rail fairing - (0.3 hour)       Category: Canopy

Added filler to the rail fairing.

  Nov 04, 2023     Canopy skirt rail fairing; Skirt handle; Skirt liner       Category: Canopy

1. Filed and sanded the rail fairing to what I hope is close to its final shape. I'll verify this when I fit the frame, canopy, and skirt back together.
2. Used a Forstner bit and a Dremel barrel grinding bit to create a counterbored pocket in the skirt for the two handle attach screws. (I may have to deepen the pockets a bit more, but I did validate the process.)
3. Cleaned the inside surface of the skirt and sprayed it with black truck-bed liner.

  Nov 03, 2023     Skirt rail fairing rebuild; Skirt profile work; Canopy attach holes - (3.9 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Sanded yesterday's application of flox/micro/cabosil mixture to the canopy skirt's rail fairing, then added more of it. This will be sanded and (hopefully) final-profiled tomorrow.
2. Spent a considerable amount of time tweaking the edges of the skirt so the curves are smooth. I managed to sand the edges into some more aesthetically-pleasing shapes than before.
3. Filled two holes in the skirt that were previously going to be attach holes.
4. Opened up and smoothed six attach holes at the back of the canopy.
5. Used a PermaGrit countersink bit and a soldering iron to smooth all the remaining holes on the canopy.
6. Used a hand-held belt sander, followed by files and sandpaper, to shape the stock Vans canopy handle into something a little nicer than stock. I then packaged it up so it can be sent to the folks at Engravers.net, who will engrave it with the word "OPEN" and a downward arrow.

  Nov 02, 2023     Canopy skirt handle and rail fairing - (1.4 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Located and drilled the attach holes for the canopy lift handle.
2. Test-installed the handle to check its fit and alignment, then removed it.
3. Mixed up some thick flox/micro/cabosil, and used it to re-attach the canopy rail fairing at the back of the skirt. After it cures, I will add some more of the mixture, then file and sand it to shape.
4. Tested two coatings for the inside of the skirt: Flat-black paint and truck-bed liner. The paint is totally flat, but the bed liner seems a lot tougher, so I'll probably go with that. [NO PHOTO].

  Nov 01, 2023     Countersinking canopy skirt holes - (3.4 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Countersunk all the remaining attach screw holes in the skirt.
2. As I was doing this, I became aware of an issue with the original plan to attach the canopy with 6-40 screws--a problem I hadn't considered up to this point. The 6-40 flathead screws have an 82-degree head angle, which means the countersinks are pretty deep. Unfortunately, the carbon fiber skirt is too thin to countersink that deep. This would result in the top row of screws protruding slightly. It appears no one manufactures 6-40 flat-head screws with a 100-degree head angle. So I now plan to use Vans stock CS4-4 rivets in those holes--rivets which have a very shallow head angle that will fit just fine in the current countersinks.

  Oct 29, 2023     Upsizing and countersinking canopy skirt holes - (2.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Sanded the transitions on the new shim patches on the inside of the skirt.
2. Drilled all the skirt holes up to their final sizes.
3. Began countersinking the holes, using a combination of a 100-degree PermaGrit countersink bit (for most of the holes) and an 82-degree 3-flute steel bit (for the 6-40 screws that will attach the canopy bubble). These holes are quite tedious to countersink, because of the toughness of the carbon fiber. I feel like the bits are getting duller rapidly--even the normally-indestructible PermaGit bits.

  Oct 28, 2023     Upsizing canopy holes; Canopy frame-de-scuff - (1 hour)       Category: Canopy

1. Finished drilling and deburring all 40 attach holes in the canopy.
2. Used wet 2000-grit sandpaper to attempt remove some of the previous scuffing on the forward canopy frame bar. The results are somewhat inconclusive--it might require more effort. [NO PHOTO]

  Oct 25, 2023     Upsizing canopy holes - (1.3 hours)       Category: Canopy

Opened up more holes in the canopy to 1/4". I have now completed 34 of the 40 holes.

  Oct 24, 2023     Upsizing canopy holes - (1.8 hours)       Category: Canopy

After making sure the workshop was nice and warm (77 degrees), I positioned the canopy on some blocks of wood and began opening up the attach holes from #30 to 1/4". On each hole, I used a unibit (step-drill) to carefully open the hole, then immediately followed this with a countersink bit on each side of the hole, followed by running a hot soldering iron around the inside of each hole about ten times. I got 14 of the 40 holes drilled in under two hours.

I also cut a slice of soft rubber hose as a grommet and test-fit it on of the holes. It worked well.

  Oct 23, 2023     Canopy frame drilling/tapping; Canopy skirt shimming - (4.1 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Used a 1/2" handheld belt sander to smooth out the transitions of the carbon fiber shims on the inside of the canopy skirt.
2. My friend Jim came over and assisted me with getting the skirt clecoed in place to check the shim thicknesses. I identified a few more places where the shims needed to be built up with a few more plies.
3. We also removed the canopy, then I drilled out the 10 retention rivets, and we separated the canopy from the frame.
4. Drilled and tapped all the screw holes in the canopy frame. I used a 7/32" drill and a 6-40 tap for all the holes that will attach the plexiglas bubble, and a 6-32 tap for all the skirt-only screws. (There were two holes in the frame that were already oversize and/or slightly goobered up, and I drilled and tapped them to 8-32.
5. Cut more carbon fiber shims and bonded at least two plies to each of the desired locations on the skirt.

  Oct 19, 2023     Canopy skirt drilling and shimming - (5.2 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Used a hole-finder tool to locate and drill the bottom row of skirt attach holes along the bottom of the canopy frame.
2. Used my long-ago made drilling templates to locate and drill the remaining holes in the skirt (the vertical ones and the aft, diagonal ones).
3. As expected, I noted some buckling of the skirt when certain clecoes were installed. This is because the skirt doesn't perfectly lay on the canopy frame in various locations. I made note of how many layups of carbon fiber cloth I estimated would be required on the back side of the skirt to shim these holes, and wrote the numbers on the skirt for later. Removed the skirt.
4. With the help of my friend Jim, we removed the blue painter's tape from the canopy, giving us a view of the top edge of the skirt in relation to the frame. We then assessed and marked the skirt for final trimming along the top and bottom of the right side, the top of the left side, and the forward edge of the left side. The goal was to get the top of the skirt to be exactly level with the top of the frame. I think we nailed it.
5. Using several different sanding blocks, I trimmed the edges of the skirt to the tape lines, then we re-clocoed the skirt and checked the lines. After one more minor tweak, we pronounced it most excellent.
6. I counted the number of carbon fiber shims needed (56), then cut small squares from some scrap CF cloth I had.
7. Bonded the required number of plies to the inside of the skirt at the designated areas. I think some of the locations will require even more shimming, but I didn't want to do more than 4 plies at a time. I'll have to add more plies tomorrow after everything cures.

  Oct 18, 2023     Canopy skirt fitting; Canopy handle test-fit - (2.4 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Used tape to extend the lines on the canopy and find the upper hole locations for the skirt. Marked them with white paint marker.
2. Drilled and clecoed the remaining upper attach holes in the skirt.
3. Used an extended drill bit to reach inside the cockpit and back-drill a locator hole in the skirt for the canopy handle..
4. Filed out the hole to match the diameter of the steel handle guide in the frame.
5. Test-fit the interior and exterior canopy handles. I noted with dismay that the custom handle I'd purchased from JDAir several years ago, and had custom-engraved, does not seem like it will work on an RV-8 because the front edge of the handle will strike the canopy and the skirt when it's rotated 90 degrees. I'll need to study this problem a bit further, but in the meantime I ordered a raw, stock canopy handle from Vans Aircraft (which has its point of rotation far enough forward that it will not strike the canopy).

  Oct 17, 2023     Canopy lift handle; Canopy skirt positioning and drilling - (2.9 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Removed the glossy factory powder-coating from the handle that will be my canopy lifting handle. I will have it powder-coated matte black to match the theme of the airplane.

2. My friend Jim once again helped me tape the skirt into position on the airplane.
3. I wanted to get the skirt position exactly right, so I spent a considerable amount of time taking measurements and adjusting the fit of the skirt.
4. Began marking the drilling locations.
5. Drilled and clecoed the first three holes through the skirt, through the pre-existing canopy holes, and into the pre-existing canopy frame holes.

  Oct 16, 2023     Canopy skirt fitting - (1.75 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Decided to trim off the entire canopy rail notch from the back of the skirt, and do a custom layup that will give the rail a bit more room.
2. My friend Tim (the Skirt Guru) came by and mentioned that when he created the shape of the skirt, he envisioned that the top aft edge would be trimmed lower than it was currently trimmed. He mentioned that it might fit even better if I did so. This got me thinking that I should probably make this trim before drilling any attach holes, just in case the skirt fits differently after being trimmed.
2. I laid a taped trim line that I thought looked good, then called over my friend Jim (who's very good with laying out smooth tape lines, among other things) to check my work. He re-did the lines and we took numerous measurements to see if the skirt was going to stay symmetrical on the left and right. We had to compromise that goal in a few locations where it seemed the skirt might not fit as well as it currently does if we trimmed it too much. We decided on lowering the top aft edge of the skirt by about 3/4", which I think will bring the edge closer to the curving Plexiglas bubble underneath, and thereby making the slight gap smaller. From the aft-most point, the trim line curved forward to meet the existing edge about 18" away.
3. I removed the skirt, trimmed the top edge of the skirt just outside the tape line, then used various sanding blocks to smooth the edges and make the curves blend together.

  Oct 15, 2023     Canopy and skirt attach prep - (1.2 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Marked the right side of the canopy with guide marks for the attachment holes.
2. Installed ten temporary aluminum rivets to hold the canopy in position.
3. Removed the clecoes holding the canopy on the frame.

  Oct 11, 2023     Canopy and skirt attach prep - (3.8 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Sanded last night's filler on the canopy skirt rail notch. It still needs some more detail sanding, but it's OK for now.

2. Cut strips of foam tape to act as spacers on the canopy frame, simulating the thickness of the canopy. My thought was to then put the skirt in place without the canopy bubble, and see if I could begin drilling the skirt attach holes. My friend Jim arrived and we tried it, but soon figured out this wasn't going to work well, because the skirt wasn't going to rest in the same place it would if the canopy bubble was on the frame. There was too much uncertainty and potential movement of the frame that would lead to a questionable fit. There was also some question about the trimming of the skirt, since the right side was resting in a slightly different place than the left. It turned out the skirt was trimmed taller on the right (by yours truly). The aft notch also needed some additional filing. So we removed the skirt and sat back to think about things.

3. Finally, we decided that the bubble HAD to be at least temporarily attached to the canopy frame before the skirt could be drilled in place. The only reliable way we could think to do this was to install a few temporary rivets through the canopy bubble again. For now, we just clecoed it back in place on the frame.

4. Next, we decided that the best way to locate the skirt holes would be to use the same "transfer line" technique that was used for the canopy. So we put blue painter's tape on the canopy bubble, and I began drawing the V lines from the holes in the canopy frame. These lines will be transferred to the skirt to locate where to drill.

5. We discussed the next steps, and came up with a plan to complete the canopy and skirt installations.

My thanks to Jim for his adult supervision this evening. More than with any other part of this project, it really helps to talk through what you're going to do with the canopy/skirt with someone else first!

  Oct 10, 2023     Canopy skirt drilling prep - (0.1 hour)       Category: Canopy

Put the canopy frame on the airplane, in preparation for drilling the skirt into place once its filler dries.

  Oct 10, 2023     Canopy skirt slide rail notch - (1.2 hours)       Category: Canopy

Sanded the cured flox to a decent profile. It looked pretty good, but I saw room for improvement, so I added some filler to the outside radii, and I will final-sand it tomorrow.

  Oct 09, 2023     Canopy skirt slide rail notch - (0.5 hour)       Category: Canopy

Due to a manufacturing quirk, there was a slight bevel on each side of the canopy skirt opening, so this evening I filled the bevels with flox, micro, and cabosil. Tomorrow evening I'll carefully sand it to shape.

  Oct 07, 2023     Canopy skirt trimming and sanding - (0.75 hour)       Category: Canopy

1. Trimmed and sanded the forward and top edges of the skirt to the final lines I established yesterday.
2. Sanded the inside surfaces of the skirt to remove imperfections and seams.

  Oct 06, 2023     Canopy skirt and canopy bubble removal - (2.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

My friend Jim helped me with the following projects this evening (Thanks, Jim!):

1. Removed the canopy skirt.
2. Removed the canopy and frame from the airplane.
3. Added some clecoes around the temporary rivets in the canopy.
4. Drilled out the 10 temporary rivets that were holding on the canopy. (The first one went pretty rough, but the others were super easy.) Removed what remnants of the rivets we could from the frame. A bit of the stems are still inside. I hope they don't rattle around in there.
5. Removed the canopy bubble from the frame.
6. Began to plan the hardware and processes needed to attach everything. Realized that I had already drilled out the upper frame holes (the bubble-to-frame holes) to 1/8" long ago, so I will have to upsize the screws from #6 to #8. I think I'll still be able to use the 1/4" OD soft tubing as a gasket inside the 1/4" canopy holes--there just won't be quite the same "free-float" of the fasteners in the holes. I need to research whether I could upsize the canopy holes just a tad. (The difficulty would be finding a suitable size Plexi drill bit or Unibit.)

  Oct 04, 2023     Canopy skirt trimming - (3.3 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Completed trimming the top edge of the canopy skirt.
2. Sanded all edges of the skirt to get it close to its final shape. Sanded off some rough spots on the inside of the skirt.
3. Attached the skirt with duct tape, just to check how close the edges are to the desired trim lines. They are pretty close!

  Oct 03, 2023     Canopy skirt trimming - (0.7 hour)       Category: Canopy

1. With the help of my friend Jim, I removed the canopy skirt.
2. Using a Dremel tool, I began trimming the skirt just outside the tape-marked line.

  Oct 02, 2023     Canopy skirt marking and trimming - (4.1 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Applied a few dozen strips of masking tape to the canopy, marked where the top of canopy frame is, then made marks at 1" and 2" above this as a reference.
2. Filed and sanded the canopy rail notch in the skirt to improve the clearance.
3. Measured, marked, and trimmed off the forward end of the skirt so it clears the fuselage skin.
4. Positioned the canopy skirt on the airplane and taped it in place.
5. Measured down from the reference marks and marked where the top edge of the canopy frame lies. This will be approximately where the top edge of the skirt will be trimmed. I plan to cut slightly above this, and sand it down to the line.
6. Connected the marks with detail tape, trying to achieve a smooth curve.

  Jan 08, 2023     Canopy skirt - (4.4 hours)       Category: Canopy

Today was a big day in the saga of the canopy skirt.

1. I spent a few hours trimming the skirt and sanding the edges to get it into a condition that I could put it in place on the airplane without scuffing anything. I didn't trim the top edge, because I need to mark a precise trim line there -- and the location of the line isn't intuitive by just looking. I will mark it after I get the skirt trimmed a bit more and then re-taped in place.

2. Put protective packing tape on the canopy.

3. My buddy Tim came over and helped me put the skirt on the airplane. We taped it in on and stood back to check the look. I really can't express how great this thing fits. I have one more cut (and some minor sanding) to do on the canopy track slot in back, but other than that, the skirt fits better than any fiberglass skirt I've ever seen on an RV-8. If I can do it justice by installing it correctly, it is going to make people wonder how the heck it was made. It will be a story best told in pictures (soon to come)!

4. Removed the skirt and trimmed off the last little bit of the canopy rail slot.

5. Marked the forward edge of the skirt for where it will get trimmed later. Began figuring out the trim line for the top edge, along the canopy glass.

  Jan 07, 2023     Canopy skirt - (4 hours)       Category: Canopy

Received my new one-piece, carbon fiber canopy skirt from my friend Tim. It really looks great, and I'm optimistic it will work perfectly! I immediately started prepping it for installation:

1. Removed the peel ply from the inside of the skirt.
2. Trimmed off much of the excess loose fiber from the edges.
3. The skirt already has a trim line molded into it, but I accentuated it with a silver Sharpie marker to make sure I could see it while cutting.
4. Used a pair of Dremel tools with diamond cutting wheels to trim the back lower portion of the skirt. I began with my cordless Dremel tool, but it turned out this tool had neither the torque nor the battery longevity to complete the job, so I switched to a new corded Dremel, and this one had at least three times the power (and it didn't get hot). It made pretty short work of the cuts. I even used it to make the first of several passes along the left front cut line. Even so, I ended up making 8-10 cutting passes in some places. The carbon fiber is really tough stuff.
5. Block-sanded the back lower edge of the cowl.
6. Hand-sanded the entire outer surface of the skirt to see how easy it will be to remove some slight burrs. Everything came out very smooth.

  May 14, 2022     Canopy skirt tweaking - (0.4 hour)       Category: Canopy

This entry is to note the slight re-design of the aft end of the canopy skirt design. The previous design was slightly too long and impacted the vertical stabilizer, but this design misses it by 1/2 inch. Tim came over and we put the canopy on the airplane, re-measured everything, and Tim changed the design files in the computer.

  Nov 28, 2021     Top skin marking; cowl fitting - (1.2 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Clecoed the top skin into position. Placed the windshield into position. Laid a tape line around the outside of the windshield to mark the area of the glareshield skin that will have to be painted black. Test-fit the G5 GPS antenna and realized that the area of the glareshield forward of the avionics fan is not as large as I'd thought. Began to research whether the antenna could be mounted sideways on the glareshield.
3. Continued fitting the cowl.

  Nov 13, 2021     Canopy skirt digital design - (0.1 hour)       Category: Canopy

My CAD guru Tim finished the final design files for the carbon fiber canopy skirt. From this, he produced the first model of the mold. This model will be used to cut the mold foam.

  Nov 03, 2021     Canopy skirt CAD file v.4 - (0.6 hour)       Category: Canopy

Reviewed the latest CAD file for the carbon fiber canopy skirt. Tim has been tweaking it so it's as close to perfect as possible. He says we are just about ready to cut the mold.

  Nov 02, 2021     Digital canopy model, v. 3 - (0.6 hour)       Category: Canopy

Reviewed the newest digital model of the canopy. It appears the latest scan was a good one, and we are progressing toward the version of the file that will be used to create a mold.

  Oct 10, 2021     Canopy re-scan - (0.8 hour)       Category: Canopy

Tim re-scanned the canopy and fuselage, this time with some reference points (plastic balls, wine corks, and a rubber duck) hot-glued in strategic locations so the scanner can establish some better reference planes.

  Sep 28, 2021     Canopy skirt scan - (0.5 hour)       Category: Canopy

Tim did the second scan of the canopy and fuselage in preparation for creating the skirt out of carbon fiber.

  Sep 27, 2021     Canopy skirt scan - (2.6 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. After some issues with the computer files, my 3D CAD guy, Tim, needed an additional scan of the canopy and fuselage interface area, so I tore off all the previous tape and re-taped the fuselage and canopy with zero tape overlap and no protective plastic in the way. This is supposed to help the scanner establish a smooth surface. I used flexible gaffer tape on the canopy to give it a nice smooth surface. We'll see how this works...

  Sep 26, 2021     Canopy handle - (0.1 hour)       Category: Canopy

I received my newly-engraved custom handle. I think it looks great!

  May 26, 2021     Canopy skirt scan - (0.8 hour)       Category: Canopy

1. Tim said he thinks we can scan the plane without the canopy skirts and get better data for him to manufacture the molds, so I removed the skirt.
2. With the help of my friends Jim and Tom, we also removed some of the tape and protective plastic on the fuselage and canopy, in order to get a smoother scan surface. Then we re-taped it so there was no overlap.
3. Tim did a full scan of the skirt, frame, aft fuselage, and even the windshield rollover bar and boot cowl. He said this will help "connect" the scans of the side skirts, and establish them in 3D space better.
4. We removed the canopy to remove some of the tape under it, then put it back on.
5. We also put the empennage fairing in place to resolve some questions about spacing at the aft end of the skirt. Tim thinks we will be good on the spacing.

This process is absolutely fascinating, and the scan looks amazing. I hope we can pull this thing off! If so, I could have a very unique canopy skirt that would fit like a glove, and be light and strong.

  May 25, 2021     Canopy skirt test scan - (1.9 hours)       Category: Canopy

My neighbor Tim (The 3D Man) wanted to do a preliminary scan of the airplane.

1. I spent some time taping and prepping the areas of the airplane near the canopy skirt. I also slit the right skirt some more and got it fitting pretty well with double-sided tape and clecoes. The fit will be critical to getting a good scan.

2. Tim scanned the airplane with his handheld scanner, producing a 3D model of the right skirt and surrounding areas, and also the left side of the airplane without the skirt. He was pleased with the results, but he is going to play with the file this evening and see how it looks.

This could be a really cool project!

  May 19, 2021     Canopy skirt - (2.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

There will be little change in plans with the skirt. A neighbor of mine has the ability to scan my canopy skirts, export the resulting CAD files to a 3D cutter system that will mill a mold out of foam, then we can lay up carbon fiber on the mold. In theory, this could result in a one-piece canopy skirt that perfectly fits my airplane. The key is to get a good scan of a nicely-fitting skirt -- regardless of how that's achieved (clecoes, duct tape, double-sided tape, or whatever). Any imperfections such as slots or ragged edges can be removed in the computer before the mold is cut. So I started with that project by:

1. Slotting both of the skirts in numerous locations along the back halves.
2. Trimming them at the centerline in the back (although the left one will be replaced shortly when I get my shipment form Vans.)
3. Marking the top and bottom trim lines with masking tape, then pencil.

The skirts can now easily be taped flush along the fuselage.

  May 18, 2021     Canopy skirt fitting - (2.7 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Removed the hole-marking tape at the aft end of the canopy, trimmed the plastic back another 6", then re-taped the area and re-marked it. This time, the tape is nice and flush with the canopy, instead of being lumpy because of the protective plastic underneath. This will help get the skirt holes located more precisely.

2. Taped the right skirt in place and spent quite a bit of time playing with exact placements, so I could get it to fit as well as possible.

3. Transferred the hole-locator lines down onto the skirt and drilled the holes forward of the rear seat. I'll wait to drill the ones aft of the seat until after I have a close look at how the skirt fits at the aft end.

4. Trimmed off a few inches of the unneeded aft part of the skirt, where it wraps around to the left side.

5. Cut a notch at the aft end of the skirt to accommodate the center canopy rail. Progressively opened it up to get the skirt to lie flat.

6. Used a match-drill tool to locate and mark the lower rail holes. Removed the skirt and drilled these holes, then clecoed the skirt back on. The front 2/3 of the skirt actually fits quite well once it's clecoed down, and it doesn't look like it will require any major surgery to get it to lie flush.

7. While holding the aft 1/3 of the skirt against the canopy, however, it became obvious that the skirt will hover above the fuselage skin about 1/2". And I don't like where the attach holes fall on the skirt, either -- they will be right about where the bend is. I contemplated a couple of options:
a. I could cut vertical slots in the fiberglass, about 2" apart, and try to get these pieces to lie down, then re-glass the entire area.
b. I could heat the area and apply pressure -- but I've heard most people don't have good luck with that.
c. I could cut off the entire aft end of the skirt and build my own aft skirt from scratch, layup by layup. This is actually the most appealing idea to me, but I'm going to consult with a couple of friends about this before I get out my pneumatic cutting disc.

  May 17, 2021     Canopy skirt - (0.8 hour)       Category: Canopy

1. Removed left skirt.
2. Attempted to fit right skirt, but it really fits poorly, and I'm not sure yet how to proceed.
2. Removed blue tape from aft fuselage and replaced with clear packing tape, in preparation for lots of cutting, hacking and re-glassing of the skirts.

[No photos today.]

  May 16, 2021     Canopy skirt - (1.4 hours) Category: Canopy

1. Drilled more attach holes in the left canopy skirt, using my templates.

After playing with the left skirt for a while and comparing it to the right one, I realized that I fit it too far forward. I've decided to ditch the left one and order another one from Vans. One step forward, two steps back.

[No photo today.]

  May 15, 2021     Canopy skirt templates; Skirt fitting - (1.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Drilled all the initial (#40) holes along the lower edge of the left canopy skirt.
2. Made a cardboard template to locate the skirt holes along the aft (diagonal) portion of the canopy frame.
3. Used the template to drill all but one of the holes. (I didn't drill out the top-most hole because I'm not sure if I want to use it. It might put too much stress on the canopy. Not sure yet.)
4. Removed the section of green tape at the back of the canopy, re-taped that area, and re-marked the aft 7 holes with crossed lines so I can match-drill those holes with the skirt in place.
5. Clecoed the left canopy skirt back on.

  May 14, 2021     Canopy skirt fitting - (2.7 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Taped the left skirt in place and drew extension of the lines on the green tape down onto the skirt. This located the centerpoints of the holes to drill.
2. Took the skirt off and drilled most of the holes. (There are a few at the aft end of the skirt that I will have to re-mark because the green tape ended up being underneath the skirt.
3. Clecoed the left skirt back in place.
4. Began locating and marking the holes along the bottom edge of the skirt, using the duplicator strap.

  May 13, 2021     Canopy skirt templates; Skirt fitting - (3.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Fabricated all six skirt templates out of aluminum, and clecoed them in place to check their fit.
2. Trimmed some more from the left skirt at the back.
3. Fabricated a hole transfer tool out of 0.025 aluminum and some rivets. This one is much thinner than my factory-made one, and will probably work better.

  May 12, 2021     Canopy skirt templates; Skirt fitting - (4 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Fabricated six templates for drilling the canopy skirt, using cardboard. I may decide to transfer these to aluminum later.
2. Taped the left side skirt in place and began to trim the aft edge to get it to fit better. There's a long way to go. Began by trimming to centerline, and notching the bottom for the center slide track.

  May 07, 2021     Canopy skirt - Hole location prep and drilling - (2.4 hours)       Category: Canopy

Located, drilled and deburred the remaining holes in the canopy skirt. Used a total of eight #40 bits to get this thing drilled. Unbelievably tiring and frustrating, but it's done.

  May 06, 2021     Canopy skirt - Hole location prep and drilling - (3.4 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Taped the lower edge of the canopy with painter's tape, then drew two locating lines per frame hole. This will help locate the existing holes when it comes time to drill the skirt.
2. Used a silver marker to make dots on the lower tube and all three ribs of the canopy frame at 2" intervals (1.5" on the ribs).
3. Drilled #40 holes at these locations. (Nearly finished the left side before calling it a day.)

  May 05, 2021     Canopy holes; Temporary rivets; Canopy skirt trimming - (5 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Drilled the rest of the holes at the bottom of the canopy edge up to #27. Deburred all holes.
2. Jim help me get the canopy onto the frame, then we clecoed it in place at about 1/3 of the holes.
3. Used soft pop rivets in 11 locations to temporarily fasten the canopy to the frame, in preparation for the next big step -- fitting the skirts. I had to Dremel down about eight of the rivets because the stems broke off about 1/8" above the rivet heads. Weird.
4. Got the skirts off the shelf where they've been sitting for a long time. Cleaned them and inspected them.
5. Drew a Sharpie line along the factory scribe line.
6. With a cutoff wheel, I cut 1/4" outside the marks. Used a mini Scotchbrite wheel in a drill to deburr the sharp edges.
7. Did a test-fit of the skirts, just to see how they fit. The left one actually seemed to lay reasonably flat at both the top and bottom, but the right one is way off, in numerous ways. It will definitely take some work to get it fitting well.

  May 04, 2021     Drilling canopy and frame - (5.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Finished drilling and clecoing the canopy to the frame with a #41 bit. (I ran out of clecoes fitted with rubber boots, so I used small O-rings and some small rubber grommets on the remaining clecoes.)

2. Removed the canopy. (Thanks, Jim.)

3. Removed the masking tape. Drilled all the canopy frame holes up to #30, then deburred them.

4. Opened up 31 of the 82 canopy holes to #27 size. For this I used a Unibit on a handheld electric drill, turning extremely slow (80-100 RPM) and using almost no pressure. I drilled each hole, then let the Unibit push up against the next step on the bit, in order to chafer each hole. I also did this on the backside of each hole as I went. Each hole takes a little over 2 minutes, so tomorrow I ought to be able to finish up the canopy drilling in a couple of hours.

  May 03, 2021     Final edge sanding; frame marking; first drilling - (6.2 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Marked contact line on taped canopy frame with a Sharpie. Drew drill location markings every ~2" along this line.
2. Finished sanding all bottom canopy edges with 400-grit and 1000-grit sandpaper.
3. Mounted and clamped the canopy back on the frame with Jim's help.
4. Drilled and clecoed 38 attach holes through the canopy into the frame, making sure the holes were 90 degrees to the canopy surface. (One hole near the back got oblong as the drill bit tried to slip off the frame tube. I will ignore this hole and drill another one next to it. No one will ever know, except me and you.)

  May 02, 2021     Another trim - (4.1 hours)       Category: Canopy

After looking at the canopy clamped to its frame, I decided to trim another 1/8" to 1/4" off the bottom edge of the canopy. It just seemed like it was hanging slightly too far over the frame, for no good reason. I marked the new cut line with electrical tape. My friend Jim helped me remove it and place it upside down on the work stands, then I taped it down and started trimming, using a 60-grit belt on a 1/2" belt-sander, then two progressive passes with the sanding board (80-grit and 120-grit).

I also smoothed out the notches again, then ran the plexi-scraper along the edge to deburr it.

Tomorrow I will sand the edges down to 1000-grit again.

  Apr 28, 2021     Canopy trimming and edge finishing - (6.3 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Marked the canopy for final trimming.

2. Jim and I took the canopy off, then I spent over six hours taking all the canopy edges down to the tape lines with a handheld 1/2" belt sander (60 grit) to get them close, followed by a large block sander (80 grit) to get the edges straight, then a small handheld block with 100, 220, and finally 400 grit sandpaper. Then I beveled the edges with a plexi scraper, followed by some follow-up beveling passes with 400-grit. Then I did the notches by hand with more 400-grit wrapped around my finger. Tomorrow I will make a final pass over all the edges with 1000-grit paper, just for good measure.

  Apr 27, 2021     Canopy fitting and trimming - (3.4 hours)       Category: Canopy

After talking to several people who have built multiple RVs, I have decided to attach the canopy to the frame using the stock Van's method instead of using Sikaflex. There will be one modification, however -- I will open up the Plexiglas holes to 1/4", then insert 1/4" OD / 1/8" ID rubber hose slices (grommets) in the holes to let the canopy "float" a bit due to stresses and temperature changes. I hope this will prevent any cracking down the road.

Today's work:

1. Removed the rubber spacers and electrical tape from the canopy and frame. Re-taped the frame with tan masking tape, so I'll be able to find the tangent points of the canopy.

2. With the help of my friend Jim, we did multiple fittings of the canopy, taking it off each time to trim, notch and deburr it. We finally got it to clear all the vertical tubes on the frame, and lie flat on all the surfaces.

3. Clamped the canopy in what I believe will be the final location on the frame, (There will still be some cosmetic trimming required along the bottom and front edge of the canopy, but at least now the canopy fits well.

  Apr 26, 2021     Canopy fitting and trimming; Research - (2.9 hours)       Category: Canopy

My friend Jim came over and helped me do another canopy-fitting trial on the frame. We identified a few more places that can use a careful trimming and a few notches that will be trimmed a bit more. We learned that it makes a big difference where you start clamping the canopy. For instance, if you start in the front, the canopy moves back quite a bit. And even a slight change in position results in lots of changes along the edges. We got it in what appears to be an optimum position, then I taped my trim lines and we removed the canopy again.

I spent a couple of hours sanding to the new trim lines. Still have a little more to do.

In the evening, I was on the computer when I happened to see a new discussion thread about canopy cracking that has me seriously re-thinking whether I want to Sikaflex this canopy or not. This led me down a rabbit-hole, trying to read as much as possible about various methods of attaching the canopy. After a few hours, I still don't know for sure, so I will have to resume studying the issue tomorrow. In the meantime, the canopy fits the frame beautifully. I just have to figure out which way it will be attached.

  Apr 25, 2021     Canopy dressing and taping. - (2.3 hours)       Category: Canopy

I tried to lift the canopy onto the frame by myself, but that didn't seem like the greatest idea. So I'll wait for help tomorrow. In the meantime I got some smaller jobs started:

1. Did another edge-dressing of the canopy.
2. Peeled back the protective plastic about four inches on the inside and outside of the canopy. Cleaned the plastic.
3. Taped the inside and outside edges with clear packing tape.
4. Cleaned the canopy frame
5. Cut out and replaced numerous rubber spacers on the frame.
6. Masked off the canopy frame with colored electrical tape (blue first layer).
7. Scuffed the forward rollover bar between the tape lines.

  Apr 24, 2021     Canopy block-sanding and dressing - (2.6 hours)       Category: Canopy

Finished sanding and edging the canopy:

1. Used 80-grit sandpaper on a block-sander to finally get the forward edge of the canopy into shape. (It had two small irregular divots that are now essentially gone.) This process took a couple of hours and perhaps 10,000 sanding strokes. Ouch.
2. Radiused the forward-lower corner of the canopy.
3. Sanded the lower edges of the canopy with 80-grit.
4. Final-sanded all the edges with 400-grit sandpaper on a block.
5. Used the plexi scraper to finish off the edges.

  Apr 23, 2021     Canopy block-sanding and dressing - (3.1 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Removed all tape from the canopy. Trimmed back the protestive plastic about 4 inches all around the perimeter.
2. Block-sanded the edges of the canopy.
3. Used the plexi-scraper tool to dress the edges of the canopy so they're as smooth as butter.

The lower edges of the canopy are done, but there's still a considerable amount of block-sanding to be done on the forward edge, where the re-cut was accomplished. I switched to a very nice wooden-handled block sander I picked up awhile ago, just for this job.

  Apr 22, 2021     Canopy final fitting and trimming - (5 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. I took a look at the canopy and how it rested on the frame. There didn't really seem to be any way it would lay down over the rear part of the canopy rail, regardless of how many clamps I used. So I unclamped everything and slid the canopy forward about 1/2". Bingo. The canopy could now be clamped along its entire length with just a reasonable squeeze. I decided to re-notch the bottom edges of the canopy to clear the vertical tubes, then see how it fit.

2. With the help of my friend Jim, we removed the canopy, re-notched it, and re-clamped it three or four times. The canopy seemed to be happy in its new location, so I marked it from the inside for trimming.

3. Since the canopy was moved forward 1/2", the forward edge now extended too far forward on the forward rail of the frame. So I marked it for trimming, too.

4. We unclamped and removed the canopy from the frame again, and placed it upside down on the padded work stands. I taped a dowel rod across the wide end to keep the canopy stable, and taped it to the stands. Then I trimmed off the bottom and front edges of the canopy. Because of the body and hand positions required for this operation, and the approximately 16 feet of cutting that had to be done, it was one of the most back-breaking tasks I've done on the airplane yet.

5. Used a sanding block and a mini polishing wheel to start smoothing all the edges. There is some more to do, but for now the canopy safe to move.

  Apr 21, 2021     Canopy notching; The Big Cut - (3.7 hours)       Category: Canopy

It was a big day! With the help of my friend Jim, we:

1. Removed the canopy from the frame and continued notching it where it goes over the vertical canopy frame supports.
2. Cut and attached 3/16"-thick self-adhesive rubber squares to the canopy frame. These will be the spacers for the process of Sikaflexing the canopy to the frame.
3. Clamped the canopy back to the frame on the airplane, Marked the centerline of the sliding canopy frame rollbar with lacing cord.
4. Marked the location of the Big Cut with green masking tape.
5. Duct-taped the canopy to a pair of low benches and made the Big Cut, separating the sliding canopy from the windshield. This cut was made with a cutting disc on an angle grinder, which worked very well.
6. Used a block-sander, a plexi scraper, and a mini-scotchbrite wheel to finish the new front edge of the canopy.
7. Re-mounted the canopy to the frame to check its fit, then removed both and set them on the bench for some more trimming.

  Apr 09, 2021     Canopy fitting - (4.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

Continued trimming and fitting the canopy, with the help of my friend Jim. We got the front part to rest on the top of the rollover bar and canopy frame, so we're getting pretty close on the windshield section. We began trimming and notching the sides, then clamped the sides to the frame, to see what will be required in the back. There is still a pretty big gap back there, but we'll see how that goes once we begin trimming it.

The next step will be to place 1/8" spacers (tubing) in between the canopy and frame and re-clamp it. This will give a better idea what needs to be trimmed.

  Apr 08, 2021     Canopy fitting - (4.3 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Read all the manufacturer's documents about the Sikaflex adhesive, primer, and cleaner I received today, in preparation for using it soon!
2. Flipped the canopy and finished taping the edges. Marked the first cut line on the front part of the canopy.
3. Made the first trim of the canopy, stress-relieved it with a mini Scotchbrite wheel on a drill, then placed it back on the airplane.
4. With the help of my friend Jim, we repeatedly marked and trimmed the front part of the canopy, about 5 times, progressively trying to get the canopy to lay down on the rollover bar (and/or the canopy support bar). We got it within about 1/4" of the canopy frame this evening. I had to start notching the canopy to fit around a couple of the vertical support bars on the canopy frame.
5. Marked the canopy for a final cut at the front edge. After this cut is made tomorrow, I think most of our attention will be at the rear edge, in order to get it to lay down onto the rear canopy frame.

  Apr 07, 2021     Canopy prep - (1.7 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Removed all previous tape. Carefully trimmed the protective plastic from both the inside and outside of the canopy, up about 4 inches.
2. Re-taped the canopy edge, inside and outside, with masking tape. I will mark and cut through this layer when I start trimming the canopy.
3, Added another layer of tape on the outside, above the first, to seal the rest of the canopy. Once I have help to flip the canopy, I will do the same on the inside.

  Apr 01, 2021     Initial canopy fitting - (2.1 hours)       Category: Canopy

The hangar temperature is at 74 degrees now, so it was time to play around with the canopy!

1. Masked off the instrument panel, side switch panel, and circuit breaker panel.
2. With the help of my friend Jim, we lifted the canopy onto the canopy frame, just to get an idea of how it naturally sits. As expected, there is about a 2-3" gap between the canopy and the top bar of the frame. The folks at Airplane Plastics trimmed a lot of the sides off already, so it appears there will be minimal trimming needed there. (The cuts at the front part of the bubble won't be critical, as long as the bubble rests down on the rollover bar like it should. This windshield portion will will be tossed out and replaced with a thicker one.)
3. We attempted to find the centerline by measuring up from the edges and pulling a line up the top of the canopy to the firewall, but the waviness in the protective plastic made it difficult, so we removed the canopy and set it on the bench. Then we drew some lateral lines on the table and ran a fabric tape measure over the top. We mashed down the plastic, marked the centerline with waxed lacing cord, verified it visually from both ends, then taped the lacing cord down with packing tape. This will be close enough to centerline to satisfy me.
4. Taped the edges of the canopy with blue painter's tape, which I'll use to mark each subsequent cut, then I'll cut along the line, right through the tape. I will probably only cut off 1/4" at a time.

  Mar 31, 2021     Canopy prep - (2 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Used a portable electric heater to try to heat up the canopy, with limited success. I ended up just turning up the heat in the hangar, which will take at least 12 hours to take effect. I'm shooting for 75 degrees in there.

2. Trimmed the edge of the protective plastic on the canopy and inspected the canopy for condition.

3. Placed the windscreen on the fuselage, to start getting an idea of how much will have to be trimmed for a good fit, and also just to see how it looks. (For anyone wondering how it's possible that I have the windscreen separated already when I'm just getting started on the canopy, it's because I purchased a separate, thicker windscreen that will hopefully give me slightly better bird-strike protection.)

4. Did lots of studying and reading on the canopy process.

  Mar 30, 2021     Ordered interior; Began canopy process - (4 hours)       Category: Canopy

1. Placed my order for my interior from Abby at Flightline Interiors. The set will include UltraLeather seats with heating elements, leather stick boots, sidewall inserts, armrests and carpet. More details later, when I finalize the colors.
2. Began installing the canopy: Prepped and screwed on the side rails, installed the center slide block, installed the rollers, and put the canopy frame on and slid it around a bit to check its fit. It still slides pretty well, if a bit squeaky. (I used to have a set of springs that fit into the aft end of the side rails to prevent the canopy from going all the way back, but I can't find them right now. I did find a smaller set, and they will have to do for now.)

  Aug 03, 2020     Canopy first look - (0.8 hour)       Category: Canopy

1. Got the canopy unboxed and set on a newly-cleared work table, with the help of my friend Jim.
2. Positioned the canopy on its frame to get an idea of its initial fit. As everyone always says, there will be a lot of trimming to do!

  Mar 18, 2011     Canopy handle painting - (.75 hour)       Category: Canopy

When I masked and painted the yellow stripes on the canopy handle, my masking job was evidently not perfect, so there were small areas of paint glitches along the boundary between the black and the yellow. Today, I used a hobby knife to trim off the overspray areas, then touched up a few other areas with a tiny paintbrush. Then I sanded the transitions with 2000-grit wet-dry sandpaper, and sprayed two coats of clearcoat.

This handle was a lot of extra work, between the bead-blasting, cutting, re-welding, powder-coating, masking, and painting... but overall, I think it looks pretty cool, and I'm very pleased with it. It looks like a proper emergency egress handle now.

  Mar 01, 2011     Canopy handle painting - (.4 hour) Category: Canopy

I shot a couple of coats of yellow on the canopy handle. Once these dry, I'll shoot a clear coat, and the handle should be ready to go.

  Dec 23, 2009     Canopy arrived - (.5 hour) Category: Canopy

After a many-month wait, and some false starts, I finally received my canopy! It was made by Airplane Plastics, the same company that manufactures the canopies for Van's Aircraft -- but it has a few differences from a stock canopy.

It's made of a slightly-tinted, UV-blocking type of Plexiglas. I also had them make a custom front windshield that has more slope than the a stock one, and is also slightly thicker than stock.

The first canopy they made had a small defect in it. They asked if I could live with it, and after looking at it, I decided that I simply couldn't. Hence the delay. Now I've got the canopy I wanted. Unfortunately, it's now the dead of winter -- not the best time to be cutting a canopy -- but I'll see if my new hangar heater can get the shop up to 75 degrees. If not, I'll just wait a couple of months before working on the canopy project.

  May 04, 2009     Canopy frame fitting - (2.2 hours)       Category: Canopy

I spent some good, quality time with the canopy frame today, getting it to fit perfectly and slide pretty well.

First, I finished attaching the center slide rail with the assistance of my friend Steve.

Next, in accordance with the drawings, I bent the aft part of canopy frame to give the proper clearance from the aft slide rail. After about 20 iterations of removing the frame, bending it against my workbench, and reinstalling it on the plane, I was able to get the clearance to within the prescribed 5/8" to 3/4". Mine is 11/16".

Finally, I filed the center slide block in several locations to eliminate some of the sharp edges I think are making it bind slightly on the rail. After the filing (and spraying it with a bit of LPS-1), it slides a bit better. I'll continue to work on it next time.

  May 02, 2009     Canopy frame and rails - (5.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

NOTE: All entries about the canopy prior to now are filed under "Fuselage," since they referred to the canopy rails exclusively--which are attached to the fuselage.

* * * * *

Today, I shaved down a few of the backside "shop-heads" of the double-flush attach rivets in the aft canopy slider rail, so nothing scratches the fuselage skin. I deburred the fuselage attach holes, and fastened the rail to the fuselage (for now).

Next, I fitted the rollover bar and bolted it in place. Next I fitted and notched the side canopy rails so they fit around and over the base of the rollover bar.

I taped the side rails in place (eyeballing their position for now), and attached the canopy frame to its rollers. I also slid the nylon block on the aft rail, and inserted the stop block into the recess at the forward end of the rail. I drilled the holes for the clevis pin through the block and counterbored one side for the head of the clevis bolt. (I figured out where to drill the bolt holes by using one of my thick steel rulers as a precision shim between the seating pin on the canopy frame and the slider rail. The ruler was just under 3/32" thick, which was perfect.) The center slider block seems like it binds a bit along the full length of the rail, but I imagine this will loosen up with time. I also drilled the small hole for the cotter pin that holds the clevis pin in.

The canopy itself, minus the aft slider block, rolls a lot more freely than it did last night. I attribute this to my repositioning the side rails.

Finally, I began looking at how the canopy frame fits to the fuselage. There are a couple of minor issues that will have to be adjusted, but it looks pretty good. I'll be doing some bending in the next couple of days.