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.